If your library owns or plans to own a 3D printer, take a look at ALA's 3D Tip Sheet that explores the public policy opportunities and challenges of 3D printer access for your patrons.
Have a Gmail account? Consider adding the free GmailThis! bookmarklet to your web browser. I've been using it for a month, and I love it!
When I'm at home and find a website I'd like to use for work, I can — without leaving the webpage I'm viewing — click the GmailThis! button on my browser tollbar to send the link to my work email address. And vice versa: when I'm at work and find a resource I want to explore on my own time, I just mark the relevant text and click the GmailThis! bookmarklet to send it to my home email address.
When you click the GmailThis! bookmarklet, it creates a "mini-interface" with Gmail, and pops up a Compose Message window that's pre-populated with a link to the web page you're at, as well as any text you may have highlighted on the page (up to 1000 characters.) Enter the email address to which you want to send the message, add some text to the body of the message if you'd like, then click the send button to mail it off. (if you aren't already logged in to your Gmail account, the log in screen will display first; just log in and re-launch GmailThis!.)
Just in time for Halloween, check the "ghost cam" at The Willard Library:
The library's apparition roams in silence; we're not certain who she is.
Some say it's Louise Carpenter, daughter of the library's founder, Willard Carpenter. While Willard provided for his family upon his death, Louise was very unhappy when he left most of his estate to the new library. She sued and lost. Perhaps, some say, Louise nurses a grudge and haunts the property to this day.
Others disagree. The Grey Lady is not malevolent, as they assume Louise would be. In fact, library employees have come to see the Lady in Grey as another staff member. They know that every so often, they will see the Grey Lady.
If you want to offer makerspace opportunities at your library but aren't sure you can spare the space, take a look at the range of "Make It Take It Kits" that the Meridian Public Library circulates. They lend make-it kits for robots, Raspberry Pi, sensory toys for children on the autism spectrum, Arduino, and lots more.
Make It, Take It Kits highlight maker activities and Do It Yourself (DIY) type projects. Each kit will have a theme and will combine traditional library resources (books, DVDs, magazines) with online resources (websites, youtube tutorials, digital content) and physical objects. The kit should encompass the materials and information needed to learn a new skill. The first kits to be introduced in January 2014 include:
When teaching tech to patrons — like how to set up an email account or create a résumé — it isn't always the technology that's challenging; it's the teaching part. It takes skill to support successful learning.
Because one-to-one instruction can happen any time at your library (sparked by a casual conversation at a service desk or when seeing a customer struggle with a catalog workstation), you might not have time to prepare.
Did you know it would be cheaper to print your vacation pictures with Dom Pérignon champagne? And it's antifreeze that makes an inkjet's water mix with the colors?
When your library's wireless / Wi-Fi access or Intenet connection is down, here's the information you need to troubleshoot the problem.
Note: this post is targeted to libraries in the Winnefox Library System that are on our shared network. If your library is located outside of Winnefox, you'll need to check with your local IT staff for their recommended procedures.
By the way, you might want to print out this information and keep it with your "what to do when you're down" documents, emergency procedures manual, and Winnefox Contact List (because you know... if the Internet's down at your library, you might not be able to access this post.) So to get the print-friendly version...
Staff at libraries in our system learned this spring we need to keep our Outlook mailboxes under 1 gigabite (1 GB) in size. (The amount of email stored on our Exchange server had grown enough that reducing each staffperson's mailbox quota could save backup space and improve the efficiency of our email server.)
For some staff, getting below 1 GB wasn't a problem. But others (like me) needed to pare down our mailboxes in a big way, so we set about archiving messages and saving & removing attachments to get under the 1GB mark. I'd met my goal by the deadline, but after a month passed — and more attachment-heavy emails arrived — I thought I might be close to bumping up against my limit again. I checked my Outlook's mailbox size, and sure enough — I realized I'd need to regularly monitor my mailbox size to ensure I wouldn't go over my quota.
Was it Dr. Seuss or a Dr. Seuss character who made his dog wear antlers? And was it Dr. Seuss or one of his characters who feared a pair of pale green pants?
It turns out that Dr. Seuss was nearly as eccentric as the characters he invented. :-)
Think you know your Seuss? Test your knowledge and try to beat my better-than-average 70% score...
If your library owns or plans to own a 3D printer, take a look at ALA's 
Consider planning some after-the-holidays classes or one-to-one sessions for patrons who receive the gift of a new tablet or mobile device.
Have a Gmail account? Consider adding the free GmailThis! bookmarklet to your web browser. I've been using it for a month, and I love it!
Just in time for Halloween, check the "ghost cam" at The Willard Library:
When teaching tech to patrons — like how to set up an email account or create a résumé — it isn't always the technology that's challenging; it's the teaching part. It takes skill to support successful learning.
When your library's wireless / Wi-Fi access or Intenet connection is down, here's the information you need to troubleshoot the problem.
Staff at libraries in our system learned this spring we need to keep our Outlook mailboxes under 1 gigabite (1 GB) in size. (The amount of email stored on our Exchange server had grown enough that reducing each staffperson's mailbox quota could save backup space and improve the efficiency of our email server.)
Was it Dr. Seuss or a Dr. Seuss character who made his dog wear antlers? And was it Dr. Seuss or one of his characters who feared a pair of pale green pants?