I collect a variety of odds and ends that I find interesting but don’t warrant a full blog posting.  Here are the latest.

New Roles for New Times:  Digital Curation for Preservation

ARL publishes lots of reports on a regular basis but one of their new series is on new roles for libraries and librarians.  The new series is called “New Roles for New Times” and will “identify and delineate emerging roles and present research on early experiences among member libraries in developing the roles and delivering services.”  This particular entry in the series “explores how research libraries are attempting to add value in the chain of events that produce new research knowledge and information.”  Check it out http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/nrnt_digital_curation17mar11.pdf

An interesting and related article can be found in the Research Libraries Issues publication from ARL, no. 274.  The article by Patricia Hswe and Ann Holt is titled “Joining in the Enterprise of Response in the Wake of the NSF Data Management Planning Requirement” which you can find at http://publications.arl.org/17gcns.pdf

Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community

OCLC has issued a new membership report which “provides updated information and new insights into information consumers and their online information habits, preferences and perceptions.” In an article in the Next Space publication (no. 18) Cathy DeRosa highlights a few pieces of data:

• Satisfaction with librarians increased from the 2005 survey
• Search engine satisfaction decreased

Of particular relevance to us is the opinion of college students who ask most for us to add or update services, increase customer service, and improve the facility and environment.  And a final takeaway – faster and easier trump trustworthy and accurate.  Check out the full report at http://www.oclc.org/reports/2010perceptions.htm

A Portrait of Today’s Tablet User

In June, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) released a new study, “A Portrait of Today’s Tablet User,” “that was commissioned to learn about consumer usage of tablets, content consumption preferences, and implications for advertising on the device. The study found that tablet users view tablets as their preferred reading device over computers and printed media for many types of content, including weather, entertainment, news, sports and financial information. A copy of the study’s findings is available at www.online-publishers.org.”  A slideshow of the findings is also available at http://www.slideshare.net/InSitesConsulting/mmf-opa-portaitoftodaystabletuserjun2211finalpublic

Here’s a brief summary of the findings:

• “Today’s tablet users represent 12% of the US internet population ages 8 – 64; that number is projected to grow to 23% by early 2012—a group that represents an estimated 54 million people
• 87% of tablet users are accessing content and information, the dominant activity for this device
• 93% of tablet users have downloaded apps; the average tablet user has downloaded 20 apps
• 79% of app downloaders have paid for apps in the last 12 months; 26% of all apps downloaded are paid
• On average, those who have downloaded apps on tablets have spent $53 on apps in the past 12 months
• In addition to iTunes, Amazon and Google, 29% of tablet users would prefer to buy apps from their cable company or internet provider and 25% would prefer to buy their apps directly from publishers

‘The tablet also provides a rich platform for advertisers with 46% indicating that they found tablet advertising within newspaper and magazine apps to be relevant, unique and interesting,’ continued Horan.

Additional insights regarding tablet users and usage preferences include:

• 60% of tablet users are males; 48% are 18-34 years old
• 43% of tablet users have HH income in excess of $50,000
• 56% of tablet users who watch video watch full-length TV and 55% watch full-length movies “