I recently read an interview in Library Hotline called "Champion of Confidence" between Michael Stephens and Sally Pewhairangi, a librarian from New Zealand. In the interview, Sally talks about confidence being a big part of Digital Literacy. If you think about it, this makes sense. There's a great deal of self-doubt and fear about trying new things - especially for library staff or patrons who didn't grow up in the digital era. This interview led me to Sally's website called The Library Boss*. I explored around, read some of the blog posts, and took the quiz to find out my Digital Super-Power. According to Sally, there are six Digital Super-Powers: adaptability, critical thinking, curiosity, empathy, patience, and problem solving. Guess which one I am?** Which one are you?
Continue reading... Now it is Microsoft's turn. They just released free lesson plans and projects surrounding STEM subjects, calling it Hacking STEM. Check out their website here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/education-workshop/default.aspx. While there, select the blue EXPLORE THE LIBRARY box for more more projects. Most of these are inexpensive and use everyday materials. Have fun!
From Jim Lynch at techsoup:
So much of the recent technology news has been about the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that just went into effect. It's a set of rules about everyone in the EU's personal data privacy rights. But should your library do something about it? GDPR privacy standards are fast becoming the international standard for privacy. California has a similar law on the November ballot called the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. If that passes, then a number of U.S. states will probably follow suit. The website design firm Hallam Internet has published a very useful blog post on concrete, practical things that anyone with a website (including libraries) can do to comply with GDPR. Find the Hallam Internet piece here. For some good, clear info on what GDPR is and who it affects, I recommend Idealware's GDPR: Is Your Organization Ready? Google for Education comes through again with a robust tool for both teachers and students of technology. This is directed at schools but mentions libraries as well. Actually, it can be used - for free - by anyone!
My thought is that you could take advantage of this program in your library to assist patrons and/or your staff in learning technology-related subjects, or you could become the student and educate yourself. Either way, Google makes it easy. Go here to check it out and get started. You must have a Google account (i.e. gmail) to participate. Following the Students path will get you access to all the lessons, which is probably all you need. If you choose to follow the link for Teachers, you will be asked to complete a form about your position/facility; just fill it out as best you can. I did it myself and found nothing preventing me from participating. However, the "teacher" path takes you to lesson plans and organizational functions. Though necessary for a school teacher, it might be way more than you need for the library. From the Public Library Association's, Public Libraries Online, written by Contributing Editor MIKAEL JACOBSEN, Learning Experiences Manager at Skokie (IL) Public Library.
Public libraries are approaching the digital divide using different strategies. Aside from providing access to computers and internet, the most common digital divide–bridging mechanism is group classes on technology. The public affirms this focus for libraries: 94 percent of Americans believe public libraries should “offer programs to teach people, including kids and senior citizens, how to use digital tools such as computers, smartphones and apps. We know we should teach technology and most of us are, but are we doing it well? Skokie (IL) Public Library created three program assistant positions (each working twenty hours per week) during a staff realignment about four years ago (read more about this realignment). This position serves numerous purposes, one being a teacher’s assistant for technology classes. The most important part of being the teacher’s assistant is to observe patrons and step in to help when needed. In some cases, our program assistants have never seen the technology they are helping instruct in and are learning alongside patrons. Our amazing program assistants have observed and assisted in around three hundred technology classes led by roughly thirty instructors - they have seen it all... Read the entire article here Rose, on the SCLS blog, reminds us:
You wouldn't let a staff member keep a key to the library after they become a former staff member, would you? Of course not! Don't forget to take the same care with the library's website. When a staff member leaves the library (for any reason, good or bad), it's good practice to limit their access to edit library websites, such as:
For example, if your library website runs on Drupal, there are options* to deal with a departing staff member's website editing account:
The specific options and steps for each platform may differ. The important thing is to remember to make sure the account housekeeping happens! Peer Council is the yearly assembly of librarians involved with and interested in library technical services hosted by WiLS! WiLS and the Peer Council 2018 Planning Team are excited to present this opportunity to learn new things, share information with peers, build a community of practice, and interact with a diverse group having shared common interests.
When: Monday, June 4th, from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm Where: Third floor Community Room at the Madison Public Library – Central at 201 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703 (with parking available at the Overture Center Garage.) More info/register: https://www.wils.org/news-events/wilsevents/peer-council-2018/ Andrea Coffin, from WiLS, sent this reminder about the upcoming BiblioBoard Webinars:
Hello! Now that the Wisconsin Author Project is underway, we are excited to share more about other upcoming WPLC projects with BiblioBoard! Register to attend one of two upcoming webinars focused on Pressbooks, SELF-e, and digital collections from BiblioBoard: Tuesday, April 24th at 1:00 pm: Register to attend Tuesday, May 8th at 1:00 pm: Register to attend Both webinars will cover the same information and both will be recorded and shared with the WPLC community. If you have any questions, contact wplc-info@wils.org. Love Great Books and Great Authors?
Go inside the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books with LIVE, exclusive author interviews from PBS Books and The Great American Read Live online coverage this Saturday and Sunday! April 21-22 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET! PBS Books brings you up close with the world’s great and emerging authors and celebrity writers at the largest event for books in the U.S. Watch two days of coverage this week online at pbsbooks.org or on Facebook Live Read all of Rich Homberg's PBS Detroit post... Not enough time to post on social media? Unsure of who to delegate your social media tasks to at your library? Don't worry, you're far from alone — and we have the data to prove it.
In a collaborative survey done by WebJunction and TechSoup (see infographic below), we surveyed over 400 libraries to try and get a better understanding of how they are currently using social media — and some of the biggest challenges they face. The final survey results revealed that the three most popular platforms were Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. No surprise there. However less than half of the libraries were posting on these platforms multiple times per week. Top Social Media Challenges for Libraries In a time-strapped and resource-strapped industry, many libraries saw recurring challenges that didn't prove that the effort was really worth it. However, when done correctly and consistently, social media can be a truly powerful tool for cultivating a community. In this post, we break down the top three challenges and offer a few solutions to make social media efforts more fruitful. We also include links to some useful tools that will help streamline your efforts. Read more at: http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/blog/3-most-common-social-media-challenges-for-libraries-and-how-to-overcome-them We've talked about finding and using public domain images quite a bit here on TechBits - as far back as 2009! More recently, I've been finding add-ons and plug-ins that make it even easier to use public domain images in your documents and presentations thanks to Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers*.
We've talked about Pixabay before, I think, as another place to find public domain images. It's one of my go-to sources for images for presentations. It's even easier now to find and use photos in Word or PowerPoint by using the Pixabay Images plug-in for Office. If you need help finding and installing PowerPoint plug-ins, Richard has you covered with his video here. For Google Docs, Richard has a post showing how to use the Pixabay and Full Deck add-ons. The Full Deck add-on is new to me and uses Unsplash that Kerri talked about last December. Most recently, I used the Word Cloud Generator add-on for Google Docs. I had forgotten how much I like the visual representation of the important words in a discussion or exercise. Here's an example from a recent discussion about purpose. While I haven't used this add-on yet, It's something to keep in mind when I need to use icons in my presentations. The Noun Project has "over a million curated icons" and they're now available through an add-on for Google Docs and Slides. Google Slides doesn't have a large number of add-ons available yet. Luckily, one of them is Unsplash for Google Slides. It's very easy to use and makes adding images to your presentations a breeze. *If you haven't followed Richard yet, you really should! And, if you missed him in January when he presented for the 2018 Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference, you can watch the recording here. WHAT IS THIS?
This is the latest trending item for Schools, Libraries, and Universities. It is an ALL METAL, powder coated Cell Phone Charging Station that charges 100% off all ectronical devices, and is now available at DEMCO! (Flyer here) Bring the Magic of Harry Potter Right to your Library (from Google for Education newsletter)3/8/2018
Google Arts & Culture has partnered with the British Library to bring the magic of Harry Potter to the library. This online version of a Harry Potter exhibit includes the series’ original illustrations, a history of witchcraft and wizardry, fantastical beasts, and much more. You can view over 190 items and 10 exhibits right on the Google Arts & Culture site. Step aboard the Hogwarts Express here.
I attended a fun NFLS webinar last week and was reminded all over again about Internet Archive, a "non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more." Have you been there? Here's just a tiny sampling of what you might find:
The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine also allows you to view more than 310 million webpages saved over time. Run into a dead link? Wonder what a webpage used to look like? Pop it into the Wayback Machine! More articles and resources related to Internet Archive
See the full post here. See the information below to receive a free Libby marketing set of materials for your library!
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