Idaho Commission for Libraries

An interesting article at CNN.com about the future role of the library. From the article:

If you sign up for Google Voice you can get an invitation to join - which means a bunch of cool beta features. You get a phone number, which you can use to see voice mail messages all nice and typed out for you. You get to text to individuals for free. You also get discounts on international calls.

Thanks to my friends at the Blah Blah Blah Blog at NEFLIN, I found this article in the Sun Sentinal (FL) about the Sunshine Card.

Dylan Baker at Ada Community Library shared this in our last SPLAT meeting, and I loved Wolfram Alpha as soon as I started playing with it. I loved these results. This is like the genius-educational version of a search engine.

I was impressed to say the least.

For those with bookmobiles, this page - www.ala.org/bookmobiles - has not only bookmobile stickers that you can make, but also a list of resources for bookmobile service. From the Association for Rural and Small Libraries Listserv.

Check out the Get Your Geek On campaign over at http://geekthelibrary.org/.

According to the site, "Geek the Library is a community-based public awareness campaign designed to highlight the vital role of public libraries for individuals and communities, and raise awareness about the critical funding issues they face."

I saw this while attending Meridian's Silverstone Branch opening. Doesn't take a lot of space, and the price is relatively small too!

Okay, just came across the term this morning -- Immersive Internet which is a collection of emerging technologies combined with a social culture that has roots in gaming and virtual worlds.

This has been an email thread that I thought I would share...unusual items that libraries throughout the US are checking out to their patrons:

Auto repair tools (Wyoming library)
Binoculars
Bones (medical school library)
Braille writer
Cake pans
Crafter glasses for people who work on watches and small crafts Drum pads Electronic devise that enlarges text on TV

First one -- Handheld Librarian Online Conference focusing on mobile library services.
July 30, 2009 -- $49 for individual -- $89 for group