Library Stuff

“Love taking photos on your smartphone? Now you don’t need to wait to get home to upload your high quality educational photos to Wikimedia Commons, the free image repository used by Wikipedia and many other projects. The official Wikimedia Commons app for iOS and Android allows you to quickly and easily upload your photos to Commons. You can also upload multiple files and add categories (Android only so far) and share your uploads through your favorite image sharing sites. Your contributions to Commons can help illustrate the world’s largest encyclopedia and make knowledge come to life for millions of readers around the globe.” (via Wikimedia blog)

“Kiwix isn’t just Yet Another Wikipedia app. Once you install it on your Android device, you can actually use it to download the whole website, and access its millions of articles even when you’re offline or when you don’t want to use your data plan. You can also download smaller and custom selections of pages, if you’re short on storage space.” (via Wikimedia blog)

THE NSW State Library has launched a highly innovative location-savvy smartphone app that gives users detailed information about exhibits as they pass them by. The app offers extra information on each exhibit and, where available, audio and video. But it goes beyond traditional offerings. It includes an ability to pinpoint where the user is in the library and provides relevant information about exhibits they can see (via The Australian)

“Today Microsoft launches its new Windows 8 operating system, and Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster are proud to announce the release of our Windows 8 applications. Available now in the Windows 8 app store, these two products mark the next step in the digital evolution of our iconic brands. I have been preparing Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster for the Windows 8 launch for some time, leading our development efforts in creating these truly stunning applications. This new medium has provided the ideal platform for us to give our users so much more than our core content.”

via Britannica Blog

“America’s Economy,” the U.S. Census Bureau’s first mobile application, is now available for iPhone and iPad. The America’s Economy mobile app provides updated statistics on the U.S. economy, including monthly economic indicators and economic trends. At a White House event today marking the three-month anniversary of the Federal Digital Strategy, U.S. Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel announced the launch of the iPad and iPhone versions and cited the Census Bureau as prime example of a federal agency “making great strides towards putting a solid foundation for a 21st Century Digital Government in place.”

via U.S. Census Bureau

“The U.S. Census Bureau today released its first-ever mobile application, “America’s Economy,” which will provide constantly updated statistics on the U.S. economy, including monthly economic indicators, trends, along with a schedule of upcoming announcements. The app, which is currently available for Android mobile device users, combines statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. America’s Economy is the first mobile app from the Census Bureau that provides smartphone and tablet users with the real-time government statistics that drive business hiring, sales and production decisions and assist economists, researchers, planners and policymakers. The economic indicators track monthly and quarterly trends in industries, such as employment, housing construction, international trade, personal income, retail sales and manufacturing.”

via U.S. Census Bureau

“An online application that allows businesses to compare themselves to their competitors, locate their competition, customers, and suppliers, and find the best places to advertise and their developer team of four won the Commerce Department’s first prize and $5,000 in the nationwide Commerce Business Apps Challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The winning apps use at least one Department of Commerce data set that assists businesses and/or improves the service delivery of Business.USA.gov to the business community. BusinessUSA is a centralized, one-stop platform to make it easier than ever for businesses to access services to help them grow and hire. All of these winners equip businesses with tools to be more competitive around the world, while creating jobs here at home.”

via Department of Commerce

“The Congressional Record app now works across all iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad).  The iPad app has been downloaded over 12,000 times.  I’m guessing with this update, that number will go up.”

via LOC

“A new smartphone app, due out this fall, will be able to provide a virtual tour of Arlington National Cemetery, list events there and help visitors locate gravesites. The new application will be available to the public in October, said Maj. Nick Miller, chief information officer for the cemetery. His team is already beta testing the app, which links geospatial mapping technology to digital records and tombstone photos. The app provides a real-time schedule of burials, wreath-laying ceremonies and other events at the cemetery. Employees there have been using a similar internal application since March to help manage daily activities at the cemetery.”

via The United States Army

“Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, has added powerful new functionality to WestlawNextTM with the introduction of the WestlawNext AndroidTM app. The mobile app will work on both Android tablets and smartphones, extending the capabilities of legal professionals and giving them mobile access to the preferred legal research service to enhance their productivity and efficiency. Features that can be leveraged through the app include the ability to: search all core content with WestSearchTM, the world’s most advanced legal search engine; use KeyCite® to confirm whether your cases and statutes are still good law; read and email documents; add notes to documents; and access and add documents to your folders.”

via Thomson Reuters