I just attended the Off-Campus Library Service conference in Salt Lake Cityand received many good ideas.  One session discussed using screencasting sofware (e.g. Adobe Captivate) and how the library can track usage with Google Analytics.  It appears the average time a student watches a library demo is about 2 minutes.  A few sessions discussed e-resources (proprietary e-books, e-reference, free e-books, government sites, etc).  Two of the session were trying to figure if students use e-resources and how to make student more aware of them.  Another tried a visual display to simulate “browsing” the reference stacks.   There is no doubt on and off campus want more access to electronic resources, but trying to figure out the best way for students to find and these resources is a challenge.

Yesterday, the Williams Library invited speaker Dr. Thom Flamboe read from his recently self-published book Can You Fix Him? Adventures in Child Therapy.   He read many piognant and funny stories from his career in child therapy.   It appears he will used almost any tactic to get a child to tell his/her story.  He normally asks his 100 “dumb questions,” but has many conventional and unconventional methods.  His various methods include; having a child talking about her dreams, complimenting a child that is supposedly different (e.g. dressed in all black with a mohawk), using a juvenile response to a child’s juvenile act, and many have responded to his stories about his family.

The Williams Library and others provide online access to electronic books (eBooks). The free services provide access to classics, historical texts, and other titles published before 1923 (i.e. copyright). NetLibrary houses current titles on a wide range of subjects. Browse and search these different eBook databases.

• NetLibrary (NSU only)
  Collection of electronic books (13,000) covering a wide range of disciplines. The library catalog also includes NetLibrary records (In the catalog select the link in record to access the ebook).
• Oxford Scholarship Online (NSU only)
  Full texts of over 700 Oxford titles in economics and finance, philosophy, political science, and religion. The library catalog also includes Oxford records (In the catalog select the link in record to access the ebook).
• Project Gutenberg
  Project Gutenberg is the first and largest single collection (20,000) of free electronic books, or eBooks. Select Bookshelf to see the eBooks by category.
• Internet Archive - Texts
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, etc. in the digital format. Texts is one aspect of the site. Also, check out the sub-collections in the middle of the Texts’ homepage.
• Online Books (University of Pennsylvania)
  The Online Books Page is a website that facilitates access to books that are freely readable over the Internet. It also aims to encourage the development of such online books, for the benefit and edification of all.
• Google Books
  Google and its library partners are scanning books and making them available to the public. The out-of-copyright titles are available full-text (or All Text). Use the Advanced Search for more precise searching.
• Windows Live - Books
  Microsoft and its library partners are scanning books and making them available to the public. The out-of-copyright titles are available full-text (or 100% viewable). Search box is at very top of page.

http://www.northern.edu/library/internet/books.htm