Kindles of the 1930s...

Fascinating to see someone's iteration of an e-reader of the future: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2012/03/the-ipad-of-1935

I always find it interesting to see these old images of "the future" as imagined at an earlier time.  Often, there are uncanny similarities between what was imagined and what does end up happening -- yet obvious gaps in knowledge of what would be possible in the future.  In this case, the artist/engineer could foresee the use of "miniaturized text," because it was already being used in microfilm.  So basically, existing technology was just re-packaged in an armchair to invent a "reader." So really, the contraption shown was not all that innovative.  What people could not have imagined (or did not imagine... until, of course, it was imagined) was invention of the computer chip and, subsequently, the Internet.

Looking at these old designs, aside from eliciting a chuckle, can remind us that we should not let what we know limit what we can imagine.

Project Information Literacy

Just came across an excellent research project, Project Information Literacy, that is currently being conducted to fill in some of the gaps in our understandings of how young adult college students conduct research and engage with information technology and social media. Their latest report, Balancing Act: How College Students Manage Technology While in the Library During Crunch Time (Oct. 2011) is excellent.  It really gives an intimate snapshot of how today's students are using library spaces and resources, technology, social media and sources on the Web for academic as well as social purposes. Very eye-opening, and even encouraging. The report is long, but very readable, with lots of charts that make it easy to skim through the information, so I highly recommend taking the time to look at it. (Another nice feature: the authors have put their methodology information at the end of the report, so you can read the really interesting stuff first.)