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Weekly News Digest
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January 26, 2009 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today. For other up-to-the-minute news, check out ITI’s Twitter account: @ITINewsBreaks.
CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.
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OCLC Launches WorldCat Mobile Pilot
OCLC (www.oclc.org) has launched a pilot program to make collections from libraries visible through mobile devices. The WorldCat Mobile pilot allows users to search for and find books and other materials available in their local libraries through a web application they can access from a PDA or a smartphone. The pilot will gather data to inform and help shape future mobile access to WorldCat.org. The pilot is now available in the U.S. and Canada and is expected to last 6 months.The pilot is based on WorldCat.org, the world’s largest online resource for finding information in libraries. Advanced global positioning capabilities found in many smartphones and PDAs make it possible for users to find local library materials no matter where they happen to be. Users can even get a Google Maps’ view of the library’s location along with detailed driving instructions if the mobile device supports the application. To participate in the WorldCat Mobile pilot, go to www.worldcat.org/mobile to find more information about the pilot and to find links for downloading WorldCat Mobile to the device of your choice. Using a supported mobile device, download the application at www.worldcat.org/m.
A brief demonstration of how to use the WorldCat Mobile pilot can be found at www.boopsie.com/home/worldcat.wmv. The WorldCat Mobile pilot complements the recently released experimental WorldCat iPhone web app, built with the WorldCat Search API. The pilot also uses some data from the WorldCat Registry, a comprehensive directory for libraries and consortia and the services they provide. OCLC worked with mobile-technology provider Boopsie (www.boopsie.com) to develop this pilot. Source: OCLC
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Brandi Scardilli
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