I posted on this on the main Gameology blog, but MIT Technology Review has a video of a multi-touch interface design. This is like the user-end next step in the same way that Photosynth, which maps pictures and then allows users to see and explore them spatially, is a next step for visual displays. For libraries, and almost everyone else, this won’t mean much in the near future, but it’s really important to the trajectory of where the massive data stores we’re building can go. Digital initiatives have largely (and rightly) focused on making materials digital. This is a foundational step in creating access, butRead More →

I remember hearing a whole lot about Picasa when it first came out, but most of the interest seemed to be from people using Picasa for personal photos or from photographers. Now that I’m working with it, I’m astounded with how useful it is for academics. The ability to have local and web albums that can be shared with everyone, and that generate slideshows, and that can do embedded slideshows on websites is really wonderful for what many academics do. I’ve always saved my images to my website and just worked with webpages in general, but many people feel like they’re not good at technologyRead More →

I’m now on the Library 2.0 Working Group and I’m trying to make a few fun things for people to see and use that are Web 2.0 style and that apply to the library. So, I’ve started experimenting with Picasa which I hadn’t used before. Now, I have a couple of Picasa albums online with images from UF’s Digital Collections. Picasa’s interface is extrememly clean and convenient, but I can’t seem to find a way to auto-sync the web and desktop albums. That minor complaint (or request) aside, the ability to quickly make and organize albums and screenshows makes Picasa a really wonderful resource forRead More →

I’m the digital projects librarian in the University of Florida’s Digital Library Center. This blog chronicles my work with the Digital Library Center. In the DLC, I get to digitize various materials including books, paintings, manuscripts, objects (like this biscuit), audio, and more. Digitizing materials is only part of my work, though. I’m largely working on projects to help people better access and use the collections, which includes writing lesson plans, grants, creating learning objects, creating mashups (like adding materials from the digital collections to Google Earth and Maps), and more. Working in the Digital Library Center is fascinating and it’s not what many peopleRead More →