Monthly Archives: September 2013

BibliosBCN. La Nova App Mòbil De Biblioteques De Barcelona

La ciutat de Barcelona va ser designada capital mundial del mòbil entre el 2012 i el 2018. Això no només implicarà la celebració anual del Mobile World Congress a la ciutat, sinó que Barcelona vol aprofitar aquesta oportunitat per convertir-se en el referent mundial d’aquesta tecnologia.

En aquest sentit Barcelona està desenvolupant nombrosos projectes per convertir-se en una ciutat connectada, i per això s’estan utilitzant les tecnologies mòbils per donar resposta a les necessitats dels ciutadans per millorar el seu benestar i la seva qualitat de vida.

Dins aquesta lògica, i tenint en compte el creixement de l’ús de dispositius mòbils (en el període de maig a agost, el 9,9% dels accessos als webs de Biblioteques de Barcelona van ser realitzats des de mòbils i el 3,5% des de tablets), les Biblioteques de Barcelona, la xarxa de biblioteques públiques de la ciutat, el 30 d’abril de 2013 va fer el llançament de BibliosBCN, la seva primera app mòbil.

A través d’aquesta aplicació per a mòbils, disponible en iOS i Android, els usuaris poden accedir a la informació de les activitats que es duen a terme a les Biblioteques de Barcelona, poden saber quina biblioteca tenen més a prop, com s’hi arriba, consultar el mapa de totes les biblioteques de la ciutat, els horaris i la informació bàsica.

Tota aquesta informació es pot compartir per SMS, correu electrònic i xarxes socials.

Pel que fa a les activitats, l’aplicació en presenta un llistat de destacades, però els usuaris també poden configurar la seva selecció personal d’actes preferits. Amb l’opció de calendari, a més, poden consultar totes les activitats que es fan un dia concret a qualsevol biblioteca de la ciutat. Imprescindible per conèixer tota l’oferta d’activitats de Biblioteques de Barcelona.

Des que es va posar en funcionament i fins a finals d’agost, l’aplicació ha tingut 2.921 descàrregues, una mitjana de 24 descàrregues diàries. D’aquestes el 47,7% han estat realitzades des de dispositius iOs i el 52,3% des d’Android.

Alguns experts han valorat l’app amb una nota mitjana de 7,6 valorant-ne sobretot el contingut, la funcionalitat, el disseny i la usabilitat. Això la situa en el 13è lloc en una selecció de les millors apps per a Barcelona, una llista formada per prop de 50 apps.

Biblioteques de Barcelona

www.bcn.cat/biblios

www.facebook.com/BibliotequesBCN

twitter.com/BibliotequesBCN

www.youtube.com/user/bibliotequesbcn

www.bibarnabloc.cat

BibliosBCN – The New Mobile App From the Libraries Of Barcelona

The city of Barcelona was designated Mobile World Capital for the period 2012 to 2018. This not only involves the holding of the annual Mobile World Congress in the city, but also the fact that Barcelona aims to take advantage of this opportunity to become a world reference in this technology.

In this sense Barcelona is carrying out numerous projects so as to become a connected city, and for this reason it is using the mobile technologies to respond to the needs of the citizens to improve their welfare and quality of life.

Within this approach, and taking into account the growth of the use of mobile devices (during the period from May to August 2013, 9.9% of the accesses to the websites of Libraries of Barcelona were done from mobiles, and 3.5% from tablets), the Libraries of Barcelona, the network of public libraries of the city launched, on 30th April 2013, BibliosBCN, its first mobile app.

Through this application for mobiles, available in iOS and Android, the users can access information about the activities being carried out in the Libraries of Barcelona, can know which library is the most nearby, how to get there, consult the map of all the libraries of the city, the opening times and basic information.

All this information can be shared by SMS, email and social networks.

With regard to the activities, the application presents a list of highlights, but the users can also configure their own personal selection of their favourite events.  With the option of the calendar, moreover, they can consult all the activities taking place on a specific day in any library of the city.  It is essential for knowing the complete offer of activities of the Libraries of Barcelona.

From the moment it began working and until the end of August, the application had 2,921 downloads, an average of 24 downloads a day.  Of these, 47.7% were from iOS devices, and 52.3% from Androids.

Some experts have rated the app with an average mark of 7.6, above all rating the contents, the functionality, the design and the usability.  This situates it in the 13th position in a selection of the best apps for Barcelona, a list made up of around 50 apps.

Biblioteques de Barcelona

www.bcn.cat/biblios

www.facebook.com/BibliotequesBCN

twitter.com/BibliotequesBCN

www.youtube.com/user/bibliotequesbcn

www.bibarnabloc.cat

Start Spreading the News!

Newspapers

The 2014 IFLA International Newspaper Conference Start Spreading the News! will be held at FamilySearch Headquarters, Salt Lake City, Utah February 4 -5, 2014 As shown by surveys conducted by the National Library of Australia, the California Digital Newspaper Collection, the Cambridge Public Library, and others, historical newspapers are an important source of information for genealogists. Not coincidentally, the IFLA International Newspaper Conference will be held just prior to the 2014 RootsTech Family History and Technology Conference Feb 6-8 (https://rootstech.org/).

Our colleagues in the IFLA Newspapers Section are currently seeking papers on or about outreach and marketing strategies for using or promoting online newspaper content, text mining, users of newspaper content, and use of news content for research purposes or as primary sources for historical or contemporary themes for its upcoming United States-hosted conference. Click here for further details.

2014 Access to Learning Award

This message is a reminder that the deadline for submitting applications to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s 2014 Access to Learning Award (ATLA) is only two weeks away! If your library or organization is currently providing free public access to computers and the Internet, we would encourage you to apply for the 2014 ATLA. Similarly, if you know of a colleague who is working an organization providing these services, please forward this message to them so they may consider applying.

Applications for the 2014 Access to Learning Award must be submitted via an online submission system no later than September 30, 2013 at 11:59 (23:59) U.S. Eastern Daylight Time. The application form is available only in English and must be completed in English to be eligible for consideration. However, while applications must be submitted in English, the foundation does offer informational brochures in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Additional information, including the foundation’s online submission system, may be found at www.gatesfoundation.org/ATLA. Please send any inquiries about the ATLA to atla@gatesfoundation.org

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Simplified Chinese Electronic Resource Guide

Earlier this year the IFLA Acquisition & Collection Development Section (ACD) published some new translations of its widely read Electronic resource guide, including Chinese (classical, or traditional).

The ACD Section has just announced the launch of a   simplified Chinese version, which will complement the classical one.

Effectively, while classical Chinese is preferably used in various parts of the Chinese-speaking world (notably Hong-Kong and Taiwan), simplified Chinese is applied across the board in Mainland China and various parts of Southeast Asia.

Great work ACD.

International Games Day

stock-photo-13080073-board-games-detail

Here’s a message from Philip Minchin in Australia you may be interested in:

‘Hello library colleagues!

We have always known that libraries link their communities to the wider world. Now we have a single event that will connect libraries on every continent – including Antarctica – in a single chain of communication lasting over 24 hours.

International Games Day @ your library is a completely free event that links libraries all around the world. It is auspiced by the American Library Association. All you have to do to participate is have some games (of any kind) in or around your library on the day – this year, Saturday November 16. The event can be as simple or as elaborate as you like! You can read more about it, and see the free promotional posters you can use, at the link just given. To register, just go to http://bit.ly/igd13reg.

As part of International Games Day, we are running a special worldwide game that travels from library to library – the Global Gossip Game. It too is completely free – all you need to play it is a phone to receive a call when your turn starts, and the ability to make an international call to pass the game onto the next library when your turn is up. (The call isn’t always international, and we can manage with Skype or an email if you can’t make a phone call.) All countries and all languages are welcome to apply!

All the information is at the link above, but there is one important fact I’d like to emphasise – this year we are going to ALL SEVEN continents! We have a library in an Antarctic base that will be playing. So by participating your library will be linking up with other libraries literally all over the world! It’s a great way to get some positive news coverage for your library from local media, and to remind people how important libraries are in maintaining the linkages of language and culture that connect our communities to the rest of humanity.

Thank you for your time, and I hope to join you in celebrating libraries and the spirit of playful learning on November 16!’

 

Is yours an innovative library?

Innovative libraries – don’t miss this opportunity! EIFL’s Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) has launched a new award – for ‘Creative use of ICT in Public Libraries’.

  • The prize is US$1,500.
  • The deadline is October 30 2013.
  • Public and community libraries in developing and      transition countries may apply.
  • You can apply in English, French, Russian or Spanish.

Click the link for more information –

http://www.eifl.net/news/new-award-creative-use-ict-public-libraries

 

This is the 6th EIFL-PLIP Innovation Award call. The awards recognize and celebrate the work of innovative libraries. Apply now – you could be a winner!