2nd day with Glass at JJC Library

Today was another fascinating day with Glass at JJC library. Fighting off the onslaught of those curious individuals wanting to try on glass was perhaps the low point of the day. At the developer's/explorer's price, this is a difficult decision to make. I would assume that most explorers want to share this wonderful technology with all, but the same price barrier that prevents the masses from owning a pair is also the same barrier that may prevent those masses from trying on an explorer's pair. With that said, I only let one of my colleagues, a fellow Librarian try them on. While navigating to my blog's control panel I stumbled upon an article on Glass. This article referenced the serious probably that fog and humidity causes for the glass lens on Glass. Under these atmospheric condition it is very easy for the aluminum foil the encases the glass to peel. Fortunately, further forum investigation revealed that Google does replace this type of damage free of charge to explorers. I started taking pictures via Glass of all those that asked me "Is that glass?", by using the voice recognition feature of Glass.

Patron: "Is that Glass?"
Me: "Ok, Glass; take a picture!"

I will post the picture later.

I also spent some time considering what I will use Glass for in the Library. The most obvious (to me), use of Glass would be to assist in the searching for quick reference information through voice recognition and also as an aid to find books on the shelves. The latter would be a phenomenal project and would require that the library be mapped out, possibly, with Google Maps; similar to how The University of Virginia mapped out their Library. This would be a bog project but the benefits would allow us at JJC Library to serve our patrons and meet their information needs early on as they begin to funnel into the Library with their own wearables. I wonder though if physical books would still be in demand. I know they definitely will be in demand by some forever.

1. The project would require using a agoogle maps API to map out the Library's interior
2. Making sure that all the proper permissions are given from the institution.
3. Creating a user oriented layout that is both aesthetically pleasing and also has many features that will allow user to interact with the interface. Some features would be:

• 3D models that would allow for further inspection of individual objects within the Library's layout; for instance, virtual tours of classroom, conference rooms, study rooms, etc. 
• Pop ups with informational videos and captions.
• Virtual assistants
• GPS location of Staff and especially Librarians
• Computer terminal availability as well as room availability

Just some thoughts will add more later.....


 

Day 5 with Glasss at JJC Library

Day 5 is upon me and I had some frustration with Glass. Glass would not work for me last week Day 3 and 4. Glass had some serious power issues. Apparently the device goes into a low power state in which it will not boot up. Their is just a battery indicator that continues a fiil-up motion portraying that a device is charging. Google Support was helpful and gave me tips on how to troubleshoot the issue. They told me to plug glass into the wall via a charger. Let it charge for an hour and then unplug the charger and then plug it back in. Repeat this three times, then let it charge overnight. Apparently, this recycles the device. So it took a whole day (yesterday) to complete the process; and lo an behold it worked! However when I put Glass on this afternoon in the Library, it was back in that state again! Wow! This is a big problem!

First Day at JJC Library

My first day at JJC Library with Google Glass was an awesome experience! I have recently changed jobs so have not been posting. Upon walking into the building, right away the stares began. I was wondering what was bringing the extra attention on then I remembered that I had on glass. I discovered some thing about glass on my first day at JJC that I didn't know about initially. I realized that the battery isn't as bad as everyone says. As long as you are aren't shooting long videos non-stop or watching a movie, then the battery seems to hold up much better than expected. The use of Qr codes is a great way to use Glass in the Library. Many materials now come with Qr codes on them and this allows quick access to the information being link to through the code. This is great for reference interviews when information is quickly needed. However I have found that there needs to be some practice before engaging a patron with the use of glass. You don't want to be in a position where trying to figure out glass lengthen the Reference interview, in turn, irritating the patron, who may be in a rush or just don't want to play with your toy! Stay tuned for further updates!

21st Century Librarian?!!!!