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Is an E-book a Real Book?
Webster's has many different definitions for the word "book".
One is many sheets of paper bound in a volume with a cover, if you use
this as the definition then the E-book is not a book. But if a "book
"means the words, thoughts, ideas, and emotions expressed on those sheets of paper,
an E-book is as much a real book as any other.
The thought of the E-book dates back to 1945. Vannevar Bush, Director of the
United States Office of Scientific Research and Development wrote an essay entitled,
"As We May Think", where he described a device where an individual would store
his books, records, and communications. Science-fiction writers adopted Bush's ideas
on the television show "Star Trek," where portable electronic books were
featured regularly.
This is all very interesting, however what is the impact on our libraries.
Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library is one of the first libraries in Ohio to start
circulating E-books. Join NOLA at our Fall
Membership Meeting
on Tuesday, September 19, 2000 to learn how they implemented E-books in their library
and the trials and tribulations that they encountered. Brad Stephens will also
inform members of the newest E-book technology. Barnes and Noble will
conclude the day by explaining what is the future for electronic content.
Items submitted by:
Melissa Lattanzi - Email
NOLA Regional Library System
| The
Director's Desk |
2000-2001
NOLA Board of Trustees
NOLA is pleased to announce at the July meeting Nancy
Currie (Madison Public Library) was sworn in as President. Ruth Mizik
(Hubbard Public Library) was elected Vice President/President Elect and
Mary Frances Burns (Morley Library) as Secretary.
Continuing Education
The Fall/Winter, 2000 Continuing Education Catalog has been
sent to each library and this year a poster is also available for placing
in staff areas or on staff bulletin boards. If you need
additional copies of the catalog or the poster, call Elaine at the NOLA
office.
Digitization of Collections
If your library and community has important historical
collections, you may be interested in NOLA’s fall program on
Restoration, Preservation, & Digitization. Once your collections
are digitized, you may then want to learn more about the Ohio Memory
Project. Ohio Historical Society, OLC, and OPLIN are working
together to produce a digital scrapbook in time to commemorate Ohio’s
two hundred years of statehood.
Electronic Signatures
The state of Ohio is starting to accept Electronic
Signatures. Once in place, this will quickly happen and have a wide
effect on how business is handled. What ramifications will this have
for libraries? Is there currently a service that requires a patron
to come into the library and sign a form? A library card? Is it time
to think about an Electronic Library Card? A patron signs up to use
your library’s website and the patron never has to come into your
library building. Each time someone looks at your website,
statistics are kept. The Electronic Library Card (or some variation such
as E-Lib Card or ELCard or elCard) may be issued with restriction of
website use only. Then, if someone wants a book, the patron would
have to come into the library building or would they.
Long term thought on E-Lib Card. What
library services could benefit from E-Lib Card? Reference is already
going in this direction. What if someone is looking for genealogy
information and they live in another state? Would they obtain an
E-Lib Card through a registration process from your website and browse
your local newspaper (current and archival issues). How many other
uses will develop? Storytelling from your website? A child who is
sick at home may still see and hear a storytelling program. What
happens when novels are on the Internet? Do patrons download from
your website and never come into your library. Are there other
possibilities for use of an E-Lib Card?
Items submitted by:
Jeannette Martin - Email
NOLA Regional Library System
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Sunshine
Law
As more organizations are utilizing teleconferencing, this
method of communication is ideal for committee meetings, workshops, etc.
But the Ohio Sunshine Law still requires board meeting be open to the
public, board members must physically attend the meeting. With
electronic signatures being acceptable over the net, possibly the Sunshine
Law may change in a couple of years. |
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| From
the Field |
Surprise, or not - Intel releases faster chip
This week Intel releases their latest version of the Pentium III processor. The new chip
runs at 1.13 GHZ - yes that's G as in Gigahertz (meaning 1.13 Billion cycles per second).
This release allows Intel to maintain the chip speed title over rival AMD, who will
release a 1.1 GHZ chip at the end of August. Note - Pentium IV will ship before the end of
the year with a starting clock speed of 1.4 GHZ.
Read more
Surplus
Equipment:
NOLA has the following available for purchase:
| 14" SVGA monitor |
$15.00 |
| Orange Typing table |
$5.00 |
| 17 Brown stacking chairs |
$5.00 each |
| AT&T Digital Answering Machine |
$5.00 |
| Printer Stand (Wood Grain) |
$10.00 |
| Okidata Microline 320 Printer |
FREE |
| 8 Conference Chairs with casters |
$10.00 each |
If you are interested please contact Anne Hoerig in the NOLA office.
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MS
Releases Service Pack 1 for Windows 2000
Been waiting for the release of the first Windows 2000 service pack before installing the
new Operating System? Well the time has come - Microsoft will release the first service
pack this week. Was it wise to
wait? Well you decide - the service pack is 83 MB! (the largest ever)
Read moreGeauga County Public Library Surplus
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Geauga County Public Library has a
study carrel (pictured on the left) available for surplus sale. Interested parties
should contact Debbie O'Conner via email at [email protected] or by phone 440-286-6811
x101 |
USPS and Email
Interesting article on some ideas being discussed by the US Postal Service relating to
email and other Internet technologies. Some ideas include allowing physical delivery of email messages (for a fee), free
email addresses, and more. Likely to see these developments in the short term, no.
Somewhere down the road, maybe.
Find out more: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2609626,00.html
Wearable Display Technology
"Face" mounted displays have long been part of the computer gadget realm. But a
recent release from Olympus may change their status from niche gadget to that of a widely
used device.
What if you could wear a pair of goggles which permitted you to view a projection
which appeared to come from a 52" screen at a distance of about six
feet? Most users would view such a display as fantastic. Now imagine
that this same system can be configured to support DVD playback, standard computer displays,
television
and
more - at a weight of 105 grams. Sound useful? Could libraries use this type of
technology? Certainly -but
it's advisable to wait until after the $1400 price tag drops to the $300-$500 range.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/07/31/eye.tek.idg/index.html
Items submitted by:
Brad Stephens - Email
NOLA Regional Library System
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