What's New on the Exhibit Floor?
A slew of newfangled devices are being marketed to libraries
Staff -- School Library Journal, 8/1/2001
Both of the huge exhibit halls at San Francisco's Moscone Center were filled with the latest in library technology and devices. Here are just a few of the many cool things we noticed:
Follettintroduced two new Web-based products. WebCollection Plus, a new Web-based catalog, lets users check a library's holdings either on site or from a remote location. But the really interesting thing is that you have the option of searching the catalog not only in English, but in Spanish and French. WebCollection Plus also enables users to request holds and interlibrary loans—anytime and from anyplace. Follett also has a new Find-It-All search service, which lets students simultaneously search the library catalog and all of a library's subscription databases. For more information, visit www.fsc.follett.com/products.
LIFT Discplay, a company that markets the slick display racks and CD-listening devices seen in Tower Records and Virgin Megastores, has now moved into the world of libraries. LIFT markets stylish, "impulse-grabbing" displays of books, periodicals, tapes, and CDs, along with vertical listening stations that display the disc being listened to through headphones. Visit www.liftonline.com.
Brotherjust released a new product that will pique the interest of many a librarian who works with kids—it's called the Backster Multi-finisher. With a twist of the wrist, this inexpensive ($49.99) device will cold-laminate paper or card-stock items, such as drawings and photos, up to five inches across, turning them into refrigerator magnets or stickers. For more information, visit www.brother mall.com/brothermall.
The ALVA Access Group displayed its 544 Satellite Braille device, which sits beneath a keyboard and "reads" software menus, commands, and dialog boxes, and both speaks them aloud and transcribes the messages into Braille. The device can also describe graphics and text attributes, such as bold or italic type. The ALVA Access Group Web site is at www.aagi.com.
Ai Squaredintroduced ZoomText, another handy product for library users with visual disabilities. ZoomText magnifies text on any monitor from two to 16 times, and allows easy screen navigation. ZoomText is compatible with the vast majority of software. It's available in two versions: one with magnification only and another that reads onscreen text aloud. Visit www.aisquared.com to download a 30-day, free trial version.
