EDITOR'S NOTES
Delighting Patrons With Digital Innovations
by Dick Kaser
Happy New Year! In this first issue of 2024, we are publishing a series of articles by librarians who have embraced digital solutions for the benefit of academic, special, public, and school library patrons. Authors Bryan Hull, Carmin Smoot, and Julia Curtis share their experience in digitizing a collection of dermatology photos gathered over one doctor’s career and discuss the process of turning it into a diagnostic learning tool that will be available as an open repository accessible to students, researchers, and practitioners globally.
Joseph Dudley (Bryant & Stratton College) embraced the task of transforming a group of physical libraries into a 100% digital and virtual library. From liquidating the print collection to developing interfaces and learning aids, he tells us how the project was managed and how it has been received.
Erika Alfieri (Jacksonville Public Library) shows you how to leverage your Microsoft 365 subscription to create automatic transcriptions of audio files. Alfieri’s case in point involves the transcription of oral histories, but the process will work for other collections and tasks you may need to complete without investing in additional services or software.
Kimberly Marks and Gretchen Maxeiner (Grove City College) share their experience in building collaborative spaces with Microsoft Surface Hubs in their newly redesigned learning commons. Their data offers insights into student and faculty member use of these smart screen devices in education.
Terence Huwe’s column—now in its 24th year—focuses on the topic of digital convergence. Joining him as a columnist this issue is Chad Mairn (St. Petersburg College), who will be publishing a piece every other issue on AI, VR, AR, and other technology topics for innovation labs.
As a friendly reminder, now’s a good time to book your place at the Computers in Libraries 2024 conference in March. I hope to see you there.
Dick Kaser, Executive Editor
kaser@infotoday.com
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