I’m excited to celebrate 2 years of blogging here! I wanted a new place to collect library thoughts so began this blog at IL2007 in order to do just that. This has been a great space for me to explore the random library, education, and literature-related ideas that flow through my head. Sometimes I feelContinue reading “Happy 2nd Anniversary from IL2009”
Author Archives: erin downey howerton
Even more e-readers, and mobile thoughts
At our annual Staff Day extravaganza on Columbus Day, Columbus Metropolitan Library‘s director Patrick Losinski gave a nice keynote about today’s library challenges and opportunities. His library concentrates on three key constituencies: young minds, power users, and virtual users. I think these are three sets of people you’d do well to make your primary serviceContinue reading “Even more e-readers, and mobile thoughts”
The coming explosion!
Since my last rather ranty post about e-readers & such electronic devices, the field has gotten crowded with competitors and announcements. 2010 is totally going to be the year of the e-reader! Time previews some of the new devices Barnes & Noble will have their own reader for customers Amazon answers with a price cutContinue reading “The coming explosion!”
I’m gonna tweet ur old-skool stuff!
One of the newest trends I’ve been following? Republishing older, public-domain works in installments online. This definitely proves that everything old can be new again! Ranging from the revered and famous to the unknown and pedestrian, people are rediscovering the pleasures of slowly getting a story in bite-sized chunks. Check them out below: John QuincyContinue reading “I’m gonna tweet ur old-skool stuff!”
I downloaded a book (and I liked it… sort of)
I felt as though, after my last post, I should play more with electronic books so that I can speak from a position of experience. So, I fired up my Kindle app on my iPhone – downloaded only because it was free – and flipped through my purchases, such as they were. I had onlyContinue reading “I downloaded a book (and I liked it… sort of)”
Just call it my Babel wish…
I spent an hour with a patron the other day trying to figure out why, suddenly, her MP3 player refused to let her listen to audiobooks from one of our vendors. It worked before… and now, it wouldn’t. She just wanted to lend it to her students, and let them listen. It turns out thatContinue reading “Just call it my Babel wish…”
Techy Talk via OPAL!
I gave a little talk today to folks from all over the world online! It was delivered via OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries) and it’s still going strong – I’m definitely tuning in tomorrow for more awesome talks! In these budget-crunching times, an online conference is a great way to network and learn withoutContinue reading “Techy Talk via OPAL!”
Uglies free online!
One of the most popular series for teens is a limited-time free download in .pdf format! Of course, they’re promoting Westerfeld’s newest book, Leviathan, but who can complain about that? As more and more publishers make their works available in online forms, I can see more and more ways that you could leverage this free/cheapContinue reading “Uglies free online!”
Book Review: Columbine by Dave Cullen
I reviewed this on my Goodreads account but I think it bears repeating here. Such a compelling work! Dave Cullen’s thoroughly researched and evenhanded account of the 1999 Columbine High massacre is a superior work of non-fiction. Published to coincide with Columbine’s ten-year anniversary and drawing on his six-year old Salon piece “The Depressive andContinue reading “Book Review: Columbine by Dave Cullen”
Relax. It’s just a book.
It’s summer, so you know what that means at the public library… a deluge of kids and parents looking for books! It’s great to see so many people who encourage youth to participate in summer reading. But why is finding the “right” book so difficult? While there are a lot of kids who sit inContinue reading “Relax. It’s just a book.”