CIL'06: Supporting the Digital World with Gadgets

Hope Tillman, Director of Libs, Babson College

• Questions to consider:
• what gadgets are your customers using now?
• also how staff can use
• trends:
• convergence...multi-purpose...phone/camera/email
• personalization / customization
• miniturization
• zdnet's top 10 gadget must-haves
• changes every few weeks
• pocket scanners
• reading pens
• translations, definitions
• scanning
• docupen
• digital pen
• write on a tablet, and pen records up to 40 pages
• security
• everywhere
• fingerprint scanning
  
• on keyboards (for authentication!)
• on usb drives (bio stick fingerprint reader)
• Naperville Public Lib (ILL) fingerprint id for internet access...WOW!
• RFID
• privacy concern vs. inventory control
• special purpose chips
• usb drivers
• debit card keys
• book locker
• wireless devices:
• mice / keyboards
• cordless presenter
• Game machines
• sony psp
• GPS devices
• scavenger hunts
• geocaching game
• fun way to pull in new users (more folks in tbay might have gps than pdas...the hunting/fishing crowd?)
• library applications:
• podcasting/geocaching/blogs
• operations (inventory control)
• communication/collaboration
• learning/entertainment
• next?
• e-ink, e-paper
• "soft" hardware...eg. fabric keyboard
• wearable computing (eg. ipod controls on sleeve)
• movie glasses
• head-worn display
• Games and Libs:
• embedded librarians
• going where the GenM's are
• play a character in a game who comes to help...guided learning...the M's expect to find faq's / cheats, so give it to them
• "Ambient Findability: What we find changes who we become"
  
• it's all about being user-centric