QR Codes are here to stay!

QR Codes are now becoming mainstream!

First a definition of QR codes, a QR code is a specific matric barcode (two dimensional code) readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera/smart phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.

You may have noticed these black-and-white squares showing up in subway ads or in pages of magazines, coffee cups, on buildings in NYC, posters, storefront window displays, TV advertisements, business cards, websites, and yes even libraries. Thanks to our growing addiction to our smartphones, you'll likely be seeing more of them. When accessed with your smart phone, a QR code takes you to a landing page where you usually find special promotional content.

Here's how the QR codes work:

First, you must download a QR scanning application for your smartphone. If you have an Android based OS smart phone you can follow this link Android QR Code App. If you have a smart phone with a different OS you can follow this link for the top supported mobile phones QR Codes for other mobile phones. Another popular site is RedLaser  which are available for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Symbian phones. When you see a QR code on a poster or billboard, open the scanning app and use the phone's camera to focus the code on your screen. The application will recognize the code and automatically open up the link, video or image in your phone's browser. You just need an internet connection to access the content.

Generating your own QR code:

There are a lot of sites that are available for generating your own QR codes. Some of the more popular sites are ZXing, KAYWA, and QR-Stuff. You can get started generating QR codes relatively cheap for under  eighty dollars. You can purchase QR labels and printers fairly cheap at Newegg. Once at Newegg website, in the search box just type in “QR codes”.

Brands and companies are increasingly taking advantage of this relatively low-cost marketing tool. A recent issue of Wired magazine included an ad by watchmaker Tag Heuer that contained a QR code that led users to images of its latest collection of timepieces. Magazine ads have used QR codes to promote everything from hair-care products to sheepskin boots to diamonds.

Measuring success

Like internet ads, QR codes can help companies measure how many people are using the code and at what time. By having easily traceable analytics, marketing firms can view results and know if their QR code campaign is successful. While some consumers know how to use their phone cameras to scan, many do not. Libraries are gearing up to offer 1on1 training for QR codes as they provide computer training for their patrons. I feel QR codes are here to stay and will revolutionize the way companies and libraries market their services.

Tax time again and no forms are being mailed from IRS

Its tax time again and currently about 70% of Americans file their taxes electronically. The IRS is no longer mailing out tax forms unless specifically requested by households. However, if you follow this link to the Brentwood Adult Reference Website you will be able to download all federal and NYS tax forms https://sites.google.com/site/adultreferenceservices/brentwood-community-resources.

In addition, hundreds of the most popular federal tax forms and publications are available for download from http://www.irs.gov/ for sight impaired individuals. These products range from talking tax forms to Braille formats, and is accessible using screen reading software, refreshable Braille displays and voice recognition software. Click on the links below to download these forms and publications:

Download Accessible Tax Forms (Braille and Text Formats)
Download Accessible Tax Publications (Braille and Text Formats)
Download Accessible Talking Tax Forms
Download Tax Instructions (Large Print Format)
Download Tax Publications (Large Print Format)

The IRS also offers customer service assistance for persons who are deaf or who have hearing disabilities. People with TTY equipment can call 800-829-4059, which is a toll-free number, for assistance.
People who are unable to complete their tax return because of a physical disability may get assistance from an IRS office, or through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) sponsored by the IRS. Taxpayers can find a nearby location by calling 1-800-906-9887 or checking the partial list on the IRS’s website.

Is there a Hardware Key Logger in your Public Library?

I came across an interesting article at Sophos. Key logger's have been found in public libraries in Manchester, England. This innocent looking USB key captures all keyboard activity. This means any email, banking account, social networking, or any other passwords entered at keyboard will be logged into this USB key. At an opportune time the perpetrator will sit down at the workstation and unsuspectingly remove the USB into his/her pocket. Know your computer hardware and prevent identity theft.

Amazing Libraries from Around the World

Salt Lake City Public Library – Salt Lake City (UT), USA
With music playing on every floor, an art gallery, a firm “no censorship” policy on their computers with Internet access, and a cafe serving coffee and sandwiches, this is not the library I grew up getting shushed at.
Photo: Pedro Szekely

Strahov Theological Hall – Prague, Czech Republic
The ornately decorated library in the Strahov Monastery contains 18,000 religious texts, including many editions of the Bible in numerous languages.
Photo: Rafael Ferreira

Biblioteca España – Medellin, Colombia
Built on a hilltop in Santo Domingo — an area that was heavily affected by violence and drug trafficking in the 1980s and 1990s — Biblioteca España was built as part of an initiative to enhance urban development and to provide more opportunity to the city’s poorest residents.
Photo: danjeffayelles

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library – New Haven (CT), USA
A gift from the Beinecke family to Yale University in 1963, this windowless building has walls made of translucent marble, specifically designed to preserve the rare books and manuscripts inside, including one of the 48 remaining Gutenberg Bibles.
Photo: KAALpurush

National Library of Belarus – Minsk, Belarus
The newly designed National Library of Belarus houses over 8 million items and has the only public observation deck in Minsk.
Photo: Giancarlo Rosso

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library – Toronto (ON), Canada
The University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library has the largest collection of rare books and manuscripts available to the public in Canada, including an extensive collection of Lewis Carroll first editions, biographical material, and photography.
Photo: Andrew Louis

Seattle Central Library 
The Seattle Central Library was built in 2004 to be an inviting and functional public space. Its “Book Spiral” displays the library’s entire non-fiction collection in one continuously winding run, enabling library-goers to peruse the 4-level section without being interrupted by stairs.
Photo: Stephen J. Friedman, MD

Danish Royal Library – Copenhagen Denmark

TU Delft Library – Delft, The Netherlands
The Delft University of Technology library was designed by architectural firm Mecanoo to be a “triangle of grass and glass.” The building is topped off by a large metal cone, which houses four reading rooms accessible by spiral staircase.
Photo: Stephanie Braconnier

Halmstad Library – Halmstad, Sweden
The design of the Halmstad Library was inspired by the surrounding trees and features wall-to-wall windows with views of parkland visible from virtually anywhere in the building.
Photo: ET Photo

Vasconcelos Library – Mexico City, Mexico
Also known as the Megabiblioteca, the  Vasconcelos Library had to be closed for almost two years in 2007 due to major architectural defects. Now open again to the public, the library houses 500,000 volumes, a music room, a 500+ seat auditorium, and a botanical garden.
Photo: Omar

Vancouver Public Library – Vancouver Canada
The central branch of the Vancouver Public Library System is a nine-story glass building surrounded by a glass-covered walkway and Coliseum-esque colonnade complete with social space, reading areas, and study rooms.
Photo: Darren Stone

British Library – London, England
One of the largest libraries in the world, the British Library holds over 150 million items from countries all over the world — 100 million of which are also available digitally. Notable works include the Magna Carta, Captain Cook’s journal, and the only surviving medieval manuscript of Beowulf.
Photo: Steve Cadman

Photos courtesy of:
http://matadornetwork.com/trips/photo-essay-amazing-libraries-around-the-world

Library Thing

About LibraryThing - LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily. You can access your catalog from anywhere—even on your mobile phone. Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth.

What software does it require?
None. If you can read this, you can use LibraryThing.

What does it cost?
A free account allows you to catalog up to 200 books. A paid account allows you to catalog any number of books. Paid personal accounts cost $10 for a year or $25 for a lifetime. (See here for organizational accounts.) I conservatively predict the revenue will enable me to recline all day on an enormous pile of gold.

What information do I need to give up?
 None. Setting up an account requires only a user name and a password. You can also edit your profile to make yours a "private" account. With a private account, nobody else can see what books you have.

What else does LibraryThing do?
LibraryThing is a full-powered cataloging application, searching the Library of Congress, all five national Amazon sites, and more than 690 world libraries. You can edit your information, search and sort it, "tag" books with your own subjects, or use the Library of Congress and Dewey systems to organize your collection.

If you want it, LibraryThing is also an amazing social space, often described as "MySpace for books" or "Facebook for books." You can check out other people's libraries, see who has the most similar library to yours, swap reading suggestions and so forth. LibraryThing also makes book recommendations based on the collective intelligence of the other libraries.

Who is behind LibraryThing?
 LibraryThing was created by Tim Spalding, a web developer and web publisher based in Portland, Maine. Tim also runs www.isidore-of-seville.com and www.ancientlibrary.com. Since becoming a "real" business in May 2006, LibraryThing now employs a number of talented people. More about the rest of the team on the Press info page.

Where does LibraryThing get its information? LibraryThing uses Amazon and libraries that provide open access to their collections with the Z39.50 protocol. The protocol is used by a variety of desktop programs, notably bibliographic software like EndNote. LibraryThing appears to be the first mainstream web use.

To join Library Thing follow screen shots below:

Shelfari - a Virtual Book Shelf

Shelfari helps you discover new books. Shelfari lets you see what other members are reading now and what books are the most popular. You can even discover the top sellers in your favorite genre! You can connect with friends to see which books you have in common, what they are reading or what they think of the books they have read. You can ask your Shelfari friends for book recommendations or create a group where you can talk about your books. Shelfari lets you build a virtual book shelf to display the books you have read, want to read, or are reading now. Then you can be the critic in rating and reviewing your books so your friends can see what you think. This is an excellent “free” tool to help you discover and pick your next book to read. Once book is selected you can go you your local public library and take out the book or inter-loan from another public library.

First join Shelfari and create an account at http://www.shelfari.com/.

Enter in your account information:

Once account is created you can sign in with your credentials.

To add books to your shelf select profile and then “my shelf”.

Now select “I plan to read”.

Select “it’s easy to add your books”.

You can select by “most popular, recent edits, subjects, series, community lists, tags, or by author”.

You can also perform your own custom search then select add.

Now “add” the book you want to your shelf.

Now select one of the three options below and select next.

You can add a review if you like.

You can edit my edition details.

Tag your book.

Then select what to do next and select done.

Now if you select profile and my shelf you will see the book you just added.

iBook for the iTouch and more!



iBooks is an amazing way to download and read books. iBooks includes the iBookstore, where you can download the latest best-selling books or your favorite classics – day or night. Browse your library on a beautiful bookshelf, tap a book to open it, flip through pages with a swipe or a tap, and bookmark or add notes to your favorite passages. Watch the prices of the ibooks they tend to be on the high side. You can download the iBook app free!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8



Features:

• Enjoy a complimentary copy of the beautifully illustrated classic, Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne.
• Download many of your favorite books from the included iBookstore.
• Read a free sample of any book on the iBookstore before making it a part of your collection.
• Reorder your books on your bookshelf or browse them in a list sorted by title, author, or category.
• Organize your books and PDFs into personal Collections. Swipe left or right to jump between collections.
• Easily adjust your screen brightness to find the perfect lighting for any environment.
• Change the font size and pick from six included typefaces to make your books more comfortable to read.
• Find a word, character, or phrase anywhere in your book with the built-in search feature.
• Keep your bookmarks, notes, and your current page wirelessly in sync between iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with the new automatic bookmark syncing feature.
• Quickly find a specific page using the page navigator at the bottom of every page.
• Read your books on white or sepia colored pages.
• Choose left or fully justified text layout from Settings.
• Highlight your favorite passages and add notes with the built-in bookmarking features.
• Add books in the industry-standard ePub electronic book format to iTunes and sync them to iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
• Add PDF documents to iBooks from Mail, or add them to iTunes and sync them to iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
• Print PDF documents and notes you've written in iBooks using AirPrint.
• Use iBooks with the amazing accessibility features in iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch – such as speaking the words on a given page.

Requirements:

• iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPod touch (2nd generation), iPod touch (3rd generation), or iPod          touch (4th generation) is required.
• iPhone or iPod touch must have iOS 4 or later.
• The iBookstore is available in many countries. The selection of books in the iBookstore may vary by country.
• An Apple ID is required to download from the iBookstore.
• Automatic bookmark syncing requires an active Wi-Fi or cellular data connection and an Apple ID.
• iBooks only opens books published in the ePub electronic book format or documents in the PDF format.
• To add ePub books from outside the iBookstore to iBooks, they must be DRM-free and synced using iTunes 9.2 or later.
• Some PDF documents may not be compatible with iBooks.

Documentation above provided by:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8#