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Tech

Staff Training, Tech
Clarity is a competency
April 24th, 2009 | Permalink | 2 Comments
Clear communication is one of the competencies defined in the Personal/Interpersonal set (coming in May) of the WebJunction Competency Index. In the interests of improving my own level of competence, I’d like to add some clarity to the information about the current Technology Competencies Evaluation announced in my Monday post.

Now that over 700 people have taken the evaluation (wow!), I’ve had a chance to peek at some of the comments. There is some confusion to address.
1. This is a self-evaluation. It is intended to help you determine where your skills and knowledge are strong and where there’s a need for improvement. It is beyond the scope of our efforts to design and implement an objective, diagnostic technology test based on field-wide standards.
2. The Core technologies are intentionally very basic. These are the minimum set that everyone working in the library, including the parking attendants, are likely to need in order to do their jobs.
3. You are welcome to take the evaluation again and choose the other of the two paths. At the latest count, people have chosen the Core path by a margin of 3:1. If you felt it was too basic, choose the Systems & IT path.
  Go to: http://tinyurl.com/cfex6u
And thanks for your enthusiastic participation!
Community Building, groups, MaintainIT, Tech, Webinar
Webinar to Celebrate the MaintainIT Cookbooks
April 21st, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

It’s not too late to register for tomorrow’s Cookbook Celebration webinar with friends and contributors from the Maintain IT project. Why the celebration? Well, Sarah Washburn explains it best in her MaintainIT blog post earlier this month, to mark a time of transition for the project:

While grants have explicit start and end dates, the work we do at TechSoup to support libraries does not. TechSoup’s MaintainIT Project was funded by a 3-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that ended last month. It’s hard to believe that three years have passed, but March 31 just came and went, because nothing really changed for us behind the scenes of MaintainIT. And nothing much will, really…We’re continuing to support libraries and we’ll continue to share stories from libraries, so please stay in touch.

And we here at WebJunction would like to invite you to join the celebration as we honor the over 400 Cookbook contributors, share lessons learned from the project, and to let you know that the Cookbooks are alive and well on WebJunction. In addition to all three MaintainIT Cookbooks, WebJunction is home to the Cookbook Contributors Group, the collaborative group who uses and updates the Cookbooks.

You’re encouraged to join the group if you’re responsible for buying, supporting or maintaining your library’s technology, so you can continue to share your experiences, solutions and challenges with others. And we’re excited to provide a number of ways for folks to update and build upon the Cookbooks over time.

Please join tomorrow’s virtual celebration, where you’ll get top technology tips from library technology experts, hear what MaintainIT Project staff learned from their many conversations and library travels around the country, and learn more about how you can keep the Cookbook community alive on WebJunction.

In these tough times, there’s little more important than recognizing the efforts of so many people committed to sustaining strong and relevant technologies in our libraries, who have taken the time to share their experience and expertise so that all libraries might benefit. Here’s to all who have stopped “reinventing the wheel”!

Register for the webinar »
Staff Training, Tech
Technology in the library: evaluate yourself
April 20th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
The Competency Index on WebJunction is growing. We just added two new sets for technology applicable to libraries:
- Core Technology competencies address skills that all staff need in order to work in today’s “wired” library.
- System & IT competencies address the various complex technology systems that drive library operations.
New competencies warrant a new opportunity to assess your level of skill in key library technology areas. No matter whether you’re at the beginner or the advanced end of the technology spectrum, the Technology Competencies Evaluation will help you measure your skills and will help WebJunction determine where to focus courses and resources to move you and libraries forward.

Please take 10-15 minutes to complete the evaluation and then start pursuing your path to higher achievement with technologies.
Online Collaboration, Tech, Technology Planning
Help Collect 101 Tech Tips in 30 Days
April 7th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
Along with rapidly changing technologies, the public’s increased use of library computers puts extra demands on the setup and maintenance of hardware, software, networks, and security. Part of technology planning is staying on top of those tasks. Help build a list of 101 tips for managing public access computers by submitting one tech success tip from your library. It takes just 5 minutes to share your favorite quick tip that will help others be more successful with technology in their library and you’ll receive 100 in return!
1. Sign in to WebJunction (be sure to use “remember me”!)
2. Create an account for free if you’re not yet a member
3. Post your tip in the Tech Success Tips discussion
4. Members with winning Tech Success Tips will be recognized in the May issue of Crossroads and awarded prizes for “best” and “most” tips posted.
Conferences, Tech, Web 2.0
SXSW Interactive and the Value of Always On (or Off?)
March 19th, 2009 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Over the weekend I attended the South by Southwest Interactive Conference (SXSWi) in Austin. For those that don’t know, SxSWi is the tech/social media conference the week before it’s more famous music-festival sibling.

The depth and variety of topics, panels, presentations, activities, and conversations eclipse what you’d even imagine to find anywhere. Blogging for fun and profit? Check. A pile of Legos the size of your local coffee shop? Why not? A debrief on the future past of CSS 3.0. Check. How about a solar-powered, photo-snapping, flickr-bike? You bet. Or maybe you want a deep dive on best practices for privacy tools on social networking sites? Of course. And … so on, and so on… Yep, SXSW has gotcha ya covered.

Such richness nearly tempted me into four full days of blogging. Luckily for you, I instead found a way to spend the bulk of my time watching, talking, and thinking. Well, actually, that path chose me… but let me back up a step.

(more…)
Staff Training, Tech
Back to [computer] Basics
January 9th, 2009 | Permalink | 3 Comments
Discussions in last month’s Town Halls confirmed the increasing number of patrons who are using library computers for job searching and other critical tasks during this economic crisis. As library staff, we must be well prepared with to guide patrons in the fundamentals of using computers and the Internet. This month, we’re featuring WebJunction resources and courses on Basic Computer Skills and Basic Computer Support that can help equip you and your colleagues with the skills you need to maintain your computers and effectively assist your patrons.
- Been meaning to brush up on skills to build a better spreadsheet or design an attractive program flyer? Introductory courses are available for many Office Applications.
- Need help getting rid of those “out of order” signs? See the course catalog for courses on Basic Computer Support to get you started.
- Do you know what computer skills you need? Technology Competencies for Public Access Computing (PDF file) defines the basic skills, knowledge, and behaviors needed to keep your public computing program humming.
- Do you have patrons with minimal computer or Internet skills? Rodney McElveen created a Basic Computer Literacy Guide, ready to print out and have on hand for those just getting started.
- Need some guidance on serving your “Silver Surfer” community? Be sure to check out the Pamm Clements article about how her library developed electronic literacy classes for seniors.
- And don’t forget to check out the Webinars coming this month. Presenters will cover the basics related to staying organized, understanding bandwidth, staff training, and technology planning.
As you explore, use the new WebJunction tools to rate, recommend or comment to help assess and build these shared resources. Rating helps surface content that you find valuable—or not so valuable. Use the comments field to highlight outdated information or links, to suggest additional related resources, or to provide feedback to the contributing member. Use the recommendation feature to spread the word about documents that have helped you in your work. Your engagement helps keep the resources on WebJunction relevant and timely. Thank you!
MaintainIT, Tech, Technology Planning
New MaintainIT Cookbook on WebJunction
January 6th, 2009 | Permalink | 1 Comment
WebJunction is pleased to host the third cookbook from TechSoup’s MaintainIT Project: Planning for Success. This free online resource brings together the most current ideas and best practices for planning, building, and managing your library’s computer technology. Kudos are in order to the more than 200 librarians from around the country (check out the acknowledgment pages in the Cookbook’s downloadable version) who have contributed their experience and knowledge on over 50 topics ranging from security solutions and strategic maintenance practices to community building experiences involving Web 2.0 tools and vital partnerships.

The cookbook covers six sections and includes a related set of tools for each chapter (collected as the “toolkit” also available in downloadable version):
- Planning and Decision Making covers the ins and outs of creating a technology plan tied to strategic priorities and goals.
- Communication and Partnerships delves in the fundamentals of day-to-day technology communication from a “techie” and “non-techie” perspective. It also includes some important guidelines for working and collaborating with key stakeholders.
- Buying and Deploying Technology goes through some of the core actions and decisions you need to consider when planning deployments, installations, and upgrades.
- Maintaining and Sustaining Technology offers important insight into the daily management of public computers.
- Networking and Security covers some of the basic standards and practices for ensuring your library’s network security.
- Innovation highlights the true value of today’s libraries and the role in serving as the center of new community conversations via a much higher level of user interactivity and experiences.
Please use the comments field available at the bottom of each cookbook article to add other links or suggestions for enhancing the cookbook. Your valued input will keep this outstanding resource up-to-date and relevant to maintaining technology all libraries. The Planning for Success Overview provides links to each article as well as the downloadable PDF versions of both the Cookbook and Toolkit.

Thank you again to all the MaintainIT contributors!
Advocacy, Funding, News, Sustainability, Tech, Webinar
And now, back to “your library in today’s economy”
November 5th, 2008 | Permalink | 6 Comments
I know, it’s a solemn reminder for the day after, but I wanted to check in with folks who were hoping for the passage of library bonds yesterday.

I’ve heard both good news and bad about library bonds passing. I’m hoping folks will share their stories here as a comment or in a WJ discussion. Because we’re getting ready to launch our Virtual Town Hall in December these types of conversations will also be useful in helping the WJ community build a solid foundation for the series.

Virtual Town Hall: Focus on Tough Economic Times

This December, WebJunction is hosting a series of three webinars on the topic of Libraries in Tough Economic Times. Join us in a new Virtual Town Hall format designed engage all attendees with questions, brainstorms, stories, and to collect practical strategies. We’ve picked 3 different days and times to accommodate as many schedules as possible, but you’re encouraged to join us for as many of the sessions as you are able.
- Thursday, December 4, 10:00 PT/1:00 ET Register Now
- Friday, December 12, 11:00 PT/2:00 ET Register Now
- Thursday, December 18, 12:00 PT/3:00 ET Register Now
I’ve started a Town Hall discussion to get the conversation rolling and to get input as we decide on topics for focus. I think that library bonds are certainly worthy of focus. Other ideas include:
- library budgets
- library closures
- staffing cuts
- and new patron needs in tough times.
Please plan on bringing your questions and strategies to the events. All attendees will be encouraged to participate, but if you’ve got something meaty to share, let us know so we can get your slides or pictures into the Virtual Town Hall before the session begins.

I’ve been itchin’ to use the Wimba Classroom for more informal virtual gatherings like this and look forward to the series. With your participation, we as a community can begin to tackle many of the challenges that lie ahead for our libraries.
Conferences, Tech
Avoiding podium panic: One presenter’s cheat sheet
November 3rd, 2008 | Permalink | 6 Comments
A big thanks to Chrystie for including me in the LITA 08 Design for Participation program. It was a great way to get my presentation feet wet with WebJunction.

As I was working on my slides for the program, I flashed back to a library-school instruction course assignment that tricked me into evaluating various presenters and presentation styles.

A byproduct of that work was a collection of rules and or tips I compiled and shared with the class. It was a good exercise then—anything that keeps me from being the dork at the podium is a good thing—and it keeps on giving; I’ve used the work to prepare for many presentations since (thanks, Mike!).

You probably have some similar guidelines or tips you use (please share!); here are a few that have worked for me:
1. Text is boring. Animations are distracting. A middle ground can be images that evoke concepts and text used as graphical elements. Of course, that didn’t stop me from including a some boring text and a few animations in my last deck (which is why this tip #1. Maybe I’ll remember to do better next time).
2. Like Elvis, keep your slides everywhere (in the cloud, on a flash drive, on your phone, on a friends phone. Whatever it takes). There’s nothing like that feeling of panic when your machine won’t come out of hibernation right before your presentation.
3. Notes are optional. Or not. My actual need for a ginormous, tree-killing stack of 3×5 cards is inverse to the amount of time I spend creating them.
4. The AV guy is your new BFF. My cord-plugging/key-toggling skills can go head-to-head with anyone in the high school AV club. But that doesn’t mean I have to get down on the conference room floor in a suit if a paid professional is willing to help.
5. Bring a drink. Your hosts may not have liquid refreshment and that’s when you’ll, cough, cough, need it. (Water. Not vodka, at least not until after. See note #8)
6. Inverse Time Syndrome: A fear of not filling my time makes me go faster. Worry about going over? I normally do. Fight this through preparation (see rule #3.)
7. Alternative tools can be nutty fun. Whiteboard? Wii? Video? Flickr? Nothing but your soothing voice? Sometimes PowerPoint or Keynote is the only acceptable choice. Occasionally, though, you’ll have an opportunity to try something new. It’s all about knowing your audience.
  For example, I had this wacky idea to chuck the slides and project our scribble and doodle-filled notes from a yellow legal pad. To me it was a metaphor for the WJ brainstorming activities we described in the talk. Chrystie, knowing the audience, thankfully threw down some veto power on that one.
8. Have fun from the start! By the end of the talk I’m normally pretty loose and enjoying myself. I really need to to remember this so I can enjoy things from the the first slide (But whatever you do, don’t go all rogue on Rule #5 as shortcut. It will go badly.)
9. Watch good presenters present. Meld their ideas to create your own style. Al Gore and Steve Jobs come to mind as true podium gurus. You don’t have to be a fan of these folks to admit they know their way around a slide deck. My personal favorite? Lawrence Lessig. In fact, just remembering some of the magic he worked in Seattle last year with a single word on a black slide makes me giddy. Ahhh…
Those are just a few of my go-to reminders. I’m sure I’m missing a some. Do you have any presentation tips or rules? Please share them with the community!
Online Learning, Staff Training, Tech
WJ Members Receive 20% Tuition Reduction through Drexel Online
September 10th, 2008 | Permalink | 1 Comment

Here’s a deal… If career advancement is in your future, consider Drexel’s online Bachelor’s, Master’s or Certificate Degree Programs.

Drexel will be hosting two online information sessions on September 17th for those interested in learning more about Drexel’s online degrees, which range from online MLIS to Sports Management, Global and International Education to Psychology and Nursing. These short, one-hour sessions will focus on the application process, your partnership program tuition benefits, and navigating the online environment.

When you apply, please use “WEBJUNCTION” as your affiliation code in order to qualify for your special tuition rate.

Session #1:
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM (EST)
Click here to register!

Session #2:
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM (EST)
Click here to register!

To complete your free online application, visit drexel.com/wj
Tech, Webinar
Creating a Technology Petting Zoo Webinar Recap
August 18th, 2008 | Permalink | 3 Comments
Posted on behalf of Annette Gaskins

Maurice and I were delighted to have an opportunity to present this webinar for WebJunction! We had over 70 participants who were evenly distributed across the country. At least one participant was from Canada!

During our session, we shared our experiences as co-chairpersons of a team that designed, facilitated, and presented a Technology Fair, or “Petting Zoo” to the staff of our library system. Our objective was to provide basic information and advice to librarians and administrators who would like to create a similar experience for their own library systems.

Attendees of the webinar shared their own ideas with the group. For example, in answering the question What technologies could you use in your system or state?, a long list of ideas was generated, which I’ve shared below:
- rss
- cell phones
- CMS with RSS feeds
- Facebook
- kindle
- iPods
- mobile devices
- video
- gaming
- e-books
- wikis
- streaming video
- social networks
- iPhone
- cell phones
- game software
- playstations
- Wii for teen services
- mp3 w/netlibrary
- professional networking
- MP3 Audio Book download
- WebJunction
- Library 2.0
- myspace
- Overdrive
- IM
- moblie web
- Game systems
- IM reference services
- downloadables
- wiis–troubleshooting
- Nintendo DS
- PSP
- digital cameras
- YouTube
- second life
- Wii
- open source
- IM Reference
- social bookmarking
- MP3
- smartboards
- games
- thumb drives
- blogs
- wikis
- IM
- Flickr
- webconferencing
- Facebook
- Wiimote whiteboards
- all of them
By the conclusion most participants said that they were ready to attempt a Technology Petting Zoo of some kind in their own library systems. A few said they were already in the planning stages. We hope to hear from them – how the Fairs went, what their successes were, and how they handled any issues that come up.

You can access the archive of the webinar and associated resources or participate in a post-webinar discussion.
ALA 2008, Tech
Help for keeping your computers up and running
July 9th, 2008 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Still reeling after my busiest ALA ever. I suppose it’s possible that each year seems busier than the last, but I will ask you to remind me not to over commit next year . With 5 ppt presentations saved on my trusty WJ flashdrive (2 of them shorter, but still!), I wound my way through the week to a final panel presentation on Monday afternoon. I was privileged to present Keeping Your Computers Up and Running—We Can Help! with Dr Diane Neal from the School of Library and Information Sciences at North Carolina Central University and Brenda Hough from MaintainIT.

Along with our LITA hosts (Thanks to Irmgarde and Paul!) we prepared to present a range of information, beginning with Diane who provided thorough and practical pc, printer, network and Internet troubleshooting tips, and an excellent primer for how to communicate with IT support when you can’t fix it yourself. Next Brenda gave an excellent overview of MaintainIT project and provided an opportunity for people to break off into smaller discussions (you know I liked that part!) about successes and challenges. She mentioned that their upcoming webinar is going to be co-presented by a teenager who helped develop the library’s PC reservation system! Then I finished with an overview of some of the great tech tools and best practices to come out of WebJunction, including TechAtlas and some of the brainstorms and action planning tools from the Rural Library Sustainability Project. My overall message was about how we need to stop reinventing the wheel and to bring unlikely collaborators into the work of technology planning and maintenance. I reminisced about when technology in the library involved signing patrons up to use the one branch PC to type resumes, in the day when the 3 typewriters in the neighboring carrels were still far more popular. Now our jobs are driven by technology inside and outside of the library, and we need to be accountable to our communities as stewards of that technology. We need to “pull open the circle” and recognize those in our library staff, our trustees, and our broader communities who have a role to play in keeping our computers up and running.

I have to say that the collaborative experience of developing and presenting with this panel, as with the 2.0 Cafe, made me feel even more excited to come back home and continue the work of getting ready to launch the next WJ platform. I can’t wait to pull open the circle of WJ!
chrystie, Library Services, Marketing, Tech
patron stories
June 26th, 2008 | Permalink | 4 Comments

My colleague Zola Maddison mentioned to me today that she thought we ought to publish the patron stories behind or alongside the library staff stories we tell at WebJunction.

So, what if when we talked about what Rachel does for her library in the Mission Branch of San Francisco Public, we could also hear the voices of some of her patrons talking about how her library services have changed and enriched their lives?

That is why we do this stuff, afterall.

Zola’s comments came after a whirl-wind hour of Knowledge Cafe-ing, hosted by Betha and Emily, based on their time at SLA this year. At the end of that session we were talking about actions and outcomes from the Cafe. ‘Just let it change you,’ I said, ‘let it influence our work’. But what I think I may have meant was more simple than that, even: ‘just let it remind you’.
Conferences, News, Online Collaboration, SLA 2008, Tech
SLA Opening: Sharing is power
June 16th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?
“Some people say information is power. Baloney. Information sharing is power!”

So spoke Vint Cerf, “father of the Internet” and keynote speaker at the opening session of SLA 2008. Cerf responded with wit and intellect to perceptive questions from his interviewer Charlie Rose. Given the title of Internet Evangelist at Google, Cerf figured he’d better have a religion, so he calls himself Geek Orthodox.

Future-facing ideas and endeavors:
- Mobile computing will expand the reach of the Internet and lower the barriers to access.
- The key to the huge success of the Internet is its openness—something to be vigilantly defended against attack.
- The Interplanetary Internet is Cerf’s effort to standardize network protocols for data transmission across the solar system.
- His Internet Cafe Project intends to provide Internet access to people in remote locations around the world. With solar-powered systems connected by satellite, the cafes are meant to be run as for-profit businesses.
Just listening to Vint Cerf is a mental exercise—illuminating and exciting.
Library Services, Question of the Week, Tech, Teens
Question of the Week: Gen-Y Heaviest Library Users?
March 6th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?

This seems like a fitting topic to tackle as we wind down Teen Tech Week 2008. As many of you are no-doubt familiar, a recent IMLS-sponsored Pew Internet Study looked at library use (among other things) and came to what some are calling surprising conclusions.

According to the study results, it appears that libraries indeed remain relevant in this internet age. In fact, the study found more than half of all Americans manged to visit libraries last year. Even more surprisingly, those tech-savvy, web-loving, Wikipedia using Gen-Yers were the biggest library users of all.

To start a discussion on the topic, WebJunction member alatreil asked:

“Would you say that Generation Y (18-30-year-olds) are your library’s heaviest users? What do you think this means for your library—and what does it mean for the nation’s libraries?“

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Please post in the original thread, or here in the blog comments.