The 80-page study presents the results of a survey of 42 libraries with tablet lending programs or those just about to implement one. The report gives detailed data and commentary on how the programs were organized, financed and implemented and their impact on patrons and libraries. The report helps its readers to answer questions such as: how many tablets do libraries maintain for loan? Which brands do they prefer and which are they planning to purchase in the future? How much have they spent on their tablet lending programs and plan to spend? Do they load their tablets with apps? If so how do they choose them? How many tablets are lost to theft? Or to negligence or accidents? What is the fine for overdue tablets? What is the length of the lending period? What are the circulation figures for tablets? What has been the impact on other library resources, such as a pre-existing laptop lending program? Or on use of the library’s eBook collection? Which libraries do they view as models and what advice can they offer to peers? What services or training are offered to library patrons about how to use the tablets? Data in the report is broken out by library type (public library/public college/private college/special library), by size of library staff, and size of stock of tablet loaned and other variables.

This special 78-page report looks closely at how academic and special libraries are using tablet computers. It helps librarians and information technology personnel to answer such questions as: what type of libraries are using tablets? What are they using them for? Which library departments are benefiting most from tablet use? Which brands of tablet are most popular? What are buying plans for the future? What stock of tablets do libraries have and how fast do they plan to expand this stock? How have tablets affected their ebook acquisition plans? What kind of apps do they use or develop for their tablets? Do they loan out tablets to patrons? On what terms? How long can patrons borrow them? Have they had losses due to theft? What is their overall budget for tablets and app development?

The 160+ page study examines the purchasing plans of academic libraries for key computing infrastructure including plans for fixed workstations, personal computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets and other computing devices. The report helps to answer questions such as: how are libraries and their sometime patrons in college information technology departments allocating funds among different types of computing devices? How has the mobile computing revolution affected plans for fixed workstation purchasing? What percentage of students use their own computers in the library and what percentage of them use the library’s computers? What computer brands do libraries prefer? What are the official and real replacement cycles for computers? How many computers are reserved for staff use alone? To what extent are libraries concentrating computing resources in “information commons” or technology centers? What is the future or such centers? What are their budgets? How much are libraries allocating to computer and information literacy? How effective are these policies.

This roundup of the latest discussions on the topic is a relevant prism through which readers can discover ways to improve reference and instructional services at all academic libraries.

This succinct e-book speaks directly to librarians and educators working with young people, pointing the way towards intelligent, constructive use of tablets to attain educational goals.

This exploration of the range of options for a "library of things" collection demonstrates what has been implemented successfully and offers practical insights regarding these nontraditional projects, from the development of concepts to the everyday realities of maintaining these collections. What services libraries provide and how they function in their communities is constantly being reconsidered and redefined. One example of this is the trend of experimenting with building circulating collections of nonliterary "things"—such as tools, seeds, cooking equipment, bicycles, household machinery, and educational materials—by drawing on traditional library functions and strengths of acquisition, organization, and circulation. Audio Recorders to Zucchini Seeds: Building a Library of Things enables you to consider the feasibility of creating a specific type of "thing" collection in your library and get practical advice about the processes necessary to successfully launch and maintain it, from planning and funding to circulation, promotion, and upkeep. This contributed volume provides a survey of "library of things" projects within the United States, from both public and academic libraries, offering real-world lessons learned from these early experiments with nontraditional collections. The authors offer practical insights from their projects, from the development of their initial ideas to the everyday realities of maintaining and circulating these collections, including cataloging, space needs, safety concerns, staff training, circulation, marketing, and assessment. The contributed chapters are organized thematically, covering "things" collections that encompass a wide variety of objects first, followed by collections with a community-building focus (seeds, recreation, tools) and those that serve an educational purpose, such as curriculum centers, children's toys, or collections that support a university curriculum. The last section addresses collections that support media production.

Over 52 million tablet devices were sold during the fourth quarter of 2012 and sales are predicted to continue to increase in years to come. These lightweight mobile computing devices are quickly becoming an integral part of patrons’ everyday lives. Libraries are responding by incorporating them into their programs and services. Using Tablets and App in Libraries outlines how libraries can support this new BYOD (bring your own device) culture including offering app events and instruction, installing mounted tablets within the library, offering tablet lending programs, initiating tablet training programs for staff, and ways to evaluate and use quality apps. Discover how you can implement a successful tablet program in your library. Through this comprehensive guide, readers will learn: How to integrate the potential of tablet technology into existing library programs and staff workflows How to Host a Staff Training Technology Petting Zoo How to provide tablet support and training for your patrons How to use tablets in your story time and other children’s programming How to circulate tablets in your library How to use tablets to promote library services How to use tablets in your physical spaces to provide and gather information