InsideOLITA

Offical blog of the Ontario Library and Information Technology Association

Ebooks Appetizer #3 – Ebook File Types

Ebooks are more popular than ever, with more and more being added to your local public or school library all the time. Unfortunately, for a lot of us, it still isn’t clear which ebooks can be downloaded to what device, and which device will work best with the titles in your library. The following outlines some of the more popular ebooks files and where you might be able to find them.

Epub

What

epub is an open e-book standard that provides reflowable text, inline images.

Where

Epub is less popular with academic ebook platforms then other environments. You’ll be able to find epub files from:

Gutenberg

Overdrive

Science Direct

Details

 All ereaders, except for the Kindle, support this format, although soon the Kindle may support it as well.

PDF

What

PDF is a popular document sharing format that has been around since the early 90s. It is highly formatted, and does not work well with smaller devices.

Where

PDF will work with most ebook platforms including:

Brill Academic

EBL

ebrary

EBSCOhost

Gale Cengage

Oxford Scholarship

Details

Sony Reader, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, the iPad, and the Kobo eReader, and the iPod Touch.

But again, it is not a recommended format as text can not often be re-flowed to fit the screen of these devices.

AZW

What

This is Amazon’s proprietary format.

Where

AZW will work with any ebook purchased through Amazon

Details

 AZW is designed to work specifically with the Kindle but will also with the ipad using the Kindle app.

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OLA Super Conference 2013 Call for Proposals

It is that time of year again! We are putting the call out for
proposals for OLA Super Conference 2013.

Theme: The Ultimate Library Experience! Educate, Entertain, Empower
Dates: January 30, 2013 to February 2, 2013

Suggested Topics:
eBooks
Digital Humanities
Digital Repositories/Digital Asset Management Systems
Discovery Layers
Privacy – Privacy Act, Data Privacy vs. Data gathering/analytics
Metrics/Assessment/Analytics
Online Learning – videos, online guides/Libguides
GIS/Mapping/Geospatial Visualization
Data portals/Repositories/eScience
Mobile Technology – smartphones, tablets, app culture
Web Design/Responsive Design
Online Marketing
Social Media
Digital/Online Publishing models
Online Collaboration – Researchers/Academics, Tools, Readers
Web Development in Libraries
Application development in libraries
Linked Open Data / Semantic Web
Open Access / Open Source / Open Culture / Open Data
Maker Culture and Hackerspaces in Libraries
3D printing and fabrication
Data mining / Big Data
Data Liberation
Cloud Computing
Tech Lending Libraries
Teaching technology in libraries
Accessibility
Tech Fails

Types of Sessions:
Conference presentation time slots are approximately 75 minutes in
length. We are accepting proposals for half-day Preconference workshops.
OLITA will also be organizing a series of panels arranged around
specific topics. If you are interested in presenting on or talking about
a topic but do not you need a full 75 minute time slot, please indicate
in your proposal your interest in being matched up with other
presenters.

Submit your proposal!

The submission deadline is May 18th. The program is established
between May 23rd and June 27th. If you have not had a response to your
proposal in the latter part of June, you are welcome to contact a
division planner or the OLA office at info@accessola.com

A separate call will go out at the beginning of September for Poster
Session proposals, and for participation in the Child and Youth Expo.

Questions? Comments? Brilliant suggestions? Please contact the OLITA
Planners.

Angela Hamilton
ahamilton@utsc.utoronto.ca

Andrew McAlorum
andrew.mcalorum@utoronto.ca

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OLITA Annual General Meeting 2012

OLITA AGM at the Ontario Library Association Superconference 2012

Please join us at the OLITA Annual General Meeting this Friday February 3, 5:15 pm, in room #204 of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to meet your new council, your fellow OLITA members and to get down to the serious business of the OLITA AGM:

OLITA AGM Agenda

1. Call to Order and welcome
2. Approval of the Agenda
3. Adoption/approval of Minutes from the last AGM
4. Treasurers Report
5. Annual Report (the year in review, key accomplishments, etc)
6. New Business (i.e. resolutions)
7. Introduction of the new council and year ahead
8. OLITA Award for Technological Innovation
9. Other business
10.Adjournment

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OLITA Award for Technological Innovation 2012

Congratulations to the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), this year’s winner of the OLITA Award for Technological Innovation for the Scholars GeoPortal project.

Scholars GeoPortal is a geospatial data discovery tool that offers search, preview, and download functionality for a growing selection of datasets licensed by Ontario university libraries, covering such topics as land use, transportation networks, census boundaries, points of interest (such as schools, airports, and golf courses), orthophotography, and more.

The OLITA Award Ceremony and Reception will be held on Friday February 3, 5:15 pm, in room #204 of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Please celebrate with us!

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OLA Super Conference 2012 Call for Convenors

OLA Super Conference 2012 is quickly approaching, and OLITA is looking for convenors for its program. Convening is a great way to get involved with Super Conference and to meet people with similar interests and experiences. We welcome participation from people in all stages of their careers: from current students to people who may be presenting a session themselves!

The duties of a convenor include the following:

  • Contact the speaker(s) and confirm their AV requirements
  • Draft a short biography of the speaker(s) and use this to introduce the speaker(s) at the session
  • Meet the speaker(s) at the Speakers’ Lounge 15 minutes before the session
  • Get help in the event of technical problems
  • Make sure that, in the case of a panel, all panelists get equal air time
  • Monitor the length of the session for the speaker(s)
  • Pick up evaluation forms at the end of the session

The full list of OLITA sessions is as follows:

314     Thursday     9:05 AM     QR Codes: Linking Virtual and Real Worlds

315     Thursday     9:05 AM     Digital preservation in academic libraries: recent Canadian initiatives

316     Thursday     9:05 AM     Let’s talk security in the digital age!

414     Thursday     10:40 AM   Meet your makers!: maker culture for librarians

415     Thursday     10:40 AM   Making Your Web Site Accessible: AODA Compliance

416     Thursday     10:40 AM   A digital scholarship centre? What is that!?

611     Thursday     3:45 PM     User Needs Assessment & Usability: Planning to Analysis

612     Thursday     3:45 PM     Using Evernote for Personal and Professional Document Management

613     Thursday     3:45 PM     Strategic Social Media Engagement for Libraries

614     Thursday     3:45 PM     Library Architecture Mobile App

1014     Friday        9:05 AM   Bending Parameters: Will a College/Library ILS Partnership work for you?

1015     Friday        9:05 AM   OCUL’s Geospatial Portal In Action

1016     Friday        9:05 AM   Telling Island Stories: Connecting Community Collections

1212     Friday        2:10 PM   Digital Preservation Our Way: OCUL’s Trusted Digital Repository

1213     Friday        2:10 PM   Trends in Academic Content for Mobile Devices

1214     Friday        2:10 PM   Strengthen Internal Communication by Sharepoint Intranet

1215     Friday        2:10 PM   Simplifying Public Computing with Thin Clients & More

1309     Friday       3:45 PM   iDevices At The Northern Ontario School of Medicine

1310     Friday       3:45 PM   Synergies’ Last Mile (for Canadian journals and libraries)

1311     Friday        3:45 PM   Building a Collaborative Open Citation Database and Research Tool

If you are willing to be a convenor, please contact the planners and let us know what sessions you’re interested in. Please note that session convenors do not receive a discount on admission to the Super Conference, but convenors’ names and institutions appear in the final OLA Super Conference program. Thank you for your support!

Steve Marks
steve.marks@utoronto.ca

Elizabeth Goldman
goldmyn@gmail.com

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