Official registration for SPLAT 101 has closed, but you can still participate in this self-paced online course! (If you want to receive weekly reminder emails, email Shirley Biladeau.) Join others and learn about six technology-based resources that can save you time and money at work and home.

• Week 1 – Blogs
• Week 2 – RSS
• Week 3 – IM
• Week 4 – Online Applications
• Week 5 – Wikis
• Week 6 – Tagging

Still have questions? Read our FAQ, leave us a comment or contact a SPLAT member directly using the list to the left. We hope you'll join us to learn these technologies the fun and casual way with SPLAT 101!

On Saturday, November 15th, 2008, libraries across the country participated in the first annual National Gaming Day @ your library initiative. Hundreds of libraries joined together in providing a variety of gaming events, including board games, card games, roleplaying games and (of course) video games.

At Ada Community Library in Boise, ID, my fellow SPLAT member Anna Warns and I put together video game filled afternoon for children and teens, featuring Rock Band, Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl, along with snacks and beverages. We also launched our first Family Game Night on the previous day, providing a variety of games and food for entire families to enjoy at the library after hours.

But I must admit that our efforts paled in comparison with rock star librarian Tina Cherry's National Gaming Day at the Jerome Public Library. With only ten days of preparation time, Tina marshalled her troops and resources to pull off a massive gaming event for her entire community. How do I know this? Because Tina blogged about her experience in putting together her library's National Gaming Day program in every detail (including how many flies she ended up drinking in her coffee). Read her informative and very entertaining account in ten easy installments on the Idaho Commission for Libraries community page. Here's a bit from her conclusion:

What if we all got really comfortable with live gaming over the next year? What if we helped other libraries get the practice of gaming tournaments, and took the time to reach out to gamers? What if the West DOMINATED the East on December 14, 2009? What if IDAHO turns out to be a gaming force to make libraries all over the U.S. want to beat us?

So what's stopping us from being the "gaming force" that Tina Cherry dreams of? Let's all pitch in and run gaming programs at our libraries so we really can dominate in 2009 (and into the future)!

Official registration for SPLAT 101 has closed, but you can still participate in this self-paced online course! Join others and learn about these six technology-based resources that can save you time and money at work and home.

• Week 1 – Blogs
• Week 2 – RSS
• Week 3 – IM
• Week 4 – Online Applications
• Week 5 – Wikis
• Week 6 – Tagging

Still have questions? Read our FAQ, leave us a comment, or contact a SPLAT member directly using the list to the left. We hope you'll join us to learn these technologies the fun and casual way with SPLAT 101!

Ruth's sobering post (SPOKEO or SPOOKEO?) about the dangers of online transparency got me thinking. (Well, first I actually took those adult diapers off of my Amazon.com wishlist. Just kidding.) A lot of the people I talk with are worried about what the Internet has to say about them. Because it's all out there for everyone to see, it is a little spooky to suddenly discover that your friends (and enemies) can "stalk" you online.

Fortunately, one of my favorite websites, Lifehacker.com, was thinking about this too and ran a feature called "Manage Your Online Reputation". Here's the intro:

Are you happy with the results people get back when they Google your name? If not, there are easy ways to monitor and guide what information is published about you online. Two years ago we covered how to have a say in what Google says about you, and more recently, and how to track down anyone online. But a rash of social media sites have arisen that give you more tools to help you manage your online reputation and become more findable. Let's take a look.

This article offers some great tips for taking control of your identity or (even better) your library's identity. I'll guarantee that even if you're ignoring the online conversations that are happening about your library, they're still going on without you. Why not roll up your sleeves and have your say in what the Internet is saying about you?

I was thrilled when, earlier this week, I discovered that the Idaho Library Association now accepts paying membership dues online. I've gotten used to being able to pay for everything online, from my monthly utility bills to new video games, so I was delighted to be able to tackle my ILA membership without even writing a check.

However, I still have to wonder when libraries will allow users to pay their fines (unless you are anti-fines) online? I was ecstatic when my library finally added the ability to pay with a credit or debit card in the building (even though it was about a decade overdue), but I'm still waiting to be able to pay over the Internet. Is it going to be another ten years before libraries offer this service?