Kenneth J. Varnum – författare

We’re in a new age of Discovery. Not of the physical world but rather one that serves up appropriate resources for your library’s researchers, thanks to advancements in handling metadata, natural language processing, and keyword searching. For you, Discovery might be shorthand for single-index products such as Serials’ Solutions Summon, EBSCO Discovery, and OCLC’s WorldCat Discovery. Yet even those tools require adjustments to meet your institution’s specific needs. With first-hand profiles of 19 library projects, Varnum and his roster of contributors offer guidance on the complete range of discovery services, from the broad sweep of vendors’ products to the fine points of specialized holdings. Topics include:migrating from a traditional ILS to a library services platformcreating a task list for usability testing of discoverymanaging internal development requirements within the constraints of a small or mid-sized libraryapplying agile software methodology to a Blacklight implementationreal-world examples of usability testing, including a small liberal arts college’s implementation of VuFindmeeting the challenge of three different metadata formatspractices in the Primo community for integrating open access content into the front endserving mobile users with an app and responsive Web designanalyzing the use of facets in searchusing a single discovery tool across a library, museum, and archive; andimplementing discovery with geospatial datasets.Easy to dip into as needed, this comprehensive examination of discovery services will prove invaluable to IT, web development, electronic resource management, and technical services staff.

The time is right for this all-new survey of the library technology that’s already transitioning from trend to everyday reality. As in the previous best-selling volume, Varnum and his contributors throw the spotlight on the systems, software, and approaches most crucial to the knowledge institutions of tomorrow. Inside, readers will find concise information and analysis on topics such asmobile technologies;privacy-protection technology tools;the Internet of Things (IoT);virtual reality;bots and automation;machine learning applications for libraries;libraries as digital humanities enablers;visualizations in discovery systems;linked open data;embeddedness and Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI);special collections and digital publishing;link rot, web archiving, and the future of the Distributed Web; anddigital repositories.Sure to spark discussions about library innovation, this collection is a must have for staff interested in technology or involved with strategic planning.

The current price of virtual reality headsets may seem out of economic reach for most libraries, but the potential of “assisted reality” tools goes well beyond merely inviting patrons to strap on a pair of goggles. Ranging from enhanced training to using third-party apps to enrich digital collections, there are a kaleidoscope of library uses for augmented, virtual, or mixed reality. In this collection, Varnum and his hand-picked team of contributors share exciting, surprising, and inspiring case studies from a mix of institution types, spotlighting such topics ascollaborative virtual reality for improved library instruction, education, and learning and teaching;3D modeling using virtual reality;virtual reality as collaboration space, from gaming to teleconferencing;balancing access with security, and other privacy issues;future possibilities for augmented reality in public libraries; andaugmented reality for museums and special collection libraries.A perfect introduction to the topic, this book will encourage libraries to look beyond their own reality and adapt the ideas inside.