SPLAT - Special Projects Library Action Team

In support of the continuing conversation about the value of a library to its community, I would like to bring your attention a national intiative to develop and implement public access benchmarks for libraries. 

The American Library Assoication Office for Information Technology Policy, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, International City/County Management Association, Lyrasis, OCLC, California State Library, Oklahoma State Library, Public Library Association, TechSoup Global, Texas State Library,University of Maryland, University of Washington, Urban Library Council are working together to develop the "first-ever" set of national benchmarks to
support public access technology in libraries.

The defined benefits include

• Assess where the library stands in terms of public access technology
• Pinpoint specific areas for improvement and investment
• Increase understanding of how public access technology supports community goals
• Generate data useful for advocacy and fundraising

The goal of this initiative is to assist communities so that they may "continually invest in
opportunities for all people to enrich and improve their lives through
open access to the exceptional information, communication and technology
services available in public libraries."

Guiding principles include the following:

• Edge benchmarks will be aspirational: setting high standards for quality, encouraging excellence.
• Use of the benchmarks will be voluntary.
• Benchmarks will be designed to assist all libraries, regardless of size, charting paths to continuous improvement.
• Benchmarks will evolve to reflect emerging technologies, behaviors, opportunities and standards of library practice.
• Use of the benchmarks will provide clear value for library and local leaders.

To find out more information about this initiative go to http://www.libraryedge.org/

Edge -- where people connect, communities achieve

You will be hearing more about Edge as the benchmarks emerge and how Idaho libraries can use these tools to build community.

Pinterest is an online corkboard for organizing your life. Why should libraries care? Pinterest can be
a really powerful way of connecting with your customers. Pinterest can show
your library’s personality, vision, and mission like no other social media
tool. Example: If you go to my personal facebook page or follow me on Twitter,
you actually won’t learn that much about me. If you go to my Pinterest page,
however, you will learn enough about me that you could buy me the perfect
birthday present.

I use Pinterest for collection, organization, and
inspiration. I live in a small apartment, so having a place online where I can
collect beautiful pieces of art is fantastic. I organize my favorite things
into categories, devoting a whole board to squirrels, for instance. I get
inspired by searching for or following boards that describe library programs
for kids. You can do all of this and more with and for your library. Here is a
link for 20 ways
libraries are using pinterest right now. (Notice that I gave you the link
to a pin, and you click on the pin to get to the original site for the article.
If you had a Pinterest account, you could repin the pin, like the pin, or
comment on the pin. All great ways to interact with other people (library
customers) on Pinterest.)

Pinterest does have some competition. There is dudepins (“Dudes
like sharing stuff”), so men can feel more manly pinning items
(apparently); there is indulgy, which focuses
on the collection and visual aspects of this type of social media tool (“Indulgy is a place where one can visualize
his perfect world”); and there is learnist,
a Pinterest-type site for educators (“Share
what you know”). Look around and think about creating a Pinterest account
for your library. It is a way for your library customers to know your library better. More
importantly, you can get to know your customers better.

The Speical Projects Library Action Team meets quarterly to review trends and provide a "crow's nest" view of librarianship in Idaho.  As always there is great sharing.  Here are some links you might find useful:

Facebook webinar archive:

Fine Tuning Facebook for Libraries: http://infopeople.org/training/fine-tuning-facebook-libraries

BLOGS:

A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette: http://libetiquette.blogspot.com/

Awful Library Books: http://awfullibrarybooks.net/

YouTube Video:

Fayetteville Free Public Library - Expect More!:  http://youtu.be/6nEirlW_Gic

BOOKS

David Lankes -- The Atlas of Librarianship - http://www.amazon.com/The-Atlas-Librarianship-David-Lankes/dp/0262015099
David Lankes  -- Expect More -- http://www.amazon.com/Expect-More-Demanding-Libraries-Complex/dp/1477476350/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343054666&sr=1-1&keywords=expect+more+david+lankes 

 Here is a list of the Current SPLAT members -- be sure to contact them for more information

·        Gena Marker – Centennial High School, Boise

·        Nick Madsen –  Community Library Network

·        Jezmynne Dene –  Portneuf Library District

·        George Williams – Latah County Library District

·        Jennifer Redford – – Boise Public Library!

·        Jennifer Cromer – Lewis Clark State College

·        Jennifer Hills – Twin Palls Public Library

·        Nick Grove –  Meridian Public Library

·        Heidi Lewis – Boise Public Library!

As usual the SPLAT group will be available at the Fall ILA Conference -- be sure to catch up with them on the couch!

As seems to be the way of things, a week or two (or five) ago, I "pinned" a link for some cool kids' printables to my Library Pinterest Board (http://pinterest.com/fabrikate/library/). I finally had a chance to take a look at it today, and it led to about a billion other discoveries of awesomeness available on the internet. Here's a look at the path of clicks that could lead you to some fantastic kids' projects and ideas.

1: How About Orange: A design-type blog with great colors and ideas. http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2012/06/lots-of-printables-for-kids.html

2: Mr. Printables: A website full of great printable activities for kids that help promote early literacy skills, math and number awareness, and activities. http://www.mrprintables.com/

3: Mr. Printables List of Best Kids' Sites: A list of great sites, many of which have specific links for educators and librarians! http://www.mrprintables.com/best-kids-sites.html

4: Words for Life: Fun activities and book stuff for a variety of ages. http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/

5: Reading Rockets: Cool stuff with a page just for librarians with links to booklists & video author interviews. http://www.readingrockets.org/

6. Seussville: Noisy Dr. Seuss awesomeness with an educators' page. Lots of printable activities as well as online games. http://www.seussville.com/

7. Mr. Men & Little Miss: My favorites from childhood. Printables and games and videos. http://www.mrmen.com/

8. Canon Creative Park: FULL of great (and sometimes intimidating) printables of extreme coolness. http://cp.c-ij.com/en/index.html

9. Crafty Crow: Another fun craft blog full of ideas that can be made in the library and then taken home. http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/

10. Starfall: More fun literacy games and activities. http://www.starfall.com/

11. How About Orange (again): I was looking for the link to the blog for this post, when I discovered another website full of beautiful printables.

12. PaperMatrix: Beautiful pictures of crafts and paper activities, many with instructions. http://papermatrix.wordpress.com/

Whew! So that was this morning's journey through the internet. Hope you find one or more of these sites useful!!

I just received an Infographic from OnlineEducation.net, and I thought it posed an interesting question: What would the world look like without the internet?

This particular Infographic doesn't get into it, but how would libraries change? How would job searching change? How would the world change?

Via: OnlineEducation.net

Love the thrill of the information hunt?  Are you a trivia nut?  Have you heard about A Google A Day?

A Google A Day is a neat feature of Google where Google asks you a question that you must research to answer.  The questions are fairly simple, but you've got to put on your thinking caps to figure out how to find the answers that ultimately lead to the final result!   Questions vary across different Google search tools, like the patent search, or the image search, or the news search.  Either way, it's great fun to hunt up the answer to each question.  So what are you waiting for?  Go give it a whirl!

A Google A Day

Lost a manual?  Do you even keep all the manuals that come with all your stuff?  What about just grabbing a digital copy of that manual so you don't have to worry about storing it in a junk drawer!

ManualsLib is a FREE manual library containing over 45,000 manuals for download or viewing!  The search is effective and easy, and it's a snap to quickly find the manual you need.  Check it out today!

ManualsLib Database

     I try to incorporate technology into most of the programs I do with teens.  As you all know technology can be expensive and software can be hard to find.  The programs I use are normally free and easy to use.  Although some of the programs listed below have advanced features that would require an advanced class and lots of time they all have features that are basic.  Don't feel overwhelmed by using something new, finding new ways to do things will help in your library, especially if you work with kids and teens.

Prezi

  -Cloud based presentation software

Wordle

  -Make cool looking signs using words to describe
your program (best use is the Advanced feature that allows a user to give
weight to importance)

Google Documents/Forms

  -Work with multiple people on the same document/form

  -Create forms that can be used to gather
information from users (SRP forms)

  -Reliable form information without hassles

  -Similar setup to MS Office, easy to teach, easy
to use

Facebook

  -Free marketing

  -Website alternative (if you create a page people
can view it without a login)

GIMP

  -Free photo editor that must install on your
computer  (it is as powerful as Photoshop
Elements and then some)

  -Free program to make READ posters, works with
Photoshop files and other  layered/non-layered images

Pixlr.com

  -Online photo editor (not as powerful as GIMP but
another free alternative)

Aviary Tools

  -Multi-purpose online editor, creator and capture
software

  -Some of the features are cloud based and some
are browser add-ons

Audacity

  -Free, open source, cross-platform software for
recording and editing sounds.

FL
Studio

  -Free sound editor that must be downloaded and
installed; the trial version is free but has a few limitations. (This is for Windows only)

Screenr

  -Video screen capture your computer (has a 5
minute limit for free use)

  -Upload to YouTube for easy access

WeVideo

  -Edit video online

Pandora

  -Radio safe party mixes

Vevo

  -Free official music videos, setup a playlist for
parties and display on a projector

        My favorite programs to use have been ones that work on both Windows and Macs as I am consistently moving between computers.  We currently have a Mac Mini that we are going to have the teens use this summer to work on videos (we're about to start filmmaker club).  The built-in programs on the Mac such as GarageBand and iMovie have proven to be great for the teens due to the ease of use and teachibility.  I recommend using a Mac when possible due to personal preference but that is not always feasible or desired and that is why these programs are helpful for all of us.  I'm constantly looking for new programs or ideas so if you have any questions or input please let me know.

One of the things I love very most about SPLAT is getting the opportunity to explore ideas, tools, and trends to share with other people. I'm a sharer (some might say over-sharer) at heart, so this is always very fun for me. Recently, a few of us got the chance to present some of our favorite tricks at the Garden City Public Library's staff development day. I threw together a Prezi for the occasion (which you can find at http://prezi.com/6uhqutaz4srg/garden-city-splat/. The accompanying notes are listed below. Hope you can all find something from it to use or explore. Enjoy!

Bookmyne: This is a Sirsi-Dynix app, but it allows a patron access to multiple accounts from multiple libraries (meaning if my mom's library used Sirsi-Dynix/Bookmyne, I could access her Washington library card using the same app that I access my Meridian, ID card on--I love this functionality!).

Overdrive: You can share books from OverDrive straight to your library's Facebook page. Here's the trick: log into your Facebook account and select "Use Facebook as <page>" BEFORE going to OverDrive. If it gives you trouble, email me. :)

Facebook & Twitter: So, I've been saying for about a year now that I'm going to provide a how-to post about connecting Facebook & Twitter accounts, and I have yet to do it. Keep your eyes peeled (if this interests you) in the next few weeks. I really am going to post it this time. If you have questions before then, email me. Or contact that highly talented Travis Porter at the Ada Community Library, as he's the one who provided me with instructions in the first place. 

Revisit: This is pretty self-explanatory from the Prezi.

AirProjector: This has been a little glitchy for me, but it's pretty cool when it works. I think there's probably an Android corollary app, but I don't know what it is. Please comment if you know about one or use one.

iDoneThis: Now available for smart phones, too!

GeniusScan: Just used this for the first time the other day to create a color reproduction of a flyer--it worked surprisingly well. It works like this: scan document with smart phone. Email/Dropbox pdf to yourself or someone else. Print pdf on color printer. It's a great work-around if you don't have a color scanner but need a color reproduction.

Last week I got the chance to show off my awesome Glogster skills at Garden City Public Library's staff day. For those of you who haven’t used Glogster yet, it’s an online tool that lets you create a virtual poster that integrates audio and video clips, images, graphics and data for a multimedia experience. It’s geared mostly for teachers and students and is great for collaboration. The basic version is free, but if you are planning on collaborating with a lot of people or if you don’t like adds for Glogster at the top of your Glog, you do have the option of purchasing this product.

My Glogster presentation at Garden City focused on my experience as a member of Boise Public Library’s Innovation Table, and includes several links to my favorite resources for fostering new ideas. I’ve also recently created a Glog for another group about the Aarhus Public Library in Denmark. Check out the embedded video on the amazing lab space they set up to experiment with what libraries will be like in the future.

Even though I’ve only used Glogster for presentations, there are lots of other ways that libraries could use this technology. For example, here’s a Glog on Dystopian YA Fiction that works like a flowchart for people who have read The Hunger Games and want to know what to read next. Glogster is also pretty easy to use—everything is drag and drop, and there are tons of creative elements and backgrounds to use to personalize your Glog. In fact, the hardest part about using Glogster is deciding between different colors and graphics. Has anyone else found any Glogs that would be useful for libraries?