Wednesday, April 16, 2014

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.....


 

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