A Nice Boost from the Elizabethtown Public Library Staff

Moments ago we had a nice surprise here in my office. It has been a rough time lately as our office undergoes a huge change of moving our office from two suites to one to cut costs. You can read about it here. You can see pictures of the fun on facebook. My office walls were torn down and I'm temporarily using the future training room/small conference room to work. It's really not so bad, but I'll be happy when I'm in permanent digs again and the noise and smells subside. Heck, I have a job and a nice place to work, so I'm not going to complain.

The 14 member libraries we serve have been very understanding and supportive during this upheaval. Today, staff from the Elizabethtown Public Library showed up and sang Christmas Carols in our hallways. This random act of kindness and support meant a lot to me today. THANK YOU!!

Now, here's a bit of that Christmas cheer shared with us for all of you in case you too are in times of upheaval.

Download Kindle Format in OverDrive

Here's a great video from the Orange County Library System in Florida on how to download Kindle format eBooks in OverDrive...

There's an Online Learning Party Happening This Week!

There is an amazing online conference happening this week. Check out the Library 2.011 Worldwide Virtual Conference from November 2 - 4, 2011. It's going to be held around the clock online, in multiple time zones and it's FREE! There are 160+ sessions. Be sure to check it out on the main site and see if any of the presentations are for you.

Circulating Nooks at Sacramento Public Library

Are you a library thinking about circulating Nooks? Then you have to check out the final report from the Sacrament Public Library's e-Reader Project. They did a wonderful assessment that surveyed patrons and staff before, during and after the project.

Board Game Representation of using eBooks on OverDrive

Thanks to Craig Haggit, Adult Services Librarian at the Lancaster Public Library for sharing this Prezi presentation with me.

Lisa Bunker, a librarian at Pima County Public Library in Tucson AZ, posted this creative Prezi Presentation, Dowloading Library eBooks Using OverDrive, using a board game representation of the process. The drawing shows there are many steps involved, but instead of feeling overwhelmed by it all, the child within feels challenged to have fun and win the game! Great stuff.

One note: in our OverDrive interface, we do not offer a 21-day loan period; just 14-day or 7-day. Other than that, everything in this presentation is true for us. Also, for those of you with access to our Intranet, LILLY, I posted this to the OverDrive page under the OverDrive Training heading.

Baker's Dozen #8: Digital Books on Prezi

Train Your Staff and Patrons with My PC Series

Microsoft has launched a new resource called My PC Series. I attended a Webinar today from TechSoup. I'm sure they will be posting the archive soon. This is a FREE Windows 7 online curriculum to help provide "jargon-free, basic computer training for an adult audience". So, the only catch is you have to be using the Windows 7 operating system for the lessons.

The curriculum consists of ten 1 hour workshops that teach 'getting started' PC topics (Chat with IM, Create a Digital Movie, Digital Camera Tips and Tricks, Pick the Right PC, Start Here with Windows 7, Stay Safe With Windows 7...), four 3 hour workshops (Getting Started with Windows 7, Digital Photo Editing, Creative Slideshow, Connecting with Friends & Family) and a longer 12 hour Intro to Windows 7 course for business and home users. See the Workshop Descriptions Page or the Curriculum Comparison Slide for more information.

All of the materials are already created from Instructor Guides to PowerPoint Presentations to Activity Sheets. Plus there is a Student area of the Website where class resources are posted for students. See this Adoption Checklist to see what to do next to get started. I already downloaded a lot of the materials and will plan on using them as we move into Windows 7.

Did I mention this is all FREE?!! Be sure to check out this great resource.

Windows Nostalgia...

Check out this video of installing versions of Windows from the beginning of time through Windows 7. Very nostalgic! This just confirms that I'm getting old!

Help Me to Get Out of Jail!

WANTED!

Please Help Me!!! I have been arrested and will be put in jail for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Lock-Up at 9:00am on 8/24/11. Don’t even bother asking what crime I have committed – it’s not really that important (though it might be failure to update this blog in the last few months!). I just have to try to raise my bail to send 5 kids to summer camp ($3,000) before the Lock-Up and they will go easy on me, but I need your financial assistance to post my bond.

Please lend your support by going to this Website to help me.

Your 100% tax-deductible donation will help MDA continue research into the cause and the possible cure of the 43 neuromuscular diseases they cover. Your support of the MDA Lock-Up will also help MDA provide wheelchairs, clinic visits and summer camp for the families served by the Association.

Take a look at this moving video that helped me to decide to be locked up. Maybe it will help you to decide to give!



I really appreciate your help. And who knows, if enough of you donate, I can get out and just maybe update this blog!!!

SUSPECT MAY BE
DANGEROUS(LY) FRIENDLY
AND
HEAVILY ARMED WITH KINDNESS
PLEASE APPROACH WITH CAUTION!!!!

Turning the Page 2.0

Turning the Page 2.0 is "a free public library advocacy training course developed and presented by the Public Library Association (PLA) with generous support from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation." This sounds like a wonderful opportunity for the right price.

Here's a list of what the course consists of:

• In-person kick-off (attendance is not required, but is suggested. It’s fun!)
  


• Followed by a six-week course of synchronous and asynchronous online work
  


• Facilitator-led webinars provide live instruction and collaboration once a week
  


• Independent work on assigned modules of Turning the Page online offers a dynamic program of active and personal learning (one-two hours work/week)
  


• Offline one-on-one feedback from facilitators

Lean how to create and tell YOUR library's story, deliver effective presentations, develop a compelling case for support, and build and sustain parnerships along the way. Did I mention this is FREE?!

This will be offered 6 times in 2011 and 2012. Go look at the schedule and find a time and make it work. Sounds like a great investment in time but NO MONEY! Hope some of you can do it. If you do, please let me know how it went!

Kindle eBooks Coming to OverDrive

BREAKING News! I've been waiting for this one baby!

Soon You’ll Be Borrowing Kindle Ebooks From Your Local Library

Create Lists Training Scheduled

ATTN staff and volunteers of the member libraries of LSLC: a "Millennium Create Lists" class has been added to the training calendar. It has been scheduled for Tuesday 5/3/11 from 9:00am to 12:00pm in the training room at the System Office. We have space for a few more people, so feel free to register if you are interested. Here is the link on LILLY for more information and to register (Intranet site not viewable without password).

LISEvents - A Great New Site

Any library professional should already be subscribed to LISNews - a collaborative blog devoted to current events and news in the world of Library and Information Science.

Well, now they've come out with a great site to keep track of all of the great library-realted events happening around the world. LISEvents "is a community-based site intended to aggregate listings of library-related events of all types, sizes, and locations." I'm subscribed... are you?

OverDrive Updates Apps

Head on over to OverDrive's Digital Library Blog to read their post "OverDrive's eBook & audiobook apps for Android & iPhone/iPad updated". They released these updates TODAY!

I'm Enamored with QR Codes

I was so inspired by QR Codes this past year that I included one on our family Christmas Card.

Yesterday I found out about an amazing example of QR Codes. Check out the post with more details at Drew's Marketing Minute. It's called WorldPark and took place last year on Arbor Day at New York City's Central Park. I would have loved to be a part of it.

Here is a video of the event:



Not sure who's using QR codes, check out this infographic the post also mentioned.

So what does this mean for a library? Let me tell you, if I were in charge of a library (thank goodness I'm not!) I would do this inside my building. Create a QR Code scavenger hunt. Help people to discover all the hidden treasures in your library. I think it would be the coolest event! If you're a Lancaster County Public library and you do this you BETTER contact me for help. Looking forward to seeing what QR code gems pop up next in library land!

Did You Know About Key Tips in Office?

WOWZA!! I'm putting together a training about moving from Office 2003 to Office 2007. I then need to create a training about moving from Office 2003 to Office 2010. In my gathering of information, I have just discovered a WONDERFUL hidden gem you may not be aware of in 2007 and 2010. I'm referring to Key Tips!

Key Tips appear whenever you press the ALT key. Little Key Tip bubbles pop up for each tab and then after pressing the key shown in the Key Tip bubble and being taken to that tab you get to see even more Key Tips on the commands in the groups. For someone like me who has NO memory and could never really use keyboard shortcuts to their full potential, this offers much hope! Who knows, if I use these enough maybe they'll become embedded in my brain and I'll move with speed over my keyboard without having to touch my mouse.

See Microsoft's blog for step by step directions.

Thinking of Loaning Kindles?

Don't reinvent the wheel! Thanks to Buffy Hamilton for creating a marvelous LibGuide called Kindles at The Unquiet Library. She is a librarian at Creekview High School in Canton GA. In November of last year they began loaning Kindles to the students. She just posted a great step by step description of her LibGuide on the Learning Round Table's blog. Be sure to read through it and see how it's done!

OverDrive Video Tutorials from KCLS

From the ALA Learning Blog's 2/24/11 post titled: "Video Tutorials for Downloading eBooks From OverDrive"...

"The King County Library System has created a video tutorial to walk users through the process of downloading Adobe Digital Editions and transferring a title to their device. This is useful for staff to familiarize themselves with the process and patrons who can watch the video repeatedly until they successfully download a book on their machine.

Patrons can also watch video tutorials on downloading to Apple and Android portable devices or using NetLibrary. These can be found on the KCLS YouTube channel playlist Using the Library".

This is a great way to SEE how OverDrive works. KCLS has done a great job putting these together. For readers from the Library System of Lancaster County, be sure to check out the page I put together on LILLY where you can watch all of the videos.

My Help Beta is now live in OverDrive!

In OverDrive's ongoing effort to improve the user experience for downloading eBooks, audiobooks, and more, they have released a new tool called My Help. The image above appears on the front page of our OverDrive Site near the top of the left navigation bar. It was added on 2/23/11. Click the image to go directly to the new My Help Beta.

My Help is the first phase of improvements for OverDrive's help system. The My Help wizard provides ‘custom’ getting started information based on the formats that a customer wants to use (audiobooks or eBooks) and the type of computer or device the customers has (Windows, Mac, Android, NOOK, etc). Customers are shown targeted information about the software they need, formats they can use, steps they need to take to get titles, and a list of popular related questions.
If you have feedback for My Help, please email feedback@overdrive.com

For readers from the Library System of Lancaster County, be sure to check out the page I put together on LILLY about My Help Beta.