Evernote, the company famous for its elephant logo and apps that let you make notes, save them, and then take or access them digitally almost anywhere, has been seeking to expand its reach. In its quest to become as ubiquitous as the mobile technology we carry, Evernote has been targeting niche markets with specialized versions of its popular application. For foodies looking to hang on to recipes and meal photos, there is Evernote Food. For readers, there is an Evernote Clearly app that promises a distraction free reading experience. Of interest to us is their networking application for professionals on the go – the newly revamped Evernote Hello. Continue Reading Review: Meet, Greet, & Remember with Evernote Hello

New companies and new technologies are reinforcing a culture of sharing resources, according to James Surowiecki in his article “Uber Alles” (New Yorker, Sept. 16 2013). Surowiecki takes the perspective of the U.S. marketplace, an environment that historically has run on a buy-to-own mindset from its consumers. Newer companies, observing how mobile technologies value access above all else, are betting on a change in consumer philosophy. Ride-sharing companies (Lyft, Sidecar, UberX, RelayRides, Getaround are all detailed in the article) and media-sharing companies (NetFlix, Spotify), are all speculating consumers would prefer to have access to a variety of goods rather than own a limited number of goods.

What does managing the availability of a collection of resources to a pool of subscribers bring to mind? To me, clearly it’s librarianship. From a macro level, how much does a library’s responsibilities differ from those of the companies listed above? We’re both in the market of access, not ownership; our success depends on ensuring our patrons get the resources they need when they need them.

On the one hand, isn’t it greatly encouraging that the market is starting to see resources the same way a librarian does? The business model emphasizes management of already acquired resources: rather than try to connect a buyer to a seller, the goal is to connect a subscriber to a resource. Ownership is devalued, and access becomes all-important.

Librarians do have knowledge and experience in this environment, and I’m sure those in our profession could be a valuable resource to these subscription-rather-than-ownership-based companies. However, rather than seeing this as an opportunity to teach, librarians need to monitor this development because of what we can learn. The market will shake out and show us which companies are the best at satisfying their customers in this new subscribe-to-borrow arrangement. At absolutely no cost to us, we have the opportunity to observe this experiment, the results of which we could incorporate into how we manage our resources and satisfy our patrons and users, and all we have to do is watch and learn.

At the end of October, the law librarian’s most trusty resource for conducting federal legislative histories, THOMAS, will be sunsetted. I know many of you will miss its html-table, multi-hyperlinked design, the digital tic-tac-toe board of our country’s legislation. But, rather than having to crack open a hard copy volume of the United States Code Congressional and Administration News and stain its pages with your tears, you will be proud to know THOMAS will be replaced by the clearly superior congress.gov. We have to congratulate our Federal Government: the new site has successfully incorporated dynamic design and an easily navigable, logical layout. Continue Reading Review: Congress.gov > THOMAS

In a new study released September 4 by Information Today Inc., libraries are experiencing a sharp increase in demand for electronic material and are increasing their spending on acquiring ebooks, online databases and other electronic products . . .
John DiGilio, national manager of research services at Reed Smith tells LTN that the study’s findings of a recent shift by libraries towards digital products are nothing new to the law firm world.

Read more: http://www.law.com/jsp/lawtechnologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202618222661&Demand_for_Library_Digital_Content_Up_but_Not_for_eBooks_in_Firm_Libraries_#ixzz2e8CD4rTo

Times and technology may change often, but old habits seldom do.  We often come across articles and items that catch our eye, but not at the most convenient of time.  Setting something aside to read later is a second nature activity for most of us busy professionals.  Back in the old days, we cut out pages or photocopied articles and threw them into our “read later” piles.  In the early age of computers and the internet, we printed out those items abd threw them into the same pile.  Today, technology is taking away the pile, but not the urge or the need to hang on to things for follow up at a later time.  Pocket is just one of many apps that are designed to let you create a virtual “read it later” pile without the need for unseemly stacks of paper.  For its convenience and cross-platform connectivity, it is one that we highly recommend.

Formerly known as “Read It Later”, Pocket lets you take articles, images, and even videos that you come across online and quickly and easily save them for later viewing.  You can then revisit those items at your convenience from your computer, tablet, or smartphone with relative ease.  PC or Mac?  No problem.  Pocket sits on the web and works with all browsers.  Android or iOS?  Pocket has you covered.  There are apps for both and they are free!  Your content is available wherever you are and in a way that meets your own technological preferences.

Perhaps most compelling about Pocket is its clean, attractive, and dynamic interface.  The items you save can be tagged and favorited.  Searching is a cinch.  Saved content appears as nicely-rendered thumbnail images to make recall and selection easy and the full-screen reading functionality is excellent.  It really look fabulous on mobile devices.  It sure beats a pile of disheveled sheets of paper on the corner of your desk!

Finally, we are not the only ones that have recognized the power and convenience of Pocket.  Many of the most popular news apps have already built in Pocket functionality.  Flipboard, Zite, and even Twitter are already on board.  Hundreds of other apps have also added Pocket connectivity to their own offerings.  A little ubiquity goes a long way!  If you haven’t tried it out yet, you do not know what you are missing.

Our recommendation?  Put Pocket in . . . well . . . your pocket!

Thumbs Up

  • Clean Interface
  • Muliple Platforms
  • Tagging & Searching
  • Already Integrated with Popular News Apps
  • FREE

Here at iBraryGuy, we know what it is like to be constantly bombarded with news. Between the news feeds that we read regularly to the constant Twitter and Facebook updates that we follow, it sometimes seems that just keeping our fingers on the pulse of what is happening could be a full time job! We also know that most of you are facing that same real time onslaught. You too know the pain of information overload! So we are hoping to help alleviate your burden a little bit.

In addition to our blog and Twitter feed (@ibraryguy), we recently unveiled two new services that are designed to bring you the best of news and social media as it pertains to what you do. The Daily INFOrmant is our regular eNewsletter for librarians and information professionals of all stripes. Powered by Paper.li technology, this handsome newsletter can be delivered to your e-mail inbox each day. Using the Scoop.it! platform, we have also just rolled out our new Legal Information Dispatch. This one is focused on our colleagues in the legal industry. Currently, you can follow it via Scoop.it! or RSS. Soon, it will be released as a monthly eMagazine.

Both The Daily INFOrmant and The Legal Information Dispatch are free. We do our best to curate the content and the sources and each is constantly being tweaked to provide the best and most relevant coverage possible. We sort it and feed it, so that you do not have to! With The Legal Information Dispatch, you even get our own insights and commentary on the news items, as well as the chance to add your own.

We welcome your thoughts and suggestions and hope that you will not only make use of these services, but share them your colleagues as well.

– Team iBraryGuy

fe28f78019bb24dfaae485b72c4762e0b0020443ee75ce137b

Here at iBraryGuy, we know what it is like to be constantly bombarded with news. Between the news feeds that we read regularly to the constant Twitter and Facebook updates that we follow, it sometimes seems that just keeping our fingers on the pulse of what is happening could be a full time job! We also know that most of you are facing that same real time onslaught. You too know the pain of information overload! So we are hoping to help alleviate your burden a little bit.

In addition to our blog and Twitter feed (@ibraryguy), we recently unveiled two new services that are designed to bring you the best of news and social media as it pertains to what you do. The Daily INFOrmant is our regular eNewsletter for librarians and information professionals of all stripes. Powered by Paper.li technology, this handsome newsletter can be delivered to your e-mail inbox each day. Using the Scoop.it! platform, we have also just rolled out our new Legal Information Dispatch. This one is focused on our colleagues in the legal industry. Currently, you can follow it via Scoop.it! or RSS. Soon, it will be released as a monthly eMagazine.

Both The Daily INFOrmant and The Legal Information Dispatch are free. We do our best to curate the content and the sources and each is constantly being tweaked to provide the best and most relevant coverage possible. We sort it and feed it, so that you do not have to! With The Legal Information Dispatch, you even get our own insights and commentary on the news items, as well as the chance to add your own.

We welcome your thoughts and suggestions and hope that you will not only make use of these services, but share them your colleagues as well.

– Team iBraryGuy

fe28f78019bb24dfaae485b72c4762e0b0020443ee75ce137b

See on Scoop.it – Legal Information Dispatch

Fluders,
This is going to be a very tough post for me to write. After three years of innovating in the news space the Flud team has decided to wind the company down. StartingAugust 8th, Flud will no…

John DiGilio‘s insight:

As far as news readers go, FLUD was a welcome departure from the bland norm.  From its ease of use to its visually pleasing interface to its wonderful social sharing features, it was a pioneer of the modern RSS world.  It will be missed.  Users have until August 8 to download their data.

See on theflud.tumblr.com

See on Scoop.it – Legal Information Dispatch

Fluders,
This is going to be a very tough post for me to write. After three years of innovating in the news space the Flud team has decided to wind the company down. StartingAugust 8th, Flud will no…

John DiGilio‘s insight:

As far as news readers go, FLUD was a welcome departure from the bland norm.  From its ease of use to its visually pleasing interface to its wonderful social sharing features, it was a pioneer of the modern RSS world.  It will be missed.  Users have until August 8 to download their data.

See on theflud.tumblr.com

Our daily Twitter newsletter, formerly known as the Librariana Daily, is growing, getting better, and taking on a new name. We are excited to announce the launch of The Daily INFOrmant!

Collecting news and opinions from hundreds of sources every day, The Daily INFOrmant is designed to help you keep your finger on the pulse of what is happening in our industry. This new take on our old newsletter is more focused and accessible than ever before. Even more importantly, it IS CURATED! That means that we will be watching daily to make sure that what you are getting speaking directly to what you do as information professionals. We will be constantly adding, eliminating and tweaking the feeds that make up our content. The Daily INFOrmant is also now being published in a much more visually appealing format. So please let us know what you think.

You can subscribe to The Daily INFOrmant via e-mail or follow our RSS feed. Of course, all new editions are announced via the iBraryGuy Twitterfeed as well.

Please note: If you find your feed showing up in The Daily INFOrmant and do not wish to do so, please let us know right away and we will immediately block it from being culled.