Gifts for Archivists!

Some very cute gifts for that special archivist in your life (or even yourself!)... Just don't forget this is the last week to ensure delivery by Christmas!





More from CafePress.com ...

Embed Slideshows, sans Flash

I am a huge fan of iPods, iPads, and iPhones. But, there's no ignoring the fact that they are not Flash compatible. Unfortunately, until recently embedding slideshows has always been a Flash game, resulting in Apple mobile device users being left in the dust. But now, there is a website (http://icant.co.uk/slidesharehtml/) that will convert your slideshows that are on SlideShare into HTML that can be embedded into your page and read on any device.

Here's an example of a recent presentation I did about my digitization project at The Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program:





As you can see, the essential features are still there (next/previous) and it's completely viewable on an iPad or other Apple device.

Granted, if your Apple end-user really wants Flash capability, there is Skyfire, an Apple-approved web browser available in the iTunes store, that will convert Flash content into HTML5. But as someone who is trying to share information, this is just another part of ensuring accessibility.

Back from an unintentional break!

So the last 3-4 weeks has been filled with packing up our posessions, moving halfway across the country, finding a new place to live, and starting a new job. No longer based in Ohio, I've accepted a position at Luther College in Iowa as the new Project Cataloging Archivist.

This will mean that I probably won't be blogging as frequently as I was in October, but hopefully will try to write at least once or twice a month.

That being said, I am elated to be at Luther and I look forward to the many new experiences I'll have and I'm sure it will help this blog become a bit broader in scope!

Just another portal?

Last month, CNET's The Social discussed the new Starbucks landing page when using their wi-fi.


This, like the new Launchpad features on Mac OSX Lion, is showing an increasing trend toward a portal-like hub. Not only is it an aesthetically pleasing front page, it is giving users instant access to content that would be found on a "community corkboard". Additionally, they're collaborating with big boys such as Yahoo, Wall Street Journal, iTunes, LinkedIN, and Foursquare. Pretty smart and exclusive.

Though I mentioned a similar approach a few months back when talking about Flipboard, streamlining visually interesting access points into the collection on a portal-like landing page could be a great way to get people interested in what you have. When we find text-heavy pages or lists, it's more common to scan the text block, then click somewhere else. But, videos, photos, and other multimedia usually mean lingering longer and processing information faster. In fact, Dr. Lynell Burmack makes a point that youth today averages 22,000 hours of television before they graduate from high school and that "we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text" due to processing data from images simultaneously versus processing data in text in a sequential fashion.

Though I don't think a content inventory of an entire site needs to be focused on visual (especially when considering universal accessibility issues), I do think it's an important approach to keep in mind. Plus, it helps give a fresh and modern feeling to archival collections that may initially be seen as archaic.

Follow An Archive Day!

Today is Follow An Archive Day!

Here's some great info about it: http://followanarchive.blogspot.com/

So what are you waiting for? Follow An Archive!

Erm, scratch that ...

In my first Freeview, I mentioned Drop.io - a great site that allows for real-time file sharing. Well, scratch that - a great site that allowed for real-time file sharing.

Last week, it was announced that Drop.io is no more. Acquired by Facebook, the site's technology, assets, and front-man Sam Lessin will be moving to the Facebook HQ to work on some secret, yet probably amazing, features for FB. Content on Drop.io will be download-able until Dec. 15, at which time it will then be gone.

In CEO Mark Zuckerberg's own words, Facebook does not buy companies for the company- they buy them for the people behind the companies. I understand that FB's competitors are Google and Apple and that the big boys' table is a bit of dog-eat-dog. But, what about the beauty behind users' choice? Drop.io is so unique and innovative and with this acquisition, will that mean to get this technology we must use via Facebook?

Call me a cheerleader for the Mom-And-Pop, but it's seeming to be more difficult to support independent developing sites and applications. But, so goes the world. All the little fish are hoping to jump on the big fish for a ride, even if it means into their mouths!

Oh, how far we've come!

Photo correction à la 1980's Soviet Russia?



It's hard to believe how far we've come. I know, personally, whenever I modify images, I grumble if I have to use Photoshop CS3 instead of CS4 or CS5!

Break

I'll be taking a break - should have a few good posts coming soon, though!

In the meantime, check out all of the great articles Gizmodo has. It's definitely one of my favorite sites to go to waste a little time :)

Apple Bullet Points

Just a quick entry today with some interesting bullet points from Apple's 4th Quarter Earnings Call. (Read some of the notes taken from TechCrunch)

- Apple is shipping more iPads than Macs.
- For the entire year, they have sold 40 million iPhones and 7.5 million iPads.
- There are over 30,000 iPad applications available.
- Steve Jobs doesn't like 7" tablets, which means the rumored iPad Mini is most likely nonexistent. Says Jobs, "The reason we wouldn’t make a 7-inch tablet isn’t because we wouldn’t want to hit a certain price point, we just think it’s too small for the software." Boo.

Anyway, some interesting bullet points, not only for those who are thinking of implementing iPads into the archives/special collections, but also for those who are digitizing collections to be put on the Web. Mobile sites formatted for iPhones or other devices are becoming more essential. Just look at those numbers!

Eyes of the Beholder

After launching in late 2009, the Google Goggles app has expanded to the iPhone. Google Goggles is an innovative new take on visual searching, that allows users to take a picture of art- and text-based images and search the web.

Here's an intro that was created by Google back in December 09, when it hit the Android mobile market:



Though it's not useful for 3-d objects, like a computer mouse, as demonstrated by IntoMobile, it is pretty good for book covers, logos, product packaging and labels, bar codes, and artwork. (CNET's Web Crawler blog compared how the app differs between the Android and iPhone versions, coming to the conclusion that they are pretty much the same, save a few bells and whistles.)

I've spent the last few days thinking of how this app could be useful in the archives. There are currently search engines that use an image as the actual query, such as TinEye. This browser-based site takes either an uploaded image or image URL and searches the web for the same or edited versions (Here's a demo video). This method is useful if you are searching who has used your own images for their sites (and to determine if they have paid the prescribed licensing fees!) or are trying to find more information on an unknown photo that may be somewhere else. However, this requires that the image in question is already in digital format and that you are right in front of your computer. Google Goggles allows you to take a quick, low-res digital photo of the item in question and instantly gives you the search results, saving you a step.

In the past, I've found random artwork in a collection where I've had no idea what it is and who it was by. In the past, searching words like "woman+harp+blindfold+painting" may give me a variety of artworks. But, with an app like Google Goggles, I can take a quick picture of it and it gives me search results for Watt's Hope painting.

Overall, the main attraction of this app is its portability. Sometimes, when at an on-site appraisal, it may be difficult to know exactly whether a piece of artwork or an item with a vintage logo may be worth something. Perhaps this app can make the decision a bit easier!

Playing Tag in the Stacks

Many of you may know what the above image is. QR codes, or Quick Response bar codes, have become quite the rage over the past few years. They've been placed on products, advertisements, blogs, and art. In fact, at a gas station yesterday, I saw a QR code on an advertisement that said "Find them all and collect the points!" They can be URL hyperlinks, text based information, phone numbers, email addresses, Google Map locations, or any other kind of data. These codes are read through several different methods, the most popular being cell phone cameras (also known as mobile tagging). The basic idea is that an individual uses a QR app and their camera to "scan" the code, and then can be taken to a website which then gives them a wealth of information. EDUCAUSE has a fantastic PDF "7 Things You Should Know About QR Codes" which not only gives information, but also a great example of using QR codes in an exhibition-like setting.

There have been so many blogs, articles, and websites talking about how QR codes and mobile tagging can enhance user accessibility and experiences with a collection, such as using the codes as exhibition captions. In particular, Dan Hooker wrote an interesting article back in 2009 about use in libraries. In it, he touches on QR code use in catalog records, such as in University of Huddersfield's OPAC records (example: Managing Information Technology in Secondary Schools). But, there are a number of other ways to use QR codes as internal support in archives.

In my experience, I have noticed that there may be several databases or catalogs that indicate location of archival materials. However, there is a bit of a breakdown if 1) the box in question is not in its proper location, 2) the box location database, catalog, or finding aid has incorrect or incomplete information, and 3) the actual item numbers within the box or container are incorrect or incomplete.

With so many finding aids being converted into EAD and being completely accessible online, this is a perfect situation to use QR codes to link between the item (or box, depending on the level of description your institution requires) and the finding aid or catalog. QR codes are printable on regular pieces of paper. You can cut them out, include them on the box or folder or item, and have the code link back to the finding aid or other digital catalog record in order to have instant access in the stacks.

Additionally, when archival items are pulled for exhibits or patrons, instead of writing locations down on the back or relying on the patron to put folders in the correct boxes, printing out QR codes and clipping or taping them to folders can solve many potential problems. Not only will it save time for researchers and patrons, but it will save time for the archivist and (most likely) the student employee who is returning the items to the stacks.

Reading these QR codes are as simple as purchasing a 4th generation iPod touch for an organization (starting at $299, though some institutions offer an educational discount for $229) and installing one of several different free QR reader/scanner apps (CNET reviews 4 best QR code apps for iPhone and iPod Touch). You can also use an Android powered phone or mobile device that has a camera and can access the App Market for any of their compatible QR apps. Keep in mind, if you are linking to a web-version of your finding aid, your campus should have wireless Internet access in order to use the iPod. Otherwise, your iPhone, Android phone, or other mobile device that is on a 3G or 4G network will be fine.

For so long, libraries and archives were given the RFID speech that these chips were the answer to so many problems. But, the cost of RFID is high and the amount of maintenance it would require in a large collection is unfathomable. QR codes can be printed as items are pulled and, though they are owned and patented by the Denso Corporation, they are free of license restriction and codes can be generated and used without any cost. In an economic time where organizational cutbacks continue to challenge information centers, what's better than free?

Freeviews - Image Hosting and Sharing

Freeview: (noun) A review of my favorite free websites, programs, and applications. Read my first freeview on file sharing!

Image Hosting and Sharing

Beyond the obvious advantages of having archival images on the Internet to increase access and discoverability into your collections, hosting images on the net is the perfect way to manipulate simple webpages to look more interesting or to give more detail on a specific item. Basic HTML tags can enhance a traditional text-based record with a visual description through photo slideshows or clickable images.

3rd place:
Picasa is Google's photo sharing program. You can download a client for your computer or you can use just the web version. I like Picasa because I am HUGE Google product user (Blogger, Gmail, Google Calendar, iGoogle Homepage, Google Earth... You name it, I use it!). It's nice that when I blog and upload a picture through Blogger, it is automatically hosted in a blog-specific Picasa album for future use. There is a slideshow feature, which is essential these days for a photo sharing site, but it lacks any customization. There is only one layout choice and in order to obtain the embed code, it takes 4 or 5 clicks through a navigational path that is clunky and complex. Additionally, when you upload an image through Blogger, it is automatically put into your Picasa album, even if you've never used or wanted to use the site. It seems a bit like cheating to gain users.

2nd place:
Flickr, the Yahoo based photo site, has gained notoriety within the archives/library world with the Library of Congress' Photostream. It's very easy to use and since it's so popular, there is a bevy of other users that are already on the site who can browse other photostreams, allowing for additional access points into your collection. Plus, they allow geotagging, which is a pretty cool feature. However, keeping in mind this is a review of the free version, there are so many limitations. The free version only gives you 100 MB of space per month and only the 200 most recently uploaded images will appear. There are embed-able slideshows, but like Picasa, it isn't very customizable.

See what you think: Archives Reboot on Flickr



1st place:
Photobucket is a great site to use that gives a lot of bang for a $0.00 price tag. Granted, like Flickr, there is a Pro version that gives even more, but this review is for the free version. Not only does Photobucket allow for slideshows that are easily manipulated and completely customizable (they offer over 75 different templates). There is also a built-in image editor that gives you the option to add several different effects or fix various problems, like color. Photobucket also keeps statistics on your photos, both as individual photos and as an album, allowing you to track which of your images are most popular, even if they've been embedded into a third party site, like a digital catalog on your institution's site. Unlike Flickr, you don't have to have a site-specific account logon. If your organization already has a Facebook account, you can log in with that! It's always nice to cut down on various usernames and passwords. For the free version, you get 500 MB of space (overall, versus the 100 MB per month with Flickr) and 10 GB/month of bandwidth. You also get a custom URL for the root album and the video uploading limits are 10 minutes long, as opposed to 90 seconds with Flickr. The only deterrent to using Photobucket is the annoying advertisements. Many ads are videos, so sounds sometimes come on when you use the actual Photobucket site. However, if you are using it merely as hosting in order to embed the images/videos onto another site, there are no ads that will appear.

View All Images

See what you think: Archives Reboot on Photobucket

Is WebP a threat to JPEG?

There has been an awful lot of chatter lately about Google's new file format WebP (pronounced "weppy"). Let's break this down a little bit.

WebP is faster and smaller than JPEG.
The WebP gallery shows examples where they are 10% - 60% smaller in size than JPEG. This means that not only is the user saving valuable server space and hosting costs, but webpages that feature WebP images will also load faster and save bandwidth. With the advent of mobile websites and with more users utilizing cellular 3G networks rather than T1 lines, faster and leaner webpages are a must. Additionally, suggesting a way to reduce your organization's server space could earn you an Employee of the Year award.

TIFF is still the standard for archival master images.
However, many institutions and organizations have an arsenal of JPEGs for several purposes: digital exhibitions, gallery images, low-res teaser images, etc. JPEG is lossy. WebP is lossy. The last thing you want is your master digital files to lose quality. In terms of digital longevity and permanency, TIFF is definitely the way to go (or PNG or GIF or PDF). WebP is not trying to replace this.

JPEG2000 is still dragging feet- Will WebP take off?
The JPEG has been around for nearly 20 years and has been the standard for basic, accessible images almost as long. JPEG2000 was created 10 years ago and is smaller in size and better compression. But, why hasn't it lifted off? It's a better file format than JPEG, for sure. Maybe it's the tangle of patents surrounding the format. Maybe it's that browsers can't handle them. Or, maybe it's that it doesn't play well with many other applications. Though some may think the future may be grim for the WebP, the overall idea of less bandwidth and space being used may outweigh any problems. Already, applications, like Pixelmator, are beginning to integrate WebP formats. Maybe it's just a matter of time?

Freeviews - General File Sharing

I am an avid user of free sites. For example, I've used Photobucket, Flickr, Picasa, Shutterfly, Webshots, and Fotki all at one point or another. And that's just for personal photos! I've decided to start reviewing free services sites so that others may benefit from my personal experiences, time, and effort. Many of these sites allow for an upgraded "Pro" account that gives more features and less advertisements, however I've never paid for a subscription in my life. Why? Because I'm cheap. And honestly, so is your institution/organization. "Freeviews" (Free/Reviews) will be a series of blogs that will include categories such as file sharing sites, image hosting sites, media converting freeware, and other sorts of free programs that you might find useful in your special collections, archives, libraries, and other organizations.

General File Sharing

With so many people having multiple computers/smartphones per household (or even, per person), ensuring that you have access to your own files can become quite a hassle. When I was in college, common solutions were flash drives, emailing files to yourself, or even the "ancient" method of burning CDs with files. These are cumbersome methods. Flash drives are easily lost, email inboxes get flooded, and CDs... well, who likes CDs anymore? Here are my picks:

3rd Place: YouSendIt has become a huge hit, earning itself a spot in Inc. Magazine's Top 500 companies of 2010. However, I've found that YouSendIt allows for limited file sizes, fast expiration times, and a less-than-stellar user interface. I also dislike that I have to stay on a specific webpage while my file uploads. However, it has earned itself a spot in Inc. Magazine's Top 500 companies of 2010, so they're doing something right. Plus, nearly everybody has heard of the website, making it easy to use with others.

2nd Place: Drop.io is a collaborative, file-sharing masterpiece. It allows real-time sharing on a page (similar to the Facebook Wall or Wiki) and also gives a unique e-mail address, voicemail phone number, and conference call phone number, all while protected under custom privacy settings. Here's a great example: A hiring committee creates a drop page for each candidate. Members can add the candidate's resume, references, and cover letter. They can chat on the page about the candidate's qualifications and share URL links, such as the candidate's blog or professional website. Using three-way calling with the Voicemail phone number, a phone interview can be recorded and posted to the drop page for all hiring committee members to review. Additionally, a variety of applications can be added onto the drop page to create a stronger collaborative project. The drawback to this is that it isn't the best tool to share your own files with yourself from device to device. It's clunky to download files that have been posted to the drop and space is limited.

1st place: Dropbox is the king of file syncing. It allows for file sharing both between different people and different devices. It runs quietly in the background and gives a substantial amount of space. Unlike other programs, Dropbox does not have a single file size limit, just an overall user space limit. The free version starts you off with 2 gigs of space and gives you the opportunity to "earn" more space by referring friends, up to 8 GIGS! (Speaking of which, if you want to give it a try, please use my referral link so I earn more space!) That's pretty generous for a free version with no advertisements. That's right, folks- no annoying blinking boxes telling me I'm a winner or pop ups offering me grants to go back to school for an Associate's degree. The front end of this site is also very nice- it makes sense and it very easy to navigate. It also provides automatic backup with your shared folders. Though it does allow for shared folders with other users and public URL links to share with those who do not have a Dropbox account, it really should be seen more like file syncing rather than sharing.



I think this will become an ongoing blog series. Next time I'll do my 3 favorite photo hosting and sharing sites. Stay tuned ...

iTunes U - Beyond Books and Chalkboards

Ever since my Library Automation course in 2008, I've been honking the iTunes U horn. With the latest Apple update, I was once again drawn to checking out new content on iTunes U and catching a few lectures. In case you're not familiar with iTunes U, it is a fantastic platform for quality content sharing. It is built into the iTunes Store in the iTunes client (available for free for Mac and PC) and allows for free educational materials to be downloaded by the masses. Designed to originally target educational content from colleges and universities, it has grown to include museums, libraries, media groups, and even state governments. You can download (for free!) lectures from Harvard, a library's read-aloud podcast, Supreme Court case summaries, and a virtual art exhibition and take them along with you on your iPhone or iPod. As its slogan says, with iTunes U, you can "learn anything, anytime, anywhere."

There are so many ways to use iTunes U since it can offer a variety of formats: video, audio, text, slideshows... It's almost hard to find a way NOT to use it. With so many people connecting to iTunes every day with their iPods and iPhones, it just makes sense to meet your audience. Here are just a few ways that you can give your organization a presence on iTunes U and start creating more access points into your collection:

PODCASTS This is a very simple way to keep featuring pieces in your collection or news about your institution. So many organizations blog or update a group Facebook page anyway, why not turn it into a podcast too? Go Daddy offers blogcasting software, but I've never used it. Why? Because I am committed to free and open-source software. Grab a webcam or video camera (give yourself an excuse to get a Flip!) and create your own video blog files! Use YouTube to double your exposure! Or, just record your voice and use a screen capture software to record a PowerPoint or Web Demo (I'm a fan of Jing). My only warning is to ensure that you regularly update your podcast (unlike how I've waited 3 weeks to update this blog!). Users who frequently update their podcasts generally won't continue subscribing if it hasn't updated in 20 days.

VIRTUAL TOURS It's within an archive's nature to keep things hidden. Let's be honest- stacks aren't very exciting. But how will people ever know what cool stuff is your collection if they can't see them?? Chances are, you probably have to pull materials out every so often for a tour group coming by (students, other staff, bosses, etc...). While it's out and you have your 10 minute speech ready, why not record it? Not only will it give some attention to these materials, but it will also draw more attention to other materials in your collections. "Wow, look at this fantastic little video on this vintage typewriter! I wonder if they have any others!"

PROFESSOR COLLABORATION Now this may only apply to those special collections that are within an academic setting, but I bet if you thought hard enough about it, you could translate this approach to other environments as well. Some professors (especially those historian ones!) like to encourage students to use primary sources. What better way than to offer your own collection? iTunes U allows you to group together information, almost like a course management software. By uploading some pieces from the collection, such as audio recordings, photographs, and/or documents, you can allow the students to download these materials at their leisure. Another way to look at this outside of a University setting may be to hold contests for your organization- for instance, the best poster designed from uploaded materials by a 6th grader gets a family pass to your museum!


Take a look at iTunes U if you're not familiar with it (you can download iTunes 10 by visiting http://www.apple.com/itunes/). There are so many ways that it can be used to benefit an archives, special collection, and library organization. On the iTunes U Profiles page, there are some great examples of how universities are using it to their advantage. As the Arizona State University's Adrian Sannier puts it: "It's not just books and chalkboards."

Panoramas & Object Movies

Since August 2009, I've been working at OSU digitizing artifacts. Last March, I presented my project at the Indiana University's SAA Student Chapter Conference "Change and Continuity" and had several people mention that they were thrilled to see and hear what our collection has done with these 3-d objects. One fellow presenter from Chicago said that they had loads of artifacts that were just gathering dust because if they weren't on exhibit, they sat in storage.

My original project meant taking pictures of the items, creating metadata, and publishing them to a homegrown online collection (Artifacts in the Richard E. Byrd Papers). However, as I began working with the artifacts in a gallery for an exhibition, I began to toy with the thought of using panoramas and object movies.

Panoramas were my obsession when it came to showcasing the hard work the curator and librarian went through to put the exhibition together. I only used freeware and open source software, which became a bit of a hassle. I found that Hugin was great for stitching together the pictures, but did not allow hosting. CleVR allowed both stitching and displaying, but was slow, a little buggy, and did not completely wrap around.

Panorama of BPRC Exhibit from Back on CleVR.com

I ended up not even using these uploaded images. Instead, I dropped the JPG into an iMovie project, then used the Ken Burns effect to scroll across, giving the illusion of a viewer spinning around the room. (See the movie I did on the exhibition wallspace on YouTube)

Object movies were my obsession to transform the average digital collection of artifacts into something much more tangible. Object movies are the interactive "Grab-and-Spin" images that many cell phone webpages use to allow the viewer to see the item from all sides (Object movie example from a Verizon Wireless page). How cool would it be to have the viewer click these artifacts and spin them around to see a 360 view?

As far as object movies, it was more of a dream than an execution. I realized that if panoramas were that difficult to create with free software, I'm sure that object movies were far more difficult. I ended up just taking multiple pictures of the object from different perspectives, uploading them to Photobucket, creating a slideshow, then embedding that into the actual digital record. (For example: The Bumstead Sun Compass) This worked and was free, though it wasn't exactly what I had envisioned. If my job position were to ever move forward as a permanent digital initiatives archivist or something, I would shell out the cash for EasyPano or something. But, for now I'm just willing to share my experience and hope that it helps you!

EAD Candy

I've been working on an EAD project for the Richard E. Byrd Papers and have been looking at other organizations' methods of presentation. The traditional layout like University of Michigan's Glenn Allan Papers is the kind of presentation I'm learning towards. But I found some sites that took things a bit farther. University of Michigan's Polar Bear Expedition is set up more like a webpage with links to different parts of the finding aid.

I started to think about different ways organizations present their finding aids. A few weeks ago, I read about Tab Candy, a new addition to Firefox that re-works the traditional browser tab.

An Introduction to Firefox's Tab Candy from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

This addresses many problems that we have when it comes to handling virtual information. I think these user needs and problems translate to navigating EAD finding aids as well.

Infoguilt - Utilizing Tab Candy allows the user to set things aside that they genuinely want to read and see, but just don't have the immediate time availability. With the wealth of information that goes into a finding aid, we cannot expect the user to realistically see everything at once. Adding wordy paragraphs and introductions to the finding aid may almost discourage a user from browsing. If you think of a letter or email, are you more likely to read everything in a paragraph-style format or in a bullet-list format? With collections that may be divided into 20 or more series, then even more subseries, and then even more boxes, it can be easy for a user to get lost without a concise map.

Scattered work - Users don't like having to navigate through scattered tabs. As an admitted over-user of the target="_blank" code, I have to remember that keeping a user interested and happy is more important than keeping a user on your page if they aren't even using it. Avoiding the "Open in new..." command would help someone stay in one area for their one task. Remember, it's important to utilize breadcrumbs or some other directional aid, so that your user won't get lost.

Organizing virtual space - With so much information in a finding aid, it can be difficult for a user to continually keep track of which boxes he or she may want to eventually research more in depth. Having an option to "save" a specific file or page without cluttering the user's work space is a lesson that can be taken from Tab Candy. Since implementing a "star" or "save" element to your finding aid may be tricky, an easier way may be to offer a "Email this page" feature. This would, of course, be part of the actual web page rather than the EAD finding aid, but a good step to implement to help the user remember what they want to come back to. Again, it leads back to avoiding infoguilt!

What are your thoughts on presenting EAD finding aids? Have you found a specific method or feature that is working really well for your organization? I would love to hear more about specific cases!

There's an App for that!

On July 20th, Apple reported its 3rd Quarter results, claiming a record-breaking revenue of nearly $16 million dollars. They sold over 17 million iPhones and iPads in a single three-month period. In fact, three million iPads were sold in only 80 days. The popularity is astounding.

Unlike some devices where Internet and Email is exclusively available through a mobile browser, iPhones and iPads offer the beauty of apps. And some of these apps are getting pretty fancy.

Take a look at the Flipboard.



It allows the user to keep up with his or her social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, by means of a magazine-style interface. How cool is that??!

One of the biggest buzz-topics within archives and libraries is bringing down the silos that separate the many different facets of an information system. For example, the library may use DSpace for its main digital repository, the special collections use blogs and web resources like Flickr and YouTube, the photo archives might use a homegrown system built for JPEG2000 images, and your university archives may simply be using HTML, text-based webpages on the main site. Sure, you could have one website that links to all of these different areas, but this will not appeal to the browsing user's attention span.

Focusing on usability in addition to access is getting significantly difficult, since many users are getting more information than ever while exerting less effort. Keeping your organization's information streamlined and easily browse-able is key and I think that's why apps and Apple's mobile products have become so popular.

While I'm sure that app cost a fortune to create, there are other ways that information centers can implement the fundamental ideas of Flipboard.

Focus on your media. Yes, I know your HTML finding aid probably took a TON of time to compile and update and publish on your website. And while it may make complete sense to you, the average user is attracted to shinier things, like photos, videos, and interactive items. It's so much more fun to click and watch then to scroll and read! Instead of uploading a picture or two of your latest acquisition, maybe put it into a video! Take some pictures, put it in iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, record a voiceover about the item and how it came to be in your collection, and add some background music.

Streamline your collections. Even if it's just cross-referencing items within your collection, taking time to put several things together in one aesthetically-pleasing format will mean more exposure of items with decreased user effort. For example, instead of making a video of one item that is particularly cool, maybe combine it with other items and make yourself a mini "exhibition" via video. For the 50th Anniversary of the Byrd Polar Research Center, I made a YouTube video of each of the cases in the anniversary exhibition (here's a link for one of the cases!). Though it may take a couple days to really get in the groove of your movie maker of choice (mine is iMovie), it is knowledge that will be useful for many projects, such as podcasting or adding to iTunes U.

I hope this gives a little inspiration in your own info centers. I'd love to hear about your own experiences, too! In the meantime, I'm off to technolust over the latest and greatest gadgets. 'Til next time!