Table of contents: issue61

Book Review: Ajax in Oracle JDeveloper

editor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Pete Cliff finds aspects of this work useful and interesting, but he also expresses some serious reservations.

Asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX) programming technique enables one to update parts of a Web site without reloading the entire page. So useful is it that AJAX is turning up all over the Web, including on my own Web-based archival interfaces; so it was timely that I should be asked to review Ajax in Oracle JDeveloper.

Book Review: Information Tomorrow

editor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Lina Coelho is delighted by this pick-and-mix collection of reflections on the technological future of libraries.

The 16 chapters of this book focus on different aspects of the technological and societal changes that interact to shape our institutions. Some pieces read as manifestos, some are polemical, some are technical. But there is something for everyone who is interested in the future of libraries. This work asserts that, in order to succeed, whilst re-inventing ourselves and our presence, we have to remain true to the basic principles of librarianship. We have to continue to meet our users' expectations and create spaces, both physical and virtual, which appeal to them.

Book Review: M-Libraries

editor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Simon Speight reviews a collection of papers from the First International M-Libraries Conference, which examined potential library uses of mobile phones and other portable technology.

It may not yet be a truth universally accepted, but the battle against the mobile phone, the MP3 player and other portable devices has been lost. Their ubiquitous presence in society makes it virtually impossible to continue ignoring or banning them from libraries.