Yes, there are librarian developers, and there are librarians like me who are working with developers to create book based apps for kids that don’t totally suck. I’m working with a group of students from Stanford University who are creating original content (Pixar quality animation, Caldecott/New York Time Bestseller quality books), plus an app distribution mechanism, ebooks, ILS integration, reading metrics, teacher/parents interface and just damn high quality stuff for kids aged 5-10 (for now; expansion forthcoming).The project is readIMAGINE (there’s not much there right now; this is startupland) and it is launching in public libraries. We are hopefully partnering with the California Library Association next year on a Summer Matters initiative to send out a metric ton of iPads throughout California, and we’ve got pilot projects set up in a number of libraries in the US and Canada.

We are looking for more partner libraries/schools to get this product into the world. These Stanford kids are brilliant and I would love to have the chance to speak to everyone who is reading this post about launching in your library (they don’t pay me to say this stuff; it’s just totally revolutionary what they’re doing and we need as many eyeballs on it as possible). If you have staff and/or public iPads in your libraries, or you would like to partner to seek funding to develop a circing or mounted iPad program, let me know. I’ll help you write grants or convince admin or whatever it takes to get this thing out into libraryland. I need your library!

If you want to beta test at your library, the first two books come out in December and can be downloaded from the library’s website and authenticated against a library card. The portal will hopefully be ready next year. You can have the content for free; just help us with some surveys so we can make it smooth for delivery in libraries. Ping me asap and let’s get this party started! @littleelit or cenlibrarian at gmail dot com.

Of course the C&T meeting I couldn’t attend today was the WORST one I could have missed (my son didn’t nap; for those of you who don’t have kids, this means the poo hit the fan). I had also hoped to talk to some of y’all about developing a virtual storytime app to go along with my digital storytelling project, but I didn’t get any responses after the last meeting.

I run a blog that specifically deals with developing digital storytimes in libraries. Littleelit.com

Let’s talk. Stuff’s a-changing.

Cen