A total of 154 people attended these events. The attendance was down from last year’s post holiday eBook tour. I think that’s a good thing. I think it shows that people are:

• Getting the hang of using our eBook collections.
  • Or know someone who has already gotten the hang of it that can help them.
• Purchasing tablets/smartphones instead of eInk eReaders.
  • The OverDrive app (available on all major mobile operating systems including Kindle Fires and Nook HDs) makes using our eBook collections much easier.
• Getting their questions answered when they visit their library.
  • Library staff is more knowledgeable and comfortable with our eBook collections and how they work.
    • Maybe the staff training in December and eBook page revisions helped?

The audiences for the eBook clinics were overwhelmingly 50+ with most people 60+. This is just like last year.

I have scheduled a new round of eBook Consultations for April and May. I enjoy the consultations. I like being able to help people individually. It gives them the chance to ask ‘silly’ questions they may not ask in a room full of people and they get answers specific to them and their device.

I tried to take pictures of the attendees at the eBook clinics this year. I got pictures of 6 of the 9 clinics.

Today her teacher sent home a list of the class’ emotions during the week. I guess she asked each one how he or she was feeling and wrote them down. Some of the children mention what makes them happy (my sister, Valentines day, school etc.) others, what makes them mad or sad.

My daughter’s response:

I would feel scared if I saw a bear!

That’s my girl! I would too.

I wish I knew what the exact question was. I’ll have to ask her about it tomorrow.

If you don’t want to read the entire post at least read the paragraph below. Then watch the video.

The company, which was founded in 2010 has built a peripheral device that you plug into a computer or laptop that can enable a gesture-based user interface that incorporates all directions — not just a flat perspective. Some have described it as a Kinect for computers. The device has a 150-degree field of view and can accurately track the movements of all 10 fingers down to the 1/100th of a millimeter, which is apparently pretty darn impressive according to reviewers.

How cool is that!

Not sure if it is something the library could use soon but it is a very interesting bit of technology to keep an eye on.

They are:

How People Change – David Brooks

New Job Title: Innovation Catalyst Librarian – Andy Burkhardt

Too Much Assessment Not Enough Innovation (PDF)- Brian Matthews

He went back in time earlier this week, kidnapped Edgar Allan Poe and brought him to the library FOR THE CHILDREN. Here’s the proof!

Grab some popcorn and enjoy the wonders of modern science!

It was a great weekend. I learned a lot and met some very smart/funny/nice people. I left with my head full of ideas that I’m still trying to process. Being surrounded by people smarter than me is always a treat. Especially when they are willing to share their knowledge.

I am very thankful to the Friends of the Library for financing this expedition and hope to do it again.

Notes can be found here.

Links to slides and keynote presentations can be found here.

I joined Audible last year as a way to supplement the audiobooks I was getting from the library via OverDrive and OneClickdigital. I like the service and enjoy the extras you get every now and then from them. Last week Amazon announced Whispersync for Voice and gave Audible members some free samples to try. The samples are all classics so the books are free anyway but the audiobooks usually cost between $5 and $20. I thought I’d give it a try and I must admit, I’m impressed.

I’ve always liked Whispersync with Kindle books. Remembering where I left off on one device and picking up at that point on another? It’s magic to me. How they made the magic work from audio to text? No idea. But it is very, very cool.

I downloaded Treasure Island as an experiment. I haven’t read it yet. (Don’t scold me! I’m catching up on my classics.) I started listening to it in the Audible app yesterday. Got a few chapters in. Stopped it. Opened the book on the Kindle app for the iPad and was reading where I left off on the audiobook in seconds. I read a little, stopped then opened the audiobook and was listening where I left off reading. Fascinating!

I buy very few eBooks and none of the ones I’ve purchased have been from Amazon. That may change. They have over 14,000 titles that utilize Whispersync for Voice. And that number will probably increase quickly. So, I can purchase a Kindle edition of a book and add the audiobook version of that book at a discounted price. Some of the discounts are $3.95, some are more.  For me, as an audiobook fan, it makes me consider buying the text version of a book. It would be nice to have a book in text and audio for a reasonable price. Being able to pick up where you left off on either version makes it a very tempting offer.

I may even consider buying one of the Kindle Fires because they can play the audiobook while you are reading. I may not but it’s making me think about it. I wasn’t last week.

At least I’ve got a few classic audiobooks to listen to.

I won’t pretend I understand how it works but it looks impressive. It’s supposed to come out next month. I wonder how much it will cost? I may have to try it out.