Book description
From the time that personal computers became ubiquitous, there's been
no shortage of “the next big thing” in technology. While some new
technologies do prove to be revolutionary, there are plenty that flame
out very quickly. Librarians often work with limited financial
resources, so when a library invests in a new technology, staff must be
confident that they are committing money and effort to something that
will be useful in the long-term rather than to an idea with a lot of
hype. In the July 2010 issue of Library Technology Reports, Char Booth
examines the long-term adoption of one established tool, Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) in order to gain insight into the library
innovation process. In addition to providing a wealth of guidance and
information on how librarians can use this specific technology to
enhance service, Booth also examines how various facets of this
technology were examined, adopted, adapted and rejected. “Hope, Hype and
VoIP: Riding the Library Technology Cycle” provides guidelines for how
librarians looking at new technologies can evaluate them critically,
creatively and with an eye toward sustainability. Char Booth is
E-Learning Librarian at the University of California, Berkeley. A 2007
ALA Emerging Leader and 2008 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, Char
blogs about library futures, instructional design, and technology
literacy at info-mational, and tweets @charbooth. She is the author of
Informing Innovation: Tracking Student Interest in Emerging Library
Technologies at Ohio University and Reflective Teaching, Effective
Learning; Instructional Literacy for Library Educators. Char completed
an ME in educational technology at Ohio University in 2008, an MSIS at
the University of Texas at Austin's School of Information in 2005, and a
BA in history at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in 2001.
