News

OverDrive Debuts Digital Bookmobile in New York City
OverDrive unveiled its Digital Bookmobile August 10 in Manhattan's Central Park at an event hosted by the New York Public Library. The 18-wheel tractor-trailer, which is tricked out with broadband Internet-connected PCs, high-definition flat-screen monitors, and all manner of MP3 devices, is part of a traveling outreach exhibit aimed to raise awareness of public libraries' download services. Click for pix! » » »

LibraryThing Offers a Million Covers Free
LibraryThing, the social network book cataloging outfit, is now offering a million book covers free for libraries to dress up their OPACs. The book covers are available for retrieval and use via the LibraryThing Application Programming Interface (API), subject to relatively minor usage restrictions. No more than 1000 covers can be retrieved on a given day, and the use of the service requires a one-time application for a LibraryThing Developer's Key, also available at no charge. » » »

Hugo Awards Presented at Denvention 3 SF Con
Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union snagged yet another prize, being named Best Novel at the August 9 Hugo Awards during the Denvention 3 World Science Fiction Convention in Denver. Other winners include "All Seated on the Ground" by Connie Willis (Best Novella) and "Tideline" by Elizabeth Bear (Best Short Story), and Mary Robinette Kowal took the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. » » »

netConnect Summer 2008: Free Your Search with Open Source
The University of Houston grew tired and frustrated by their commercial federated search tool and investigated open-source solutions. Although ultimately choosing LibraryFind, Karen Coombs, the school's head of web services, sings the praises of alternate contenders Index Data's Pazpar2 and dbWiz, developed by Canada's Simon Frasier University Library. » » »

Blogs

Wyatt's World

Summer Reading—Adrenaline Men

• Hit and Run by Lawrence Block (Morrow)
• Nothing to Lose by Lee Child (Delacorte)
• Requiem for an Assassin by Barry Eisler (Onyx )
• Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva (Putnam)
• The Last Patriot by Brad Thor (Atria)

Word on the Street Lit No. 6

Morrison, Mary B. Who’s Loving You. Dafina: Kensington. Aug. 2008. 278p. ISBN 978-0-7582-1514-7. $24. F
Verdict: This follow-up to Sweeter Than Honey tells the story of one woman’s relentless journey to reclaim her lost lover and her lost self-love. As Morrison reveals in her evocative, wise book, even those who find themselves caught in unsavory occupations and lifestyles yearn for true love. Essential for all adult urban fiction collections. Morrison's legion fans, as well as Zane readers, won’t be disappointed. Note that the steamy, erotic scenes may offend those with more conservative tastes. — Vanessa J. Morris » » »

Highlights

netConnect Summer 2008: Federated Search 101
Federated search is all the rage, but not all tools are created equal. Academic librarians Alexis Linoski and Tine Walczyk offer a detailed primer on how to choose a federated search tool that best meets your requirements, and whether federated search will work for you at all. » » »

netConnect Summer 2008: Building Bearcat
Selecting the right federated search product for your library is only half the battle. How do you get it up and running? Baruch College's Lisa Ellis, Joseph Hartnett, and Michael Waldman give a blow-by-blow of how they implemented Serials Solutions' 360 Search, dubbed Bearcat, after the school's mascot. There's far more to it than you think. » » »

netConnect Summer 2008: Easy ≠ Right
Melissa L. Rethlefsen says research isn't easy even with the best federated search tools, and that "true research requires more than half-heartedly picking a keyword or two, sticking them in a federated search box, and expecting the perfect set of resources to appear magically. Research requires times, discipline, critical thinking, and analysis." » » »

netConnect Summer 2008: Product Pipeline—Taking It All In
Gadget freaks rejoice! Christopher Harris tackles the Livescribe Pulse combination of a digital pen and an audio recorder; the Chumby, which he dubs "a Wi-Fi enabled pet rock"; and the Blue Snowball USB digital microphone, highlighting how libraries can use all these cool thingies. » » »

netConnect Summer 2008: Ereviews—Eye on the Environment
Are EBSCO's Environmental Complete/Environment Index/GreenFILE, Ovid's Environmental Science/GEOBASE/GeoRef, Gale Cengage's Environmental Studies and Policy Collection, and ProQuest's Pollution Abstracts ecological databases worth the green? » » »