But check this out. I know the iPhone has a barcode app that is quite good. There are a couple other barcode scanners as well, and they all seem to be primarily designed for consumers who want to check product pricing. But Android has a barcode scanner as well, with one additional feature that is potentially game-changing, for us: it allows you to scan a book, and then do a full-text search on it, and it’s fast. As roving reference becomes more popular, tools like these are destined to become back-pocket necessities. Android’s barcode app brings full-text search capability directly into the stacks in a way that integrates seamlessly into the roving work-flow. Imagine the possibilities…

Step 1: Get a book and a Droid

Step 2: Download the free barcode app

Step 3: Scan in the book's barcode

Step 4: Search in the book

Step 5: View your results

No, I didn’t just remember that I actually do have a blog. Sometimes you just need to take a break from things to gain new perspective.

So I’m late to the party to do my bit for the promotion of Information Tomorrow. I was very pleased to be asked by Rachel Singer Gordon to write a chapter on my thoughts about the ILS.

I think it’s an incredibly useful book for those people who are insterested in getting a sense of what the relationship between libraries and technology looks like today. Of course, a quick glance at the list of contributors should be enough to convince you to grab a copy.

Having contributed the chapter over a year ago, I have to say that I’ve revised my thinking somewhat since then. I stand by what I wrote, mind you. The library-vendor relationship is, in far too many cases, an unhealthy and unbalanced one. I now temper that conviction with a more pragmatic approach to the problem and feel that while it’s important to let your vendor know that you’re unhappy with aspects of their business model, developing good working relationships with them provides a vital symmetry to that loop.

Of course, the market will sort it all out in the end. With the rise of the open source ILS, that playing field is about to tilt drastically in favor of libraries.

At any rate, he's speaking again tonight at AADL. If you're in the area and have the evening free, I'd highly recommend his talk. From the AADL website:

What does the UM/Google partnership to digitize the UM Library mean; what significance will this have for libraries, researchers and the public; and why is this so controversial? Through this project, UM hopes to guide more users: to their local libraries; to digital archives of some of the world's greatest research institutions; and to out-of-print books they might not be able to find anywhere else--all while carefully respecting authors' and publishers' copyrights. This event is the Library Director's program for 2006.

Each year, AADL Director Josie Parker chooses a current topic of community, state or national concern to highlight at a special program during this national week of celebrating libraries.

His talk will be at the Downtown branch in the Multi-Purpose Room. Regretfully, I'll be missing it due to prior commitments.

[tags] Google, Wilkin, Books, OCR, Ann Arbor, AADL [/tags]