Work with Me

Finished November 20

Work with Me by Michelle McCraw

This is the first of a series of books set around a technology company, called Synergy. The series is called Synergy Office Romance. 

As the novel opens, Alicia has arrived to her first job for her own consultancy company. She has a strong mentor, Jamila, who has been encouraging and suggested her for this job. As she arrives a typical Austin hailstorm is starting and she darts across the street from the parking to the office tower. Unfortunately a ball of hail hits her right at her front hairline. A man waiting under the overhang assists her with the wound and the two have definite chemistry, but her pulls back, declining her offer of a coffee date.

Once inside her meeting, she finds one of the cofounders of the company, Cooper Fallon, had hired her to get a technology project back on track, and Jay, the other cofounder and the man she met earlier, was the team lead on the project. 

As the two work out how to work together and Alicia works to get the team back to the expected timeline, Jay and Alicia are forced to work closely together and get to know some of each other's personal lives. Alicia lives in a close family unit, and is responsible for her young nephew Noah. Jay has a blunder on his corporate record, and has been trying to make up for it ever since, supported by his assistant Marlee.

Both have past relationships they regret and are careful about starting anything new without feeling strongly positive about it. The technology language seems right and adds to the authenticity. A fun read.

Find You First

Finished May 6

Find You First by Linwood Barclay

I find Barclay's books real page turners, and read this one very quickly. It is a standalone novel with stories and characters that eventually cross paths.

One of the key characters, Miles Cookson, a self-made millionaire and technology entrepreneur in his forties has just been diagnosed with ALS. He thinks of his limited future, and what plans he must make. He makes plans to get his brother tested for the disease as well, hoping that it missed him. He also realizes that a decision he made around 20 years ago has ramifications now. When he was tight for money in college, he donated sperm for money. He is worried about any children created with his donations. He is determined to ensure that if they exist, they will be able to afford to get the best healthcare they can. But when he approaches the clinic, he is stonewalled and told that they will not release any information to him. 

As he tries to find a way to reach them, as quickly as he can, we start to learn the stories of other key characters. 

One is Chloe Swanson, a young aspiring filmmaker. Chloe, who was raised by a loving single mom, has recently decided to try and find her biological father, and she is documenting the journey by filming it. She has recently found a half-brother and met him, and is eager to find more information. She is an interesting young woman, bright and thoughtful. 

We get glimpses of other lives, a teen girl who has been drawn into the circle of a man very like Jeffrey Epstein. She wants to get out of the situation that she has found herself in, but doesn't know how. There is also a wealthy New York financier who has a big ego and odd tastes, such as craning a classic Winnebago into his home office. There is a young man, recently moved out on his own, who has been making money through somewhat dubious practices. 

The plot moves quickly and yet the characters have depth as well. You see what motivates them, and why they make the choices that they do. There is lots of action and many edge of the seat moments that will keep you wondering what will happen next and who is behind some of those actions. 

I enjoy this author a lot as he comes up with very intriguing plots that often relate to current events, as well as interesting and complex characters, especially in the series novels. He also includes lighthearted moments of humour. A great read.  

The Sentinel

Finished July 11

The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child

This episode of the Jack Reacher novels takes us briefly to Nashville, and then to a small town a ways north of the city. When Reacher arrives in Nashville, he looks for a few things, including music, and finds himself in a bar with little ambience, but with musicians who sound good to him. Unfortunately, they are just finishing up, and when he leaves he encounters them outside and finds himself in a position to assist them. 

A few days later, he is on the road and gets picked up by someone who needs help finding his way. Reacher decides to go on with him to the destination, and finds himself in this town that has recently been a target of ransomware. The IT manager, Rutherford, has been fired despite him being the one warning his bosses and trying to guard against this situation. The two men meet when Reacher prevents something happening to Rutherford, and they both get arrested. When they join forces to try to figure out why Rutherford is targeted, and start digging deeper, they find themself making a few new aquaintances.

As often happens, there is more than one group of bad guys, and somethings they cross over between groups. 

This is an interesting look a topic that is definitely a current event at publication time and still a topic of much discussion. As always, Reacher is thoughtful, empathetic to those in a bad situation, and aware of the bigger picture. 

A good read.

Who Rescued Who

Finished June 8

Who Rescued Who by Victoria Schade

Elizabeth Barnes is a coder and communications executive who has recently worked at a female-oriented tech company. She reacted with a poor joke when under pressure during an interview and was let go as a result. As she struggles to decide what to do now, she gets a call out of the blue from a uncle she didn't even know existed. Elizabeth's father died a few months ago, and he never told her that he had family back in England. He's also left her with one final task that she can do if she accepts her uncle's invitation.

As a city girl, Elizabeth isn't prepared for lift on a small rural farm, with no Internet access. But she finds that her uncle and aunt are very welcoming, and the backstory that her father never shared with her is one that is meaningful to her. As Elizabeth makes friends, discovers that she can have relationships with animals, and reconnects with art, she also finds that life is deeper than the hectic life she's been living lately. 

Elizabeth's discovery of an abandoned puppy has her making unexpected connections, and spending time with her artist uncle has her rediscovering her own artistic endeavours at a younger age. It doesn't hurt that there are some rather good looking and nice men around the village as well as a great coffee shop for her caffeine fix.

This is a book about a woman who's been lonely for a long time without realizing it until faced with the possibility of genuine connections. 

Maker Literacy

Finished June 16

Maker Literacy: A New Approach to Literacy Programming for Libraries by Lynn Pawloski and Cindy Wall

This book has a ton of ideas packed into its small size. It is organized into different types of programming and each section gives an outline of at least one program and some apps that would work for it. Here are the program sections, with a deeper look at the first one and basic outline for the rest.

The first section is called eTots and has at its core an iPad or Tablet storytime. It is for 2-5 year olds, and focuses on five skills: talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing. A section of the program has each child and caregiver pair working on their own tablet. It starts, as most storytimes do, with a welcome songs, and involves other songs, fingerplays, and uses a poem to transition to the time on the tablet. The theme-related apps are done as a group, and then there is a portion of the program used for free app play. The program ends with a maker element of either a craft or an activity. One of the things the authors mention here is how small movements are useful to help children focus. There is a whole list of suggested apps, many of which are free, and related lists of themes. For these section they give three themed examples: Frogs, Music, and Robots. 

The second section they call Not Just for Kids and it is focused for kids 4-6 along with their caregiver. To get you in the right frame of mind, they suggest library staff watch the Ted Talk Why a Good Book is a Secret Door, read the book Extra Yarn, and watch the commercial The House That Knits Itself, along with the video of how that commercial was made. This section gives you other creative ideas around wool, along with two other themes: caves and flight.

The third section is for multiactivity programs for ages 4-6 that they call Use Your Words. The themes they give you here are: mail and an alphabet mashup.

The fourth is for Rookie Readers, ages 5-6; the fifth for discovering engineering, ages 5-7; the sixth for art active books, ages 6-7; the seventh for Kidz Kode, ages 6-8; the eighth for No Required Reading, ages 7-10, the ninth for guest reader days, which works well for class visits too; The tenth for a one book program event; and the eleventh for your library maker area itself. 

There is an appendix that lists all the apps mentioned in the book as well. 

This is such a fantastic resource that combines making and imagination and learning. Highly recommended. 

Emerging Technologies

Finished October 24
Emerging Technologies: A Primer for Librarians by Jennifer Koerber and Michael P. Sauers

This book begins with a discussion of the book's premise which is to provide a snapshot of new technology important to libraries and use that to show readers how to look at technology at it appears and gets applied in library environments. The chapters on technologies each have a brief overview of the technology giving background and current events, advantages and challenges to the technology's use in libraries, highlights of the most useful or well-known tools and/or devices in that technology and how libraries might use them, and some examples. The authors define emerging as those technologies just hitting the middle of the acceptance bell curve, so not leading edge, but also not mainstream. They also look at older technologies used in new ways.
The first technology they look at is audio/video. They cover hardware such as cameras and microphones, software such as screencasting, video-editing, and platforms such as Youtube, Vimeo, and Soundcloud. Uses include virtual library tours, training, memes, community engagement, events, and supporting makers.
The second technology is self-publishing. They look at the environment, platforms and tools, including some library-specific tools. There is discussion of the library's role.
The third technology is mobile technologies. Here the question is not if your library will use mobile technology, but which services should be provided. It looks at mobile websites and library apps, and proposes three sets of questions to ask: who creates and maintains the technology and its content; how are connections to third parties handled (ebooks, streaming media); and how is it serving, how are they accessing it, and what services does it provide. Hardware includes both the patrons' own as well as library-provided, through lending. Interfaces discusses range from native to apps to mobile web. Applications range from reference to ecommerce to collection access.
The fourth technology is crowdfunding and the main discussion is on platforms. Not all platforms allow non-profit use, and there is information on appropriate applications.
The fifth technology is wearables. Hardware includes activity trackers, life loggers, smart watches, and augmented and virtual reality. Not all uses discussed are patron-oriented. Some libraries use this technology for staff wellness programs.
The sixth technology is the Internet of Things. There is a long list of some that are becoming more common, but no library examples of use yet. Some ideas are given for future use by libraries.
The book now looks at the issue of privacy and security, noting that privacy is a core library ethic, and that it is part of our responsibility to help patrons learn how to keep their information secure as well as keeping public access computers as secure as possible. To do that, library staff have to know the basics themselves. Software includes browser controls and PAC resetting, as well as password managers, two factor authentication, and VPN.
The last chapter looks at how to apply this knowledge to other technologies as they emerge, and works on the basic ideas of read, play, and teach. Read widely, not just in the library field, but also social media, geek sources, and mainstream media. Play with technology by using devices in stores, reading instructions, pushing the buttons, spending time with different technologies and not being afraid. Teach by writing about what you learn, going beyond the basics, being prepared for random questions, knowing what next steps might be for learners, and setting goals for students in more formal settings. Several tools are mentioned here including Lynda, Gale Courses, edX, and Coursera.

Content

Finished June 30
Content: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity, Copyright, and the Future of the Future by Cory Doctorow

This collection ranges from around 2004 to 2007 in terms of original publication. Because there is a fair bit of overlap in the subjects of some of the essays, I would have liked it more if they had been organized in chronological order. It would have been easier to see the evolution of his ideas and opinions over time that way. I was also a bit surprised at the date of the original material given that this was published recently. While all these issues are still relevant, there have been changes to the technology, environment, and public sentiment since these were written.
That said, I did find the content interesting. DRM (digital rights management) is still an issue, particularly for libraries. The standards and models for ebooks are still evolving, copyright is still important and still not balanced as well as it could be between creators and users, and privacy is a bigger issue than ever before.
Cory, with his life including both technology activist and fiction author, has a different outlook than many creators of content, more open to reuse, less concerned with protecting his own territory. He uses facts to show his point of view, arguing on the side of increased ability to use what others have created to create new material.
Something I'd recommend to other librarians as food for thought.

Library Technology Companion

Finished February 23
Neal-Shuman Library Technology Companion by John J. Burke

This is the 4th edition that I read, and it provides history on technology in general as well as library-specific technology and then moves in the basics of technology knowledge including tips on information sources and evaluation.
Part II takes the reader through computers and other computing devices; general applications; communication from email to wifi, integrated library systems, discovery layers and OPACs; storage devices both current and obsolete; databases and electronic resources; the internet, and web 2.0.
Part III covers using technology, whether supporting patron needs, including accessibility; using 2.0 tools in furthering the library's mandate, or teaching others.
Part IV covers the technology environment from security to troubleshooting, ergonomics to gaming.
The last section takes a peek at the future and how things might develop also covering the elements of a good technology plan.
We all know the problem with books is that they are out of date by the time they make publication and so a few of the future developments are also happening, but that is a minor item. This book has good coverage of the technology side of libraries and is a useful addition to the professional collection.