LISNews Librarian And Information Science News

Here's A Neat Web Worker Daily Post that gives a great breakdown of the options for getting online on the go. They cover Cellular Options from all the carriers and Wi-Fi Options you're likely to run across. HSDPA, EDGE, 3G, USB/PCMCIA, EVDO... holy acronyms!

Canadian Song writers are asking that a $5 per month tax be added to all Internet and wireless connections to compensate for loss revenue. The Songwriters Association of Canada claims this should adequately cover losses they have encountered while permitting users seemingly unfettered access to most music. See full story here.

The AP reports: YouTube, online job applications and homework help sites have boosted demand and contributed to lines for Internet access at the nation's public libraries, yet a new survey finds the majority have no immediate plans to add computers.

For many library systems, the buildings simply do not have enough room, and their electrical wiring couldn't deliver the required power. Others are already struggling to stay open, buy books and encourage youths to read.

"We have this entirely brand new service coming to libraries, but the funding has not recognized that," said Kathleen Reif, director of the St. Mary's County Library in Leonardtown, Md. "We're still continuing the books, the outreach, the work with young children and the student support."

A new study from the American Library Association, scheduled for release Wednesday, finds the average number of public Internet terminals largely unchanged since 2002, yet only 1 in 5 libraries say they have enough computers to meet demand at all times.

The FCC will grant some of Google's wishes regarding the auction of 700mhz frequencies later this year. The FCC will require some level of openness for about one third of the frequencies. This will mean that wireless services will need to provide access from more than just their own approved devices.

Google would like to see the 700MHz frequencies the FCC is putting up for auction early next year open to openness. Google has submitted a letter to the FCC urging that all bidders be required to accept certain principles of openness such as allowing any wireless device to connect to any service. It is clear that Google would like to foster an environment where ubiquitous computing is enabled. Whether they want to be in the wireless phone business is not clear.

Read more:

NY Times

ZDNet

iTWire

Search-Engines writes "The researchers plan to install 100 sensors by 2011 on streetlamps throughout the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, using a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Each node will include an embedded PC, an 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi interface and a collection of weather sensorsThe system solves a constraint on previous wireless networks — battery life — by mounting each node on a municipal streetlamp where it draws power from city electricity. That approach opens up a new range of uses for the sensors, performing long-term experiments like real-time environmental monitoring, correlating micro-climates with population health, or tracking the spread of bio-chemical agents http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070408/tc_pcworl d/130493"

Are you a wireless user? If so, The Pew Internet and American Life Project experts say that you "show deeper engagement with cyberspace" than your wired comrades. The BBC reports that while 54% of internet users check e-mail "on the typical day," 72% of wireless users check daily.

Just under half of wireless users get news online every day, compared to 31% of internet users at large. Not sure if this is a positive trend, as life doesn't really revolve around cyberspace...or does it?

mdoneil writes "An Alaskan man has been arrested for using the public library's wi-fi access from the parking lot after hours.

Get the full scoop from UPI here
Porn not involved at all."

With a title like Supercharged With All the Answers you might think this NYTimes article is about librarians!
You would, of course, be wrong, you only thought that because you're a librarian. The rest of the world would assume it's about something else. It's about mobile technology (cell phones et. al.) and the vast stores of information always and instantly available, in places other than libraries.
Surveys done by the Pew Internet and American Life Project in Washington show that three-quarters of Americans have cellphones and 44 percent of that number can connect to the Internet, said John Horrigan, the project’s associate director. The number of people with hand-held devices is much smaller, 11 percent of the population, and of that group 57 percent can surf the Web.

AP: The nation's public libraries have significantly expanded wireless and high-speed Internet access but face budget and space constraints in continuing to meet demand, a new study finds.

Nearly all libraries have Internet access and offer it to the public, and branches average 11 public-access terminals, comparable to findings in a 2004 survey.

The new study, sponsored by the American Library Association and the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation, found a doubling of wireless access, to 37 percent. High-speed access _ defined as 769 kilobits per second or faster, though that can be shared among many terminals _ grew to 63 percent in the latest survey, up from 48 percent.

But John Bertot, a Florida State University professor and lead author of the report, said many libraries reported problems keeping up with patrons'demand, especially as new Web services such as video consume even more bandwidth and computer power.