Macgyver Tip

From lifehacker.com
March 15, 2011

Whitson Gordon — We've shared a few ways to boost your cell phone signal before, but technology weblog The Next Web shows us another way: just stick it in a glass.

We've used this trick to boost our smartphone's volume before, but TNW claims it actually works for signal as well:

So a few years ago one of the waitresses there discovered (how?) that if you put a phone in an empty glass it dramatically improves the reception. The Pasta e Basta restaurant is basically stuck in a concrete basement so reception has always been awful. But since they found out about this trick they at least have had enough reception to make and receive calls.

The waiter gave me glass, I put my iPhone in, reluctantly, and lo and behold: I got 3 bars and no 3G but some GPRS. Not perfect but a huge improvement from the ‘No signal' message I got earlier.

Of course, you probably can't make a call with your phone stuck in a glass, but you could probably manage to send a text message or two, or receive voicemails and jump outside if they're important. This is the first we've heard of this method, and a few people have noted that this does work, but we haven't tested it ourselves.

New Materials

• Customer Service at the Library: Making the Experience Meaningful & Memorable

FYI: DVD contents include ABC's of Service, The Value of Customers, Why People Stop Coming Back, Customer Needs and Wants, Cultivating Loyal Customers, Healthy and Deadly Attitudes, The Power of a Smile, Words to Use and Words to Lose, The Value of Thank You, Customer MAGIC, Telephone MAGIC, Email Etiquette - from Program Contents

• Microblogging and Lifestreaming in Libraries by Robin M. Hastings

FYI: "Microblogging and Lifestreaming in Libraries is a start-to-finish passport to using such services as Twitter, Friendfeed, and Tumblr to engage, and communicate with library patrons. Veteran microblogger Robin Hastings leads reads readers through how to use these cutting-edge social media applications to keep patrons updated, market the library, and build community. This comprehensive field guide covers everything from how to feed blog posts into Twitter, feed tweets into a Web site, and utilize Twitter for library events, to ways to incorporate these tools into your organization's marketing strategy." - from the Foreword

New Book

• Integrated Advisory Service: Breaking Through the Book Boundary to Better Serve Library Users edited by Jessica E. Moyer

FYI: "Library collections today have grown beyond books and periodicals with numerous diverse formats, ranging from audiobooks and graphic novels to film, television show recordings, and even games; but until now, little has been done to maximize the connections between these media. Integrated Advisory Service: Breaking Through the Book Boundary to Better Serve Library Users is designed to assist librarians in making connections between all the different media in library collections and advising patrons." - from the back cover

Golden Books Gown

Ryan Novelline fabricated a gown entirely out of Golden Books. The "fabric" is 22,00 square inches of illustrated pages sewn together with golden thread.

For a more detailed look at the construction process, take a look at Ryan's online portfolio page.

Free Books

Give Away some Ebooks
by David Lee King on March 7, 2011

A couple weeks ago, I saw a pretty cool idea at the Denver International Airport, and thought it could be adapted to libraries.

1st Bank had some large advertisements up in the airport, giving away free ebooks (see the pic in this post – this was one of two signs I saw). All you needed was a smartphone with a QR Code reader – aim and read the code, and you were directed to download a free ebook (there was also a button to open a new banking account).

Pretty ingenious, if you ask me. Just guessing here, but I’m pretty sure the only books I saw were “free” out-of-print classics. For most people – people who are stuck at the airport with nothing much to do – what a cool idea! Give em a book (even if it’s freely available online), and brand it as your business.

How can this work for a library?

Why not copy this idea? Use a QR Code, put up a sign at the mall or the grocery store, and offer a “free” ebook (maybe something legally free from Project Gutenberg). Send the user to a mobile webpage, branded as your library – with a link to the ebook, and some info about your other cool services.

In essence, it looks like the library is giving away a free ebook – that works with multiple ereaders! Even those pesky Amazon Kindles that don’t play well with libraries.

New Books

• Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence edited by Ruth F. Metz
• Reference Reborn: Breathing New Life into Public Services Librarianship edited by Diane Zabel

FYI: "The roles of reference librarians are constantly changing. Today it's not unusual for librarians to also serve as trend trackers, data analysts, project managers, IT troubleshooters, marketers, and staffing specialists. Academic and public libraries across the country are experimenting with new service models to accommodate new technology, budget constraints, and a clientele with new needs and expectations. Not surprisingly, librarians are assuming revised roles as a result." - from the back cover