I posted an opportunity recently on the ALSC Listserv for children’s librarians to give some feedback to a start-up based in Silicon Valley that is developing a new eBooks distribution platform.  “This is great!”  I thought to myself.  “Children’s librarians know children’s literature and children’s electronic services better than any other profession, they’re always willing to share their expertise and they’ll understand what a great opportunity it is for them to speak directly with a children’s ebook developer to help create a platform that is well designed, age-appropriate and contains high quality content!” Boy, was this a learning experience for me.  A conversation erupted from this one post that didn’t have anything to do with Bookboard’s new service. Instead, children’s librarians from all over the country began voicing their opinions about what our profession’s role is when it comes to digital media for children.  The comments ranged from anecdotal evidence...

Keeping tabs on civilian phones? There's more than one way to skin that cat.

Choosing apps that will support your teaching objective is a time consuming task for sure, however managing multiple iPad devices in a primary elementary classroom can quickly get out of hand, espe…

ALA TechSource Workshop on Sep. 12, 2013.  Also See Library Technology Report Issue "The Library Mobile Experience: Practices and User Expectations."

There has been a lot of talk about how the ‘flat design’ trend of more austere UI is an indication that users are more comfortable with interfaces now. When touch screens were new, user…

Over the past year I have been researching the use of digital media with kids, and in particular interactive media. I wanted to know more about integrating interactive or new media into library pro…

A lot of the "retail" stuff in here could be replaced with "library" and not much would change!

Last week, the Campaign for a Commerical-Free Childhood filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission against two developers of apps for young children, Fisher-Price and Open Solutions. The co…

Smartphone-monitoring bins in London track places of work, past behavior, and more.

"Why would someone ever want to do that" is the wrong question. It doesn't matter why they want to do it. The fact is that people do.

A discussion of how librarians can use apps to serve children with autism.

Startups disproprtionately create apps for the young and well-off… and they’re missing out on profits and innovation by ignoring other groups.

You’ve built an enormous business around a desktop website. Unfortunately, people around the world are spending more and more time on mobile devices. The vast

Young children—even toddlers—are spending more and more time with digital technology. What will it mean for their development?

Report claims "significant discrepancy" between what apps say and what they do.

It’s all about user experience. Once you get past whether a book is available on a particular reading platform, the experience is the distinguishing factor. How do you jump back to the table of contents? How do you navigate to …

Using iPads for early literacy.