Tom Bruno - Wearable Technology: Smart Watches to Google Glass for Libraries

Smart Watches to Google Glass
for Libraries

Tom Bruno

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bruno, Tom, 1972

Wearable technology : smart watches to Google Glass for libraries / Tom Bruno.

pages cm. (Library technology essentials ; 1)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4422-5290-5 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4422-5291-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4422-5292-9 (ebook)

1. Wearable technologyLibrary applications. 2. Google Glass (Computer) 3. Smartwatches. I. Title.

Z678.93.W43B78 2015

004.167dc23

2015011491

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Todays library patrons are untethered and mobile in a way that theyve never been before. They are able to access information not only from the mobile devices they carry such as smartphones and tablets but also from the accessories they wear. In Wearable Technology: Smartwatches to Google Glass for Libraries, author and wearable-tech guru Tom Bruno explains how to provide programming for these cutting-edge devices to patrons. This top-notch primer provides a comprehensive view of the wearable-technologies landscape from smartwatches to Google Glass to GoPro wearable cameras. Whether you are hoping to circulate wearable technology in your library, use Google Glass for mobile reference, create first-person videos using GoPro cameras, or add real-time translation services using Google Glass, you will find out how in this guidebook.

The idea for the Library Technology Essentials book series came about because there have been many drastic changes in information consumption, new technological advancements, and growing user expectations over the past few years to which forward-thinking libraries are responding by devising groundbreaking ways to remain relevant in a rapidly changing digital world. I saw a need for a practical set of guidebooks that libraries could use to inform themselves about how to stay on the cutting edge by implementing new programs, services, and technologies to match their patrons expectations.

Libraries today are embracing new and emerging technologies, transforming themselves into community hubs and places of cocreation through makerspaces, developing information commons spaces, and even taking on new roles and formats, all the while searching for ways to decrease budget lines, add value, and prove the ROI (return on investment) of the library. The Library Technology Essentials series is a collection of primers to guide libraries along the path to innovation through step-by-step instruction. Written by the fields top experts, these handbooks are meant to serve as the ultimate gateway to the newest and most promising emerging technology trends. Filled with practical advice and project ideas for libraries to implement right now, these books will hopefully inspire readers to start leveraging these new techniques and tools today.

Each book follows the same format and outline, guiding the reader through the AZ of how to leverage the latest and most cutting-edge technologies and trends to deliver new library services. The Projects chapters comprise the largest portion of the books, providing library initiatives that can be implemented by both beginner and advanced readers accommodating for all audiences and levels of technical expertise. These projects and programs range from the basic How to Circulate Wearable Technology in Your Library and How to Host a FIRST Robotics Team at the Library to intermediates such as How to Create a Hands-Free Digital Exhibit Showcase with Microsoft Kinect and the more advanced options such as Implementing a Scalable E-Resources Management System and How to Gamify Library Orientation for Patrons with a Top Down Video Game. Readers of all skill levels will find something of interest in these books.

Tom Bruno, associate director for resource sharing and reserves at Yale University Library, was one of the inaugural eight thousand Google Glass Explorers and has been a pioneer of Glass adoption in libraries ever since. I knew that if anyone had the knowledge, expertise, and tech savviness to write a book on wearable technology it was Tom, who went above and beyond my expectations for this outstanding book. If youre contemplating how you can utilize wearable technology in your library, youll want to add this title to your professional collection.