[Web4lib] Digital Signage in Libraries

[Gimon, Charles A]

Ours run in Flash. The Flash files read XML files that are generated by
queries to our databases of events and promotions. These are the same
databases that we use to serve event information on our public and
internal websites. 

Flash is good for this sort of visual because it scales nicely and
smoothly. 

It's also very easy just to run Internet Explorer or Mozilla in
full-screen kiosk mode. You can just build a webpage that represents
what you want to display on the screen, have it refresh as often as you
like, and use the same skills, tech, resources that you're using for
your web presence. Use javascript for animation, embed RSS feeds, reuse
graphics that you're using elsewhere on the web, whatever you like.

--Charles Gimon
  Web Coordinator
  Minneapolis Public Library


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Cox, Christopher
N.
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 3:24 PM
To: lita-l at ala.org; web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Web4lib] Digital Signage in Libraries


We are fortunate to have acquired a number of plasma screens which we
will be putting throughout the library building for student current
awareness, marketing, etc.  Many of the implementations I have seen of
this type of technology involve running a looped PowerPoint presentation
on the screen.  I was wondering:
 
1)  Does anyone run a digital signage system such as this using software
or another technology other than PowerPoint?
 
2)  If we use PowerPoint, we want to avoid having to update the slides
all that often.  
 
a)  Has anyone figured out how to embed Outlook calendars in PowerPoint?
We wanted to use this to display our instruction lab's calendar to
students each day.  
b)  Also, has anyone figured out how to embed an RSS feed into
PowerPoint?  We use a blog for news and would love to display our latest
news stories as well as weather, world and national news, etc.
 
If anyone has done something really neat with this technology I'd also
love to hear it.  Happy to share what I hear with the list.
 
Thanks,
Chris.
 

Christopher Cox 

Interim Director of Libraries

Editor, Internet Reference Services Quarterly

McIntyre Library  

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire 

105 Garfield Avenue - L 3002A 

Eau Claire, WI 54702-4004 

Phone:  (715) 836-4454 

Fax:  (715) 836-2949 

Email:  coxcn at uwec.edu <blocked::mailto:coxcn at uwec.edu> 

 
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