Reading on screen versus reading on paper

I found a fascinating article in Scientific American titled "The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens" by Ferris Jabr. Jabr reports on several experiments conducted pitting reading on paper versus reading on screen for conprehension, and finds that people still tend to learn more and retain more from reading in print. But, as electronic versions of books and other sources improve and provide better visual cues, will this change?

DALL Spring Institute

On Friday, April 12, 2013 DALL is having our annual Spring Institute at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library (Dallas Public Library) in Downtown Dallas from 12:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Lunch will be served.

Cost for attendance: $25.00

Please mail your payment to:

Dallas Association of Law Librarians
Attn: Treasurer
P.O. Box 130875
Dallas, TX 75313

Speakers are:

    Denise Chochrek, Senior Research Analyst for Frito Lay/Pepsico
    Katie Hut, Manager of Library Relations,  Practising Law Institute
    Emily Rushing, Competitive Intelligence Manager and Firiel Hubbell, CI Specialist, Haynes and Boone
    Keynote Speaker: Philip Rosenthal, Co-Founder and President of Fastcase

Topics include:
 

• Knowledge Management in a Legal Setting
• Libraries Transitioning to Ebooks and a demonstration of DiscoverPLUS
• CI on a Budget: Starting and Sustaining a CI Program with Free/Low-Cost Tools
• Reinventing Law from Inside the Law Library: How Librarians Can Promote Competition and Innovation in Legal Publishing

Location:

Dallas Public Library
Harmon Room
5th Floor
1515 Young Street
Dallas, TX 75201

Parking is $1.50 in the Library garage and please bring your ticket to the event to have it Validated.

Get driving directions via Google Maps.

Please register through the DALL Survey Monkey.

For additional information, please contact Candace Cathey at cmcathey1@sbcglobal.net.

See you April 12th!

More about ebooks

Evaluating eBooks in Law Libraries

Posted on January 28, 2013 by pllprivatelawlibs

Ellyssa Kroski, Manager of Information Systems, New York Law Institute
ekroski@nyli.org | http://www.nyli.org | http://www.ellyssakroski.com
Bess Reynolds, Technical Services Manager, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
breynolds@debevoise.com

The brief post describes the session that Kroski and Reynolds did for LLAGNY recently. The best part is that both speakers linked their SlideShare presentations to the post. I highly recommend going through both slide sets for a good overview of ebooks from both slightly different law library perspectives.

GPO and eBooks

The USGPO has struck a deal to see government documents via the Apple iBookstore. See more at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/law_librarian_blog/2012/08/gpo-strikes-a-deal-with-apple-to-sell-federal-ebooks.html

Alexandria 2.0

Article from Wired.com regarding the creation of "Alexandria 2.0", that is, the Internet Archive project. Brewster Kahle explains how he copies rare and out of print books for preservation.

Lead paragraph:

Here’s the problem with libraries. They catch on fire really easily. As such, they were the prized targets of the invading hordes of antiquity – the model collections of knowledge of their times, whose only fault was their inherent flammability. They were one-man, one-torch jobs. But the hordes didn’t prize the library only for how powerfully it burned. Back in those days, if you wanted to kill a culture, you killed its library. All it took was one chucklehead with a flaming stick to annihilate thousands of years of accumulated knowledge. And it happened often. (cont)

PLI Cordially Invites You to Attend our Discovering Discover Plus Breakfast at AALL this Year

PLI will provide a live demonstration of their new ebook database, Discover Plus on Monday July 23nd, from 7:00-8:15 AM at the Sheraton during the AALL Annual Conference in Boston. Interested, please email libraryrelations@pli.edu.

eBook Publishing Made Easy

I was intrigued by this post on eBook publishing. Imagine if we could author our own books or guides and push them out in ePub format to our attorneys!

eBook Publishing Made Easy: Google Docs + Sigil + Calibre
richmccue.com
6/6/2012

Hat tip - Law Librarian Blog

Out of the Jungle: Mutabilis mutandi

Out of the Jungle: Mutabilis mutandi
Betsy McKenzie relates several interesting twists in texts on eReaders - such as replacing the word "kindle" with "nook" in War and Peace. How do you "nook" a candle?

Mobile Technology Online Conference

Title:  Access by Touch: Delivering Library Services Through Mobile Technologies

When: 9:00am – 4:30pm central, Friday, June 8, 2012
Where:  Online – from the comfort of your office
Website:  http://www.amigos.org/mobile_tech

From computers to the Internet, libraries have successfully met the challenge of adapting their services to changing technologies. Today's challenge is delivering services to smartphones, eBook readers, and tablets to users on the go who now view more content on mobile devices than desktop and laptop computers. CDs and DVDs are becoming passé, eBook sales outpace paper books, and users increasingly download music, movies, and books from iTunes and Kindle, storing their purchases in the Cloud.

This online conference will address the technical issues related to pushing library content and services to mobile users. Topics to be addressed include selecting and creating eBooks, building mobile-friendly websites, selecting and developing apps for library users, and circulating library materials through mobile devices. Our list of speakers includes librarians, academics, and business trendsetters. Amigos members and non-members, join our online conversation and be a part of this informative, interactive June 8 event.

It’s difficult to keep up with changes in mobile technologies, so spend time with us June 8^th to bring yourself up to speed. Seating is limited and early bird registration ends May 25, 2012.  Both individuals and groups are welcome. Recordings will be available to all registrants. To learn more and to register, visit the conference website at http://www.amigos.org/mobile_tech.

Harry Potter and eBooks

JK Rowling has announced her Pottermore shop, the exclusive home for the Harry Potter series in eBook. The shop is located at http://shop.pottermore.com/en_US?c=USD. The complete list of compatible devices is located at http://shop.pottermore.com/en_US/Help/faq_compatibledevices?c=USD.

LexisNexis eBooks

February DALL Meeting

This month's DALL meeting will be February 29th at Fulbright & Jaworski from 12-1PM:

Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P.
2200 Ross Avenue, Suite 2800
Dallas, Texas 75201

Topic: Lexis E-Books, The Evolution of E-Books in the Legal World

• E-Books Basic Features & Linking Functionality
• Content availability
• Lending
• Pricing & Licensing
  

Speaker: Scott Meiser, Director of Product Planning

RSVP to the Evite invitation or to Charles Woodard (cwoodard@hunton.com) by Monday, February 27, 2012.

Barnes & Noble considering selling Nook Unit

Barnes & Noble is considering selling their Nook ebook reader unit, according to the New York Times. This could be good news for the company, although -

... a spinoff of the unit would raise questions about Barnes & Noble’s ultimate fate. While holiday sales tied to the Nook, including both devices and digital content, rose 43 percent from the period a year earlier, the company’s brick-and-mortar sales rose just 2.5 percent.

Apple poised to bring important changes to its iBook platform

Apple poised to bring important changes to its iBook platform

Ars Technica reports that Apple is announcing eBook changes that may impact textbook buyers and publishers.

Thomson Reuters Proview

Thomson Reuters has a new app called Proview and it is geared toward eBooks and allows you to interact with them in new ways. Users can highlight and annotate book text, search the book and get results without leaving a page, conduct reference research on WestlawNext at their convenience, and receive updates of current information. To get started, order a preview or get free samples, download the fee app, and launch it.

Free rules!

The Law Librarian Blog notes the existence of several free ebook versions of the New Federal Rules of Evidence and the 2012 editions of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure. They are available in PDF and ePub versions.

Libraries and digital futures

Libraries face a digital future
Lessons from overseas suggest there is more to digital libraries than e-books
Gill Hitchcock
Guardian Professional,
Monday 14 November 2011
03.00 EST

and

Future librariesChange, options and how to get there
Learning from the Future Libraries Programme Phase 1
Local Government Group and Museums Libraries & Archives

The article and the report are from a UK library perspective, but raise interesting questions reguarding libraries and digital formats.

Hands-on: the new, keyboard-free Kindle gets out of the way of the book

Hands-on: the new, keyboard-free Kindle gets out of the way of the book

Review of the new Kindle wifi only model.

Amazon now a publisher

This New York Times article discusses Amazon's new efforts with publishing.

Will the E-Book Kill the Footnote?

New York Times opinion piece, with a brief history of footnotes, and a question as to whether or not eBooks will kill off the footnote.

Question: how will this affect legal treatises?