BadgerLink is a service provided by the Department of Public Instruction which provides Wisconsin residents with licensed content not available through regular search engines. Some of the resources BadgerLink provides include LearningExpress Library (practice tests and tutorials for students and adult learners), EBSCO databases (everything from auto repair to articles on business, health, and general topics), HeritageQuest Online (genealogy resources), to name just a few. We link to some of the BadgerLink resources from the SCLS System-Wide Resources webpage for easy access for SCLS residents, and the full collection resources is available from the BadgerLink website.
Here are some more interesting tidbits about BadgerLink. Did you know...
This is just a reminder that the deadline to submit proposals to the WPLC User / Non-User Research Program is next Friday, May 26th!
Do you have questions about your community that you need answers to in order to expand or improve your services? Would you like more knowledge about and practice gathering and understanding data that will help you make decisions? If so, submit a proposal to have your survey or other research project funded by the WPLC and contribute your work to the larger WPLC community! The call for proposals is open to any person or team from the Wisconsin public library community that has attended or viewed all four webinars in the Research Program series. On the WPLC website, you'll find all sorts of information to help you create your proposal:
If you have any questions, please contact me at acoffin@wils.org or wplc-info@wils.org. From virtual reality to gamification to security techniques, libraries are using the latest technology to engage patrons, increase privacy, and help staffers do their jobs.
American Libraries spoke to library tech leaders—members of the Library and Information Technology Association’s popular Top Tech Trends panel from the 2017 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits—to get the apps, devices, software, and best practices that you can adopt for your library right now and in the near future. [Click here to read about their ten suggested library activities like:] 1. Take patrons on a virtual tour 3. Go on a Google Expedition 7. Teach patrons about private browsing
I first heard about Kiwi Crate Inc. from an engineering listserv. I had been looking for a unique “hand-on” present for my 3 year old grandson who lives in Texas and the Koala Crate (ages 3-4) subscription looked like the perfect gift. The subscription includes a crate (box) sent in the mail with everything needed for 2-3 creative theme based projects, plus additional materials to learn more. Luckily, I was visiting when his first box arrived. It was “Maker Fun”! I am embarrassed to admit that I now want the Tinker Crate (ages 9-16+) for myself.
Once we finished the activities in the crate, we wanted more. I was thrilled when I found the additional and free DIY ideas listed on the Kiwi Crate website. I wonder what our next project will be, maybe the Syrofoam stamps or the marshmallow launcher. Happy Tinkering!
This afternoon I pulled up my feed reader and tried to catch up with various blogs I follow. This took me to 3 wonderful posts on the TechSoup for Libraries blog (have I mentioned how much I LOVE the TechSoup blog?) that all had me thinking about mobile devices:
The last post has all sorts of interesting links, one of which took me to this article that lists "30 Ed-Tech Apps to Inspire Creativity and Creation." There are some apps here that I've heard of (Aviary and Google Slides, for example) and others that I can't wait to look into (Adobe Capture, LEGO Movie Maker)! Interested in cleaning up and verifying address information in your patron records? Here are some free tools to help you out.
Free address look-up tools:
USPS Publication 28 - Postal Addressing Standards
APC has announced a recall on a number of their surge protectors manufactured from 1993-2002. Please follow the link below to determine if your unit is included and how to file a claim. Do not be fooled into thinking your surge protector looks too new to be included. The one in my office appears flawless and yet it is from 1997.
http://recall.apc.com/en When you print webpages from the internet you usually get tons of ads and extra "stuff" drowning out your target material. You may also find that the formatting changes, which can be even more aggravating. Not only does all of this waste a lot of ink and paper, but it takes away from what you really want to see.
Are you looking for a fun way to represent yourself at the library and in your personal life? Then you should download the Bitmoji app from the Google Play Store or App Store. This fun app allows you to create a caricature (or emoji) of yourself that you can post to social media, send to friends and colleagues via text or email, or use them creatively in the library. The app itself is easy enough to use and walks you through every part of creating your face. From choosing your jaw line to eye shape and color to hair style and ears, you can create a pretty accurate character with your features. After choosing your facial features, you can choose an outfit that best represents your style. Next you will see hundreds of different poses, phrases, and actions your bitmoji can do. You can express different feelings, holidays, sports, or actions They do not move and are more like a sticker you can paste places. (Read more...) The Gigabit Libraries Network and San Jose State University's iSchool put out a call for proposals on libraries using TV Whitespace. The selected libraries "will initiate partnership projects with neighboring anchor institutions to explore and develop innovative uses for TV Whitespace (TVWS) to support remote fixed and portable library hotspots at new locations in their communities."
See this document for more information on the grant. If a library is interested in applying, there is a two-minute preliminary checklist video to see if the library qualifies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5IucDfMJ5w&feature=youtu.be. American Graphics Institute’s Library Partner Program offers no-cost technology training and digital books to library patrons from participating libraries. The self-paced online courses cover a range of popular skills:
Free Digital Classroom Books from American Graphics Institute These self-paced training programs are from the authors of the Digital Classroom series of books and training videos that were created by American Graphics Institute. More than one million of these books are in print. Access to the training includes free Digital Classroom book access: complete digital versions of these books are provided to participating library patrons. Access to accompanying video tutorials from the authors and lesson files are also provided. Qualifications for libraries to participate (read more...) WiLS is proud to announce a partnership with Gale to deliver Gale Courses to WiLS cooperative purchasing public library members at a deeply discounted cost per enrollment. Gale Courses can help you support your library’s educational mission and staff development.
Gale Courses, derived from Ed2Go courses for higher education, deliver hundreds of engaging, instructor-led online courses focused on professional development, technology skills, and personal enrichment to transform lives and foster positive changes in your community. Read more and/or order... A new phishing technique is fooling internet users into giving hackers access to their Gmail accounts. According to WordPress security plugin creator Wordfence, the way that the attack works is that hackers send emails to the contacts of compromised accounts containing a seemingly innocuous attachment. When the user clicks the attachment, a new tab opens in the browser that looks nearly identical to the Google sign-in page. If the user inputs their log-in information, it goes straight to the attacker.
On Hacker News, a commenter describes an incident that occurred at his school last year in which several employees and students were tricked into handing over their account information to attackers after receiving compromised emails and opening the attachments, thus perpetuating the cycle: (Read more...) At the All Directors Meeting last month, Tessa Michaelson Schmidt from DPI used a cool game to end the Annual Report: Before, During, and After workshop. It was a really fun way to wrap up the presentation and reinforce some of the main takeaways. As I watched, all the participants were really engaged in the game, laughing, and working together to figure out the answers. What an awesome tool to use for workshops - for your patrons or for your staff.
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AuthorJohn's collection of tech tips, trends, and training for NFLS librarians Click to set custom HTML
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