10 Essential Skills for Teaching Tech to Patrons

Submitted by schwarz on September 8, 2014 - 3:51pm

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.

Library Wi-Fi or Internet Down? Here's What to Do

Submitted by schwarz on August 15, 2014 - 9:33am

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...

Is It Down Right Now?

Submitted by schwarz on July 14, 2014 - 9:10am

Last month I kept getting "the connection has timed out" error messages when trying to access a website, so I checked the URL using my usual tool — Down For Everyone Or Just Me — and it let me know it wasn't the only one who couldn't access it. But then I discovered a website status checker that does a much better job of reporting website outages:

Spring Cleaning Time... For Your Social Network Connections

Submitted by schwarz on March 14, 2014 - 11:17am

cleaning tools It's time for spring cleaning, and for more than just your house — it's also time for a checkup & cleanup of services that have access to your social media accounts.

Do you connect your Facebook or Twitter accounts to apps or free services you've forgotten about or don't use any more? Lots of free services offer the option to use your existing social media accounts to register, that look like this one:

Here's what Nick Bilton says in the NYT Bits Blog:

Whether you realize it or not, dozens — if not hundreds — of apps and services have access to your social accounts and can see everything you’re doing online. Tweets, Likes, your location, are all there for the taking. What’s worse, there’s a pretty good chance you unwittingly gave them permission.

I noticed that hundreds of old apps have access to my Twitter, Facebook, Google and LinkedIn accounts.

It was time to do a little cleanup.

Just like the spring cleaning rule that says, “If you haven’t worn it in six months, throw it out,” you should use the same edict with your online data: “If you haven’t logged in to an app or site in six months, revoke its access.”

Didn't See it at WLA? Get Conference Program Handouts Now

Submitted by schwarz on November 15, 2013 - 11:56am

If you missed attending a program at the 2013 WLA Annual Conference last month, you can still see materials from presenters at the Program Handouts.

Here's a sample of what you'll find there:

A Replacement for iGoogle

Submitted by schwarz on September 13, 2013 - 4:17pm

If you use the iGoogle customizable start page to monitor RSS feeds and view gadgets, you already know that Google will "retire" it on November 1, 2013.

Now that you're looking for another free service to take its place (especially one that isn't an overcrowded page full of advertising), igHome is about as close to iGoogle as I've found.

igHome...

is free
makes it easy to import all your iGoogle RSS feeds, gadgets, and tabs
has links to Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and other apps just like iGoogle
has a ton of free gadgets you can add to your start page.

Here are the steps to make the switch to igHome:

Share Multiple Links in One URL

Submitted by schwarz on June 17, 2013 - 11:24am

When you need to shorten an URL, a service like TinyURL works great.

But when you need to provide multiple URLs in a small space — like I did for a library when there was room for only one link — there are free tools that make it easy to bundle those URLs into just one link. (Good to keep in mind for a post on your library's Facebook page, or for a 140-character tweet.)

Here's my favorite URL-bundling tool, with step-by-step instructions to create your own bundle:

10 Tech Tips That Will Save You Time

Submitted by schwarz on May 14, 2013 - 1:23pm

Take 5 minutes to watch David Pogue's TED Talk "10 Tech Basics You Think Everybody Knows (But They Don't)".

Learn Google stunts and a tip that turns your $50 camera into a $1000 camera.

You may know a few of these already, but there's probably at least one you don't!

Accidentally Close a Firefox Tab? 2 Ways to Restore It

Submitted by schwarz on February 14, 2013 - 2:15pm

If you accidentally close a tab in Firefox, there are 2 ways you can bring it back:

1.Right-click on the tab bar, then click "Undo Close Tab". You can repeat this step if you're looking for a tab you closed a while back in the same session.

Sharpen Your Google Skills: Free Advanced Power Searching Course

Submitted by schwarz on January 14, 2013 - 5:50pm

Sharpen your research skills and strengthen your use of Google search techniques — register now for Google's free 2-week Advanced Power Searching course.

It begins January 23rd, and lasts 2 weeks; it's a follow-up to their original Power Searching With Google course.

The syllabus for the two-week course includes two assignments and these twelve challenges:

The Ides

Internet