In an increasing mobile environment, library and reading-related activities often take place on a phone or tablet device. Not only does this mean that library Web sites must keep mobile navigability in mind, but also develop and utilize apps that allow patrons to interact with information and with libraries. While apps do not serve every purpose,…

This article argues that accessibility and universality are essential to good Web design. A brief review of library science literature sets the issue of Web accessibility in context. The bulk of the article explains the design philosophies of progressive enhancement and responsive Web design, and summarizes recent updates to WCAG 2.0, HTML5, CSS…

As another year draws to a close, the author reflects on the trends in play related to library technologies and attempts to anticipate their trajectory going forward. The library economy has not necessarily achieved full recovery from the recent downturn. Nevertheless, the author expects that investments in technology will expand next year. For…

Near field communication is an emerging technology that allows objects, such as mobile phones, computers, tags, or posters, to exchange information wirelessly across a small distance. Though primarily associated with mobile payment, near field communication has many different potential commercial applications, ranging from marketing to nutrition,…

The paper describes the theory and definition of the practice of librarianship, specifically addressing how Web 2.0 technologies (tools) such as synchronous messaging, collaborative reference service and streaming media, blogs, wikis, social networks, social bookmarking tools, tagging, RSS feeds, and mashups might intimate changes and how…

Email and chat/IM reference services have become a convenient and easily accessible option for the online community and libraries, particularly with increasing amounts of library resources now available electronically. This article gives an overview of Jing, which can be used to produce videos and screenshots on-the-fly, and demonstrates how to…

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library is a joint co-managed library of the San Jose Public Library and the San Jose State University Library, located in San Jose, California, the capital of Silicon Valley. Working in this merged public and academic environment, the authors find that the uses of technology transcend the differences and enhance…

For a while, the idea of social software was something that had to be sold. Although many librarians were experimenting with it, there were a lot of concerns. Now, social software, like Library 2.1, is starting to be viewed less as a disruptive force and more as a regular part of a librarian's workflow. This article highlights a few examples that…

To date, over one-fifth of all U.S. higher education students are now taking at least one online course. The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) recently surveyed more than 2,500 colleges and universities to reveal that over 3.9 million students were taking at least one online course during the 2007 fall term. This number is a 12% increase from fall 2006.…

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral tool in enhancing library services worldwide. This article looks at ways technology is utilized at Massey University to bridge the gap between distance students and traditional library services. There are a variety of software providers, formats and implementation practices…

Librarianship has experienced a few growing pains over the past several years as its relationship with technology matures into a productive partnership. Being overzealous to adopt new technology can sometimes lead to more setbacks than advances in the profession. However, a recent wave of research has been discussing the benefits of integrating…

There is a growing interest in making available and making sense of the data on the Web and trapped in databases. Rather than a web of unstructured documents, full of information understandable only to humans, there is a movement whose intention is to make these data structured, reusable, machine-readable, and interrelated. This approach to Web…

Bibliographic utilities are marketing specially designed hardware and software that permit libraries to patch together automated cataloging, acquisitions, serials control, reference, online public catalogs, circulation, interlibrary loan, and administrative functions. The increasing complexity of the technology is making it more difficult to…

Question Master (QM) is a decision-support system automating some more routine, fact-type reference questions encountered by guiding librarians through a set of clarifying questions before recommending appropriate print or electronic resource from WorldCat, the OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) Online Union Catalog. This study found that the…

Libraries subscribe to thousands of electronic journals and they are difficult for end-users to find. Journal and publisher interfaces and functionalities differ considerably. The recent development in e-media calls for central management of the resources. Lund University Libraries' Head Office has developed a service for presentation and…