Once upon a time, there were several librarians who faced technology challenges and found creative solutions. Madeleine hacked a freeware self-checkout system for $1200. Steve addressed the problem of reinventing the wheel by organizing a regional workshop. Bess raised $365 per year for 3 years through an "Adopt-a-Computer" program. These stories show how sharing challenges and solutions can help libraries overcome issues and advance technology use.
9. This is how we do it: Webinars
Coming up
ed!)
Register Your Organization hi v
a rc PAST archived webinar:
(all
Requesting a Donation
Evaluating Digital Literacy
Programs
Green IT Programs Flip’n out at your library!
Winning Grants
10. How we do it: we listen
• By phone
• By listservs
• At conferences
• By surveys, polls
• Drive bookmobiles
to rural communities
• By blogs, Twitter, Flickr
19. “We now have a
freeware self-checker
that only cost us the
price of the touch
screen monitor, the
scanner, an Internet
connection and some
retired hardware
($1200).”
Madeleine Mundt
Teton Cty Library, WY
21. O nce upon a time…
There was an “IT Guy” named Steve.
He hated reinventing the wheel.
23. Steve had a problem
"Why don’t we talk to
other libraries in Kansas to
see what they use?"
24. Steve had a problem
"Why don’t we talk to
other libraries in Kansas to
see what they use?"
Regional workshop, inviting
all library folk from Kansas
who deal with technology,
not just “IT Guys” like himself.
Emporia Public Library
Emporia, KS
26. O nce upon a time…
There was librarian named Faye.
She was fearless.
27. “You can't fear that you're
going to screw up; you just
have to get in there and say,
'Okay, I'm going to learn how
to do this.'”
Smithwelch Public Library
Hearne, TX
29. O nce upon a time…
There was librarian named Bess.
She was from Tappahannock, VA
30. Bess needed $$$
“When it comes to the library's
computer network, we've been
very much like Blanche Dubois,
depending on the kindness of
strangers.
(insert breathy voice here.)”
Essex Public Library
Tappahannock, VA
31. Adopt-a-Computer
“Local organizations, businesses, or
even individuals or families can adopt a
computer by committing to donating
$365 a year for three years.”
33. O nce upon a time…
Corporations and coders combined forces…
…for good.
34. X Li brary
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, NASA,
& the World Bank
35. Why does TechSoup replay ?
• To instill confidence
• To promote your work
• For advocacy
36. This is all great, but…
How can YOU benefit from the stories
around you?
37. Conferences (like this one!)
• Organize a session
where librarians
come together to
share challenges
and successes.
• Outsiders
welcome!
ARSL 2010, Denver CO
“Don’t just be a sage on the stage, be a guide on the side.”
38. Book clubs
•Short texts, nothing heavy-duty (unless
that’s what folks crave)
•Advocacy
opportunity
•Outsiders
welcome!
39. Meetups
•Get together to chat about technology
challenges and solutions
•Get outside your library!
•Outsiders welcome!
Netsquared.org Meetup.com
Why leave the fun of field trips to the kids?
44. Resources
• TechSoup for Libraries: www.TechSoupforLibraries.org
• Notes from a Great Conference: LibTech 2011 blog post
– Broadband: Stories from the Field: http://broadband.wiki.techsoup.org/
– NetSquared: http://netsquared.org
– T is for Training: http://tisfortraining.wordpress.com
– Steve Stone post:http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/blog/sharing-it-
experiences-from-kansas
– Bess Haile posts: http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/search/node/bess
%20haile
– Faye Hover spotlight: http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/spotlight/faye-
hover
– Random Hacks of Kindness: http://www.rhok.org/
– Madeline Mundt post: http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/blog/a-cheap-er-
self-checker-system
– Photo credits:
• Book clubs: flickr user New Jersey Library Association
• Second life: flickr user joannamkay
• Open book: flickr user Jo Naylor
45. TechSoup is here to help.
sarah@techsoupglobal.org
lori@lorireed.com
TechSoupforLibraries.org
Hinweis der Redaktion
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Flip: 149 for camera\nAt TSG: 170 for 2 plus a tripod\nWindows 7: $199 for professional upgrade; TSG: $8 \nSymantec endpt protection: $270 for 5 licenses; TSG: $25 for 5\n
Gaming,\nPc management\nSecond life\nLaptop checkout\nCommunicating with techies\n
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Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP)\n
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Bought software for the library that didn’t work. They spent time and money trying to solving, only deciding in the end to ditch it. \nThe idea was that we bring people together to share stories, and build a network of people who are experts, or who have experience in certain areas, so that we can continue to learn from each other and contact the right person for the right issue.\n
Bought software for the library that didn’t work. They spent time and money trying to solving, only deciding in the end to ditch it. \nThe idea was that we bring people together to share stories, and build a network of people who are experts, or who have experience in certain areas, so that we can continue to learn from each other and contact the right person for the right issue.\n
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"I'm pretty old and my life has proven to me generally that there are very few things that you can't reverse. If you're very careful when you're setting up something you can go slowly and see, 'Okay, well this works' and 'Okay, that's not a problem.'" \n
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Public should invest in the resources the library provides.\n
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 \nI invite everyone to introduce themselves to someone sitting nearby who they do not know. Be chatty: tell them the neatest characteristic of their library. After a few minutes, I have them share their biggest tech challenge with their neighbor. The room fills with chatting, and I have to get all shooshy after a while to quiet the room. Everyone has a challenge! And then, I ask folks to share. Every single time, someone has experienced that problem, which is helpful in itself. Doesn’t it make you feel better to know that someone else has had the same issue? Funny how we gain comfort from a shared sense of mediocrity. And then, I ask the group if anyone has a solution. Hands pop up, everyone has ideas! That’s where the magic happens. Even if someone hasn’t experienced it, they likely have a suggestion on where to seek an answer. Librarians rock, don’t they? \n\nI want to add something about the mediocrity joke. It’s true that even understanding that something may be an issue, can influence another person to ask for help. Consider this: a librarian at a small library is challenged by technology. She believes that she’ll never quite get it, so she continues to pay someone to fix stuff when it appears to be broken. She goes to a conference and meets someone who tells her about a situation she’s had, too. Suddenly, she feels better, knowing that someone else has shared her pain. And, she understands now that the issue isn’t what she thought, but something else that can be fixed with relative ease. She still has someone else fix it, but the next time she has more information, and the confidence to tell her fixit person what needs to happen. Confidence. Knowledge. \n
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hold a meetup at another library! Tour the library, talk to the librarians, and use their meeting room to convene\n
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What makes a good story?\nSo we know how to organize it and where, and how to find resources on TechSoup, but what makes a good <tech> story? \n\nBe humble. Think about something that wasn&#x2019;t going right. Tell why, and don&#x2019;t be afraid to show yourself in imperfect light. People relate to problems, and can learn from your mistakes.\n&#xA0;\nGet local. Think of what you do each day that makes something easier. Think hard. Do you say to yourself, &#x201C;that&#x2019;s nothing!&#x201D; Well, I&#x2019;m here to tell you that what might be &#x201C;that&#x2019;s nothing!&#x201D; to you might be an &#x201C;aha!&#x201D; to someone else. \n&#xA0;\nGood stories aren&#x2019;t always bleeding edge. That&#x2019;s not to say that bleeding edge isn&#x2019;t valuable, it&#x2019;s just that many times, it&#x2019;s the tip that can be implemented today, without a committee or series of meetings or research paper that makes a positive change. And often, it&#x2019;s the daily things that you never considered might be interesting to anyone else. \n&#xA0;\nTalk about a change. An outcome that made things better.\n