Thursday, September 29, 2011

My excitment knows no bounds!

I am so excited I finally found some articles that speak to the issues I see with e-readers and the future of the librarian. What I did not expect is that most of them talk about technology as a whole so I am going to change my topic and broaden it a little to include more of the technology side of information with an emphasis on e-readers and how they will affect the roll of the librarian. It is still exciting to see this coming together and know I am onto a solid track of research that others have a strong interest in.
Another issue for me has been that we are in the process of launching the e-reader website part of our public library program so I am seeing this affect first hand and learning how to use the technology. So far the resources are very limited for those of us who have Kindles but it is interesting to see what has been made available and how this will affect the patrons I talk with on a regular basis.
I am looking forward with encouragment now. I also think the whole area of research is fascinating and love the resources available on the ALA website!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Why Can't I find information

I am having the toughest time finding anything written on the subject of ereaders and the furture of the librarian. I thought I hit paydirt on a few journal articles tonight and could not find them in tdNet so I am going to search our local ILL. I also searched the ALA website, now I am going to reach out to some of my library groups via the web.
I am frustrated at best and feel like I am at a stale mate since the outside resources are not there maybe I am researching the wrong thing!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Articles on ereaders and the future of librarians

Okay, so I have been searching for articles on ereaders and the future of librarians. What suprises me is that for the most part the articles I am finding see this as a positive trend with no impact on the librarian and his/her job. I found numerous blogs, too many to list and they talk about how we, as librarians can capitalize on this fabulous technology.
No one mentioned, and I still have more to go, how this might adversly affect the job of the librarian, self-check-out not withstanding. So, I already have preconceived notions about how I think ereaders will impact our jobs. With all the talk we have this week about factors that influence our research I better get over these preconceived notions and understand the outcomes might be completly different.
That is what research and flexible/fixed designed studies are all about, right?

Saturday, September 3, 2011

What do you think?

I had the opportunity this past week to pole many of my classmates, most of them said though they own an e-reader it is more for convenience sake and they still check out paper books mostly for the love of a book in the hand. So, my thoughts are twofold. If I am going to do a research paper on how the advent of the e-reader will affect the role of the librarian I have to be more specific in my questions and I have to find more information that supports my theory that there will be little, if no effect.
I need to also get some buy in from the local library I work at to perhaps conduct a small study to see if my theory has any validity.
The other interesting thing I found was a book that was recently published and promoted by ALA entitled "No Shelf Required: E-Books in Libraries" edited by Sue Polanka. The book itself is expensive but the information may be invaluable.