Sizing Up the iPad for Healthcare

MobiHealthNews has produced a 25-page report on the iPad and tablet PCs in the healthcare field. Luckily for those of you still in light summer-reading mode, they were considerate enough also to offer a distillation of their findings in the form of an easy-to-understand infographic.

Game On: iPad’s Got Competition

It looks as though the iPad’s brief stint as the only must-have tablet device on the market may be coming to an end as competitors begin announcing their new “iPad-killers.”

Here Come the Enhanced E-Books

At the outset, e-books started out as little more than digital words on digital paper. But as many predicted would happen, the e-book boom has allowed the e-book to come into its own as a distinct medium.

PDF Conversion: How, For Whom, and When?

This DCL classic white paper is still a must-read for anyone considering converting their documents to PDF format. Broken up into four sections, it includes details on the issues involved in converting to the three different types of PDF files (PDF Image Only, PDF Normal, PDF Searchable Image) as well as information about estimated prices for PDF conversion.

Improving the E-Reader: Kevin Rose on What E-Books Should Offer Consumers

Kevin Rose shares some interesting suggestions for how e-readers could and should take advantage of technology they already have in order to become the socially oriented devices they were destined to be.

Seeing Standards: A Visualization of the Metadata Universe

Indiana University Libraries have produced a beautiful visualization of metadata standards, comprising what they term “the metadata universe.”

Canada Says Goodbye to the Phone Book

Print-lovers shouldn’t panic yet, though. Residents of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal, and Quebec City (in case you were wondering what Canada’s seven largest cities were) can still receive the typed tele-tomes by making a request to Yellow Pages — for now, anyway. While there’s still no word as to whether or not print production will be retired altogether, the list of cities is expected to expand, and will soon include Winnipeg.

Defending the Library: Librarians, a Linguist, and Lady Gaga Join Forces

Many libraries have begun turning to digitization efforts as a means to cut down on staff and overhead. But this has many people asking: now that we have a vast universe of information instantly accessible from home (or the car, the supermarket, wherever), what’s the point of continuing to house print books and archives in a physical space? We’ve assembled some answers to this question, direct from the lips of librarians (and one linguist) — and with a little help from Lady Gaga.

Digital Formats Annoy Book-Burning Extremists (Humor)

Geek-humor staple xkcd cleverly illustrates some implications of the rise of digital media.

Bookless Library Doing Just Fine

Last September, DCLnews reported on Cushing Academy, the Massachusetts school that was working to eliminate all (print) books from its library. Nearly nine months later, the library has reduced its print collection from 20,000 to 8,000 books, replacing the tangible titles with digital versions.

Headmaster James Tracy says that so far, the move to digital is working; since the school’s library began the transition, it has been able to use the money saved to increase library staff — and the emphasis on digital media seems to be well-received by students and faculty as well.