LISNews: Librarian Blog Since 1999

After over a year of wishing and several hours of searching (spread out over that year) I have finally found an app for my Android powered smartphone which will allow me to add annotations and highlights to Adobe Acrobat .PDF files. The program is called Repligo Reader from Cerience and is available on the Android Market either on your phone or on the web.

Full review at: http://www.ideationizing.com/2011/03/pdf-annotations-on-android.html

P.S. I have nothing to do with Cerience. I just found a good product that meets my demands for allowing me to maintain control over my documents and annotations, and I wanted to tell people about it.

Local residents who have ever wondered exactly how much electricity is gobbled up by their household appliances now have a way to find out: Head to the local library.

Libraries throughout Santa Clara County are loaning out new Kill-A-Watt EZ Meters for free to residents, which can be taken home and plugged in to any household appliance to find out exactly how much energy the appliance uses, and what that costs the homeowner. The program has been a hit with the public, especially in Sunnyvale, where the meters have been checked out 64 times since July 1.

"I loved the idea, and people are excited to learn how much energy they are using every day," Sunnyvale director of libraries Lisa Rosenblum said. "We want the process to be as simple as possible for people, so it's totally free and we are encouraging residents to come check them out."

As part of an IMLS funded Early Career Research Grant, Dr. Vandana Singh (Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences at University of Tennessee-Knoxville) is working on a 3 year research project that will compare the technical support for Open Source Integrated Library Systems with proprietary Integrated Library Systems.

In phase 1 of this research project, we are collecting data regarding the expectations of librarians for technical support and the available channels of technical support. We will identify the expectations of librarians about technical support for ILS (both open source software and proprietary software. And, we will assess the effectiveness of the current channels and processes for technical support in satisfying the expectations of the librarians.

At this stage, we are looking for participants interested in contributing to this study. If you would be willing to participate in the study or can make some recommendations for potential participants that would be greatly appreciated. At this time, the only information we are soliciting is:

Are you currently using an ILS?
Are you using an open source or proprietary ILS?
What type of library are you working in? (School, Public, Academic, Special, etc.)
Is your library in rural area or urban?
Would you be willing to participate in this study? (Participation entails responding to survey questions administered electronically and/or participating in interviews).
If you are interested in the general description and progress of the project, you can find more information at
-- Read More

If you are a parent or a teacher or a writer or a child, if you've had the gift of an extraordinary educator, if you've ever felt small, if you're prepared to have your heart swell with hope or you'd just enjoy a good laugh, get your hands on a copy of this unpredictable, heart-warming super-hero tale -- and then rise to its challenges to live life, exercise your strengths and recognize greatness in yourself and others.

You can listen in on our chat about this book on our Just One More Book! Children's Book Podcast.

Author: Troy Wilson (on JOMB)
Illustrator: Dean Griffiths (on JOMB)
Published: 2004 Orca Book Publishers (on JOMB)
ISBN: 1551434350

Looking for more inspiring teachers in children's books? Check out 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature on A Year of Reading (thanks to Franki, Mary Lee -- and to Tricia for the reminder).