Presentation for the Association of Rhode Island Health Sciences Libraries, January 2013.

1. Today’s Tech: What a Practicing
Librarian Needs to Know
ARIHSL Workshop
Amanda Izenstark
January 10, 2013

2. Workshop Overview
• Introductions (10 minutes)
• Hands-on exploration (30 minutes)
• Discussion (30 minutes)
• Information overload? (5 minutes)
• My geeky presentation (20 minutes)
• Questions (and more discussion) (remainder)

3. Let’s get our hands dirty the way the real geeks do
HANDS-ON EXPLORATION

4. Hands-on Exploration
• Each of you will receive a worksheet
• Each worksheet lists a tool/service and a
product
• Define the tool/service
• Answer questions about the product
• Be ready to tell the rest of us about it
– It’s ok if you’re not an expert in 30 minutes!
• Questions? Problems? Sheer terror? Just ask!

5. Tell us what you found!
DISCUSSION

6. Tool/Service Discussion
• What tool/service did you have?
• What’s the definition?
• What product did you have?
• What did you find out about it?

7. Image adapted from Allie Brosh
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-
be-adult.html 12/24/12

8. @#&@($)!#(!@#*information overload@#&@($)!#(!@#*
5 MINUTE BREAK

9. MY GEEKY PRESENTATION

10. Presentation Overview
• Cloud Computing
• Tablets
• Citation Management
• Mobile Devices
• Apps
• Keeping Up

11. everything old is new again
CLOUD COMPUTING

12. Dumb Terminal Connected to a Mainframe
Image from quisnovus
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quisnovus/5458167711 12/06/12

13. Samsung Chromebook Connected to Google
Image from Cajie http://www.flickr.com/photos/cajie/8207026732/
12/06/12

14. Then and Now
• Cloud computing is a return to the past, but
with more bells and whistles
• Then: local terminal used to maintain
database on remote machine/mainframe
• Now: local ultrabook, tablet, or desktop used
to update file on remote machine

15. Cloud Services
• Google Drive • Content Management
• Dropbox Systems (WordPress,
• Box Drupal, etc.)
• Zoho • SurveyMonkey
• SkyDrive
• iCloud
• Carbonite
• Mozy Stash

16. Caveat Emptor
• Are you backing up your cloud data locally?
• Are you aware of the service’s privacy policy?
• Is your organization OK with you using it to
store data?
• Considerations
– Google is surely mining your data.
– Dropbox is not, but don’t store sensitive files in
the cloud – or in your email for that matter!

17. AMA? APA? MLA? CBE? CSE?
CITATION MANAGERS

18. Free, Freemium*, and Fee
Free Fee
• CiteULike • EndNote (and
• Connotea EndNote Web)
• EasyBib • RefWorks
• Papers
Freemium • EasyBib
• Zotero
• Mendeley
✱ Freemium: Pricing structure for a
program or service that is free for
a certain level of service, paid for
a higher level

19. I take it everywhere
UNDERSTANDING MOBILE DEVICES

20. Major Categories of Mobile Devices
• Smartphones
– iOS (iPhone)
– Android (Droid, Nexus)
– Windows
• Tablets
– iOS (iPad)
– Android (Nexus 10, Various Others)
– Limited Android (Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble
Nook)

21. Major Categories of Mobile Devices
• E-ink E-Readers
– Kindle
– Nook
• Ultrabooks
– MacBook Air
– Samsung, Asus
– Chromebooks
• Laptops
– Too many to note…

22. “Do you have an iPad I can borrow?”
TABLETS IN LIBRARIES

23. Tablet Lending
• Sounds great, and many libraries are lending!
• Problem is…
– Tablets are not meant to be used by more than 1-
2 close personal friends
– Usually tied to one credit card number / app store
account
– iPads retain personal data even after being
overwritten by a backup (Gmail databases, iChat
history, etc.)

24. “But I want to do this, and this, and this…”
APPS, APPLICATIONS, AND
WEBAPPS

25. Apps
• Shorthand for Applications
• Usually indicates a mobile application
– But not always!
• From the .app extension on Apple programs

26. What’s an Application?
• Essentially, a computer program
– Microsoft Word or Apple Pages
– Excel or Numbers
– Etc.
• Where do I get them?
– Device’s App Store (iTunes, Google Play, Apple’s
App Store, etc.)
– Open web (but be very careful!)

27. What’s a Webapp?
• An application run through a browser client
• Examples:
– Millennium’s Java-based interface that you use in
your browser
– Google Drive
• Does not require local installation
• Requires a browser and Internet access to run

28. Finding Apps
• Consider your audience:
– What’s their workflow?
– What do they use?
– What do they need to do?
• Peruse the device’s App Store, read reviews.
• Getting started?

29. But but but…
HOW DO I KEEP UP?

30. Great Sources for Tech News
• Lifehacker lifehacker.com
• TWiT Network Podcasts twit.tv
– This Week in Tech
– This Week in Google
– MacBreak Weekly
• Computers in Libraries
• ALA TechSource www.alatechsource.org/blog

31. QUESTIONS?

32. Thank you!
Amanda Izenstark
amanda@mail.uri.edu