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In the past few years PDA (Patron-Driven Acquisitions) has moved from experimental to a mainstream strategy for accessing e-books. As PDA has matured we are less likely to ask "Should we offer PDA" and more likely to ask "How should we offer PDA". This Lively Lunch is facilitated by representatives from three very diverse academic libraries that are offering PDA in widely varying ways, and who are realizing that the "A" in "PDA" could stand for "Access" instead of "Acquisitions". At McMaster University we have used mediated short term loans and purchases from EBL since 2007, and have participated in a consortial PDA pilot with Ebrary. We're currently modeling the effects of purchase triggers as we contemplate a move to unmediated access. At Western University we have been experimenting with PDA since 2007. Applying the lessons learned after completing pilot projects with EBL, Ingram Coutts, and with our provincial consortium we were able to successfully incorporate PDA into our regular acquisitions processes. At Providence College, we decided "play it safe", and not acquire ANY e-books simply based on patrons' requests. Instead, we chose what was then a unique offering from EBL - the ability to provide access as short-term loans instead of purchases. While the program started out as an experiment, we've grown very fond of it, as it inexpensively bridges gaps in Collection Development and ILL. The presenters will share PDA experiences at their institution, provide some insights into trends, and offer attendees the opportunity to tell about their own adventures in PDA. Come prepared for a lively discussion on: New options for PDA Assessing value How we done it good: best experiences with PDA Tales from the crypt: what didn't work.

In the robotics community, localization is considered a solved problem, however, the topic is still open to investigation. Mobile robot localization has been focused on developing low-cost approaches and there has been great success using probabilistic methods. Parallel to this, and to a much lesser extent, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been applied to the problem area with varying success.A system is proposed in this thesis where the typical probabilistic approach is replaced with one based purely on ANNs. This type of localization attempts to harness the simplicity, scalability and adaptability that ANNs are known for. The ANN approach allows for the encapsulation of a number of steps and elements well known in a prob- abilistic approach, resulting in the elimination of an internal explicit map, providing pose estimate on network output and network update at runtime. First, a coordinate-based approach to localization is explored: 1D and 2D trained maps with pose estimates. Second, the coordinate-based approach is eliminated in an effort to replicate a more biologically inspired localization. Finally, a path-finding algorithm applying the new localizaiton approach is presented. Validerat; 20121122 (global_studentproject_submitter)

About 40 percent of the books academic libraries purchase in traditional ways never circulate and another 40 percent circulate fewer than three times. By contrast, patron-driven acquisition allows a library to borrow or buy books only when a patron needs them. In a typical workflow, the library imports bibliographic records into its catalogue at no cost. When a patron finds a patron-driven record in the course of research, a short-term loan can allow him to borrow the book, and the transaction charge to the library will be a small percentage of the list price. Typically, a library will automatically buy a book on a third or fourth use. The contributions in this volume, written by experts, describe the genesis and brief history of patron-driven acquisitions, its current status, and its promise.