libraries

We've been surveying the library community to get feedback on the Edge Initiative's beta benchmarks. Beta Benchmark 9 focused on libraries sharing their best practices and expertise. The new version of the benchmarks was just released, strengthened by your feedback! A bit of tweaking and consolidation happened so that Benchmark 9 is now Benchmark 6. There have been a few changes to the indicators, however the core benchmark remains the same. 

What's happening with apps in the library world? Many libraries are designing apps to extend access to their own services and others are creating applaudable programming. Libraries are providing online access to previously closed collections, demonstrating how to download ebooks on the go, and integrating apps provided by library database vendors to allow for vetted research from mobile devices. 

I spent the last couple of days in beautiful Telluride, Colorado at the R-Squared conference. I'll be blogging about various sessions and ideas over the next week, but thought I would start by sharing a video that was played during the opening session of the conference. Libraries: A Digital Bridge was created by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is an inspiring 4-minute look at the powerful role computers in libraries play in communities.

We recently conducted a survey to get responses on The Edge Benchmark Three, which is focused on providing technology to meet community members' job-seeking and entrepreneurial needs. The variety of responses to this survey varied widely. One person responded, "Are we supposed to be doing all that?" While others saw this Benchmark as a necessary and essential challenge and some attested that their library is already providing all the services and technology mentioned.