January 2018

Raspberry Pis as Catalog Computers

As library budgets and fundings continue to be diminished, we must look for creative outlets to increase reallocation. Libraries should also look to increase their usage of Free Open Source Software (FOSS) when available and see how FOSS directly aligns with the views and policies of the library system. We are effectively able to integrate both monetary reallocation and the usage of FOSS by replacing old catalog computers with Raspberry Pis. This report will detail an estimation of the initial investment and future reallocation by using Pis as well as explain how using FOSS betters patron privacy and overall security.

From rPi Catalog Computer Case Study

The Kindle Changed the Book Business. Can It Change Books?

Now, however, Amazon’s ebook project comes to a crossroads. The Kindle team has always professed two goals: to perfectly mimic a paper book, and to extend and improve the reading experience. That’s what readers want, too. In a world filled with distractions and notifications and devices that do everything, the Kindle’s lack of features becomes its greatest asset. But readers also want to read everywhere, in places and ways a paperback can’t manage. They want more tools, more features, more options, more stuff to do. Amazon’s still working out how to satisfy both sides. Whatever route it takes, the next decade of Kindle is likely to be even more disruptive than the last. First it changed the book business. Next it might help change books themselves.

From The Kindle Changed the Book Business. Can It Change Books? | WIRED