The notes for my presentation for MLA Annual: eBook Instruction and Troubleshooting

1. eBook
Instruc-on
and
Troubleshoo-ng

2. read
Before
you
even
get
started:
-­‐
We
live
in
an
age
that
says
that
user
manuals
are
for
suckers
-­‐
But
they
are
produced
for
a
reason
-­‐
In
that
poorly
written
book
(or
website),
is
a
world
of
knowledge
that
you
may
need
to
know
–
and
you
don’t
want
to
be
flipping
through
for
it
later.
Read
everything
you
can
1.About
your
services
that
you
offer
2.About
the
devices
that
can
be
used
3.About
other
libraries
that
have
used
the
same
system!

3. Read
Before
you
even
get
started:
-­‐
We
live
in
an
age
that
says
that
user
manuals
are
for
suckers
-­‐
But
they
are
produced
for
a
reason
-­‐
In
that
poorly
written
book
(or
website),
is
a
world
of
knowledge
that
you
may
need
to
know
–
and
you
don’t
want
to
be
flipping
through
for
it
later.
Read
everything
you
can
1.About
your
services
that
you
offer
2.About
the
devices
that
can
be
used
3.About
other
libraries
that
have
used
the
same
system!

4. READ!
Before
you
even
get
started:
-­‐
We
live
in
an
age
that
says
that
user
manuals
are
for
suckers
-­‐
But
they
are
produced
for
a
reason
-­‐
In
that
poorly
written
book
(or
website),
is
a
world
of
knowledge
that
you
may
need
to
know
–
and
you
don’t
want
to
be
flipping
through
for
it
later.
Read
everything
you
can
1.About
your
services
that
you
offer
2.About
the
devices
that
can
be
used
3.About
other
libraries
that
have
used
the
same
system!

5. pracKce
Once
you’ve
read
everything
practice
with
whatever
you
have
at
hand.
-­‐
You
don’t
need
lots
of
fancy
devices
to
see
how
it
works.
-­‐
You
don’t
need
to
try
every
type
of
book
with
every
device
-­‐
Share
what
you’ve
learned
with
others
and
they’ll
share
with
you
…practice,
practice,
practice
1.With
books
from
every
resource
2.With
every
format
3.With
every
device
that
you
can

6. PracKce
Once
you’ve
read
everything
practice
with
whatever
you
have
at
hand.
-­‐
You
don’t
need
lots
of
fancy
devices
to
see
how
it
works.
-­‐
You
don’t
need
to
try
every
type
of
book
with
every
device
-­‐
Share
what
you’ve
learned
with
others
and
they’ll
share
with
you
…practice,
practice,
practice
1.With
books
from
every
resource
2.With
every
format
3.With
every
device
that
you
can

7. PRACTICE!
Once
you’ve
read
everything
practice
with
whatever
you
have
at
hand.
-­‐
You
don’t
need
lots
of
fancy
devices
to
see
how
it
works.
-­‐
You
don’t
need
to
try
every
type
of
book
with
every
device
-­‐
Share
what
you’ve
learned
with
others
and
they’ll
share
with
you
…practice,
practice,
practice
1.With
books
from
every
resource
2.With
every
format
3.With
every
device
that
you
can

8. Taken
with
permission
from
the
Blue
Skunk
Blog:
h"p://doug-­‐johnson.squarespace.com/blue-­‐skunk-­‐blog/2011/3/22/differen>ated-­‐instruc>on-­‐libraries-­‐invented-­‐it.html
Differentiated
instruction
(differentiated
learning)
involves
providing
students
with
different
avenues
to
acquiring
content;
to
processing,
constructing,
or
making
sense
of
ideas;
and
to
developing
teaching
materials
so
that
all
students
within
a
classroom
can
learn
effectively,
regardless
of
differences
in
ability.
Wikipedia
-­‐
This
doesn’t
just
apply
to
school
libraries
–
Any
libraries
where
instruction
is
a
part
of
your
mission,
you
need
to
learn
to
differentiate
learning.
“DEVELOPING
TEACHING
MATERIALS
SO
THAT
ALL
STUDENTS
WITHIN
A
CLASSROOM
CAN
LEARN
EFFECTIVELY”
-­‐
This
includes
teaching
patrons
how
to
best
use
the
resources
that
we
offer
them.

9. Classes offer a lot of
advantages
And a lot of
disadvantages…
These
are
one
of
the
most
common
types
of
instruction
available
to
libraries.
Classes
come
in
two
(2)
types:
Interactive
and
Lecture
Interactive
Pros
1.Great
if
you
have
a
computer
lab
2.Great
if
you
have
devices
to
share
3.People
are
more
engaged
and
learn
better
if
they
can
follow
Cons
1.Not
everyone
starts
at
the
same
level
2.It’s
hard
to
follow
along
and
work
at
the
same
time
3.Be
prepared
for
chaos
Lecture
Pros
1.Easy
to
control
2.No
extra
technology
necessary
Cons
1.
Some
patrons
won’t
learn
as
well

10. Individual
InstrucKon
Have
you
considered
one-­‐on-­‐ones?
Pros
-­‐
Patrons
with
laptops
walk
away
with
everything
downloaded
-­‐
Everything
is
customized
to
the
patron
–
mac/pc,
you
can
add
linked
bookmarks
-­‐
You
get
to
go
at
the
patron’s
pace
-­‐
Everything
is
hands
on
-­‐
Patrons
feel
special
-­‐
Great
for
patrons
who
are
not
good
with
computers
-­‐
They
help
patrons
to
get
to
know
staff
one-­‐on-­‐one
–
creating
bonds
and
more
engaged
library
users
Cons
-­‐
This
takes
a
lot
of
staff
time
and
energy
-­‐
Staff
have
to
be
prepared
to
deal
with
anything,
including
computers
and
devices
that
they
have
never
seen

11. Individual
InstrucKon
Have
you
considered
one-­‐on-­‐ones?
Pros
-­‐
Patrons
with
laptops
walk
away
with
everything
downloaded
-­‐
Everything
is
customized
to
the
patron
–
mac/pc,
you
can
add
linked
bookmarks
-­‐
You
get
to
go
at
the
patron’s
pace
-­‐
Everything
is
hands
on
-­‐
Patrons
feel
special
-­‐
Great
for
patrons
who
are
not
good
with
computers
-­‐
They
help
patrons
to
get
to
know
staff
one-­‐on-­‐one
–
creating
bonds
and
more
engaged
library
users
Cons
-­‐
This
takes
a
lot
of
staff
time
and
energy
-­‐
Staff
have
to
be
prepared
to
deal
with
anything,
including
computers
and
devices
that
they
have
never
seen

12. EffecKve
Teaching
Tools
in
Print
These
are
some
of
the
most
common
tools
that
you’re
find.
-­‐
They
can
be
handed
to
patrons
–
no
extra
help
needed
-­‐
They
can
be
posted
online
-­‐
They
can
be
given
out
in
classes
-­‐
You
can
have
one
type
of
print
tool
or
many,
for
one
resource,
or
them
all
put
together

13. EffecKve
Nonprint
Teaching
Tools
These
can
be
accessed
anywhere
by
anyone.

14. 1.
Start
with
whatever
is
given
to
you.
I
tend
to
pish-­‐posh
the
materials
given
to
me
by
the
manufacturer
of
my
digital
resources
Cons
-­‐
They’re
not
customized
to
your
library
-­‐
They
don’t
always
work
well
for
patrons
Pros
-­‐
But
they
are
a
valuable
tool
-­‐
If
nothing
else,
they
are
a
place
to
start
-­‐
And
for
libraries
that
don’t
have
the
time
or
staff
to
create
their
own
materials,
these
can
be
invaluable
-­‐
They
also
come
in
handouts,
multimedia,
sometimes
pre-­‐created
presentations

15. 2.
Check
Out
Other
Libraries
I’ve
put
together
a
small
list
of
sample
handouts
from
different
public
and
university
libraries
in
Michigan:
Check
out
what
other
libraries
have
done:
-­‐Baldwin
-­‐NYPL
-­‐Kent
District
Library
-­‐Wayne
State
University*
-­‐Ferris
-­‐Michigan
State
University
(this
does
not
denote
an
endorsement
of
this
University)
Baldwin,
if
you
check
does,
three
double-­‐sided
sheets,
each
with
step-­‐by-­‐step
instructions
for
doing
a
specific
task
(downloading
an
eBook,
an
eAudiobook,
or
downloading
to
a
mobile
device)
Special
props
to
Wayne
State
University
-­‐
they
do
something
different.
They
do
a
packet
which
answers
a
variety
of
questions
about
eBrary
using
screenshots
and
instructions.
Both
are
valid
ways
to
present
instructions,
and
both
work
for
different
reasons.
The
way
that
you
find
out
how
things
will
work
for
you
is….

16. 3.
Ask
Yourself
Some
Ques-ons…
By
whom
will
this
guide
be
used?
Do
I
want
to
break-­‐up
materials:
-­‐
eBooks
vs.
eAudiobooks
-­‐
NetLibrary
vs.
eBrary
-­‐
Sony
Reader
vs.
Barnes
and
Noble
Nook
How
long
do
I
want
the
guide
to
be?
How
am
I
planning
upon
distributing
my
guide?
Is
it
a
supplement
to
a
class?
Will
any
patron
be
able
to
use
it
to
accomplish
the
task
–
i.e.
someone
with
no
experience?
Do
you
want
to
includes
visuals?
How
specific
do
you
need
this
to
be?

17. 4.
Re-­‐evaluate
the
samples
from
other
libraries
Once
you’ve
answer
these
questions,
you
need
to
go
back
at
look
at
the
handouts
that
you’ve
seen
from
other
libraries.
Some
handouts
that
you
thought
were
great,
might
not
be
what
your
library
needs
-­‐
For
example,
I
started
working
on
something
like
what
Wayne
State
has,
but
realized
that
we
needed
to
be
able
to
hand
these
items
to
our
patrons,
and
we
don’t
have
the
resources
to
print
them
a
book
-­‐
So
I
had
to
tone
it
down

18. 5.
Write
a
DraM
Draft!
Give
yourself
a
deadline
–
even
if
there
is
no
deadline
in
the
foreseeable
future.
The
sooner
that
you
can
produce
quality
materials
the
better

19. 6.
Give
your
draM
to
someone
who
has
never
downloaded
an
eBook
(For
a
public
library)
I
would
normally
give
it
to
two
people:
1.A
person
who
is
good
with
computers
2.A
person
who
is
terrible
with
computers
People
most
often
go
looking
for
handouts
like
these
when
they’ve
never
done
something
before,
or
even
more
likely,
when
they’ve
tried
to
do
something
and
failed.
The
best
way
to
ensure
success
is
to
test
it
with
people
with
a
wide
range
of
technological
literacy

20. 7.
Get
Feedback
You
can
do
a
formal
feedback
process,
“After
you
try
this,
can
you
please
fill
out
this
evaluation”.
Or
you
can
do
an
informal
feedback
process.
I
would
start
by
asking
the
question,
“Did
this
work”.

21. 8.
Revise
Use
the
feedback
to
revise

22. 9.
Get
New
Technology
Then,
just
around
the
same
moment
that
you’ve
finally
created
a
quality
product,
your
user
interface
will
change
or
your
eResources
will
start
to
work
with
a
new
type
of
technology

23. 10.
Revise
And
you’ll
have
to
revise
again.

24. Lather
Rinse
Repeat
Continue
to
re-­‐draft
and
re-­‐evaluate.
Technology
is
malleable,
so
our
training
materials
also
have
to
be
malleable.

25. Guidelines
for
Print
Tools
More
rules!

26. Put
your
contact
informaKon
Seriously.
Everywhere!
It’s
a
safety
net
for
patrons
who
have
a
hard
time.
You
can
put
your
main
library
phone
number
or
email,
or
your
direct
line
and
email.
It
doesn’t
matter.
Even
if
patrons
never
use
it,
they’ll
thank
you
for
it.
There
is
nothing
more
frustrating
than
becoming
overwhelmed
by
something,
and
then
not
being
able
to
find
someone
who
can
help

27. Know
Your
Audience
College
students
and
senior
citizens
(generally)
have
different
needs
when
it
comes
to
technology.
If
you
have
to
create
materials
for
a
variety
of
types
of
users,
bear
that
in
mind
when
creating
them.
It
might
be
worth
having
several
different
types
of
materials
(even
if
all
you
do
is
create
on
that
is
Large
Print).
We
are
starting
to
see
more
and
more
elderly,
computer-­‐illiterate
people
taking
our
eBooks
classes.
Because
with
new
eReaders
–
they
have
eInk
(easy
on
the
eyes)
and
ePub
books
have
changeable
font
sizes
(great
is
you
need
large
print).
Their
kids
will
buy
them
the
reader,
and
then
they
have
to
figure
out
how
to
use
them.
They’re
on
fixed
incomes
so
they
need
the
library
books.
Help!
In
this
case,
we
often
get
any
local
relatives
involved.
We’ll
teach
you
both
together,
and
then
you
can
work
with
one
another
to
get
what
you
need.

28. Throw
Out
Your
Handouts
Technology
changes
fast!
Throw
out
your
handouts
once
a
year.
One
year
is
enough
time
…for
technology
is
change
considerably
(for
example
–
all
of
your
NetLibrary
handouts
will
have
to
go
soon,
as
EBSCO
takes
over
NetLibrary)
…to
get
good
feedback
on
any
materials
that
you’ve
created
You
don’t
have
to
scrap
them
completely,
but
some
years
you
might
want
to.

29. Crea-ng
Non-­‐
Print
Materials
Non-­‐Print
would
include
videos,
screencaptures,
podcasts,
and
so
much
more!
1. Start
with
whatever
is
given
to
you
by
your
publisher/aggregator
2. Check
out
what
other
libraries
have
done:
• Try
this
playlist
for
ideas:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kathrynabergeron#grid/user/
74E9117DBE13F511
3. Don’t
be
afraid
to
try
something
new
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9x4JpgoO4I
• A
work
in
progress
These
work
great
for
patrons
who
don’t
learn
well
from
print
materials.
Screenshot
Video
Tools
• Snagit
• Jing
• Camstudio
• Copernicus

30. TRAIN
STAFF!
Moreso
than
patrons,
staff
need
to
understand
and
feel
comfortable
using
eBooks
-­‐Train
staff!
-­‐
Create
a
mandatory
eBooks
class
for
staff
-­‐
Create
training
materials
just
for
staff
-­‐
Set
goals
for
staff
-­‐
Download
three
books
this
week
-­‐
Download
a
book
every
month
These
have
to
be
set
by,
and
enforced
by
management.
It
is
the
single
most
effective
way
to
create
a
happy
and
helpful
atmosphere
around
your
eBooks.
If
staff
feel
comfortable,
then
patrons
feel
comfortable.
If
staff
complain
about
how
hard
it
is,
and
they
get
passed
to
three
staff
members
before
their
question
is
answered,
you
will
not
instill
confidence
in
your
patrons.

31. pracKce
Seriously!
Practice!

32. PracKce
Seriously!
Practice!

33. PRACTICE!
Seriously!
Practice!

34. TroubleshooKng
This
is
largely
the
bane
of
the
existence
of
every
librarian
that
I
have
met
with
eBooks.
-­‐You
don’t
have
access
to
every
device
-­‐Often
you
can’t
see
what
problem
the
patron
is
having
(they’re
on
the
phone
or
talking
to
you
after
the
face)
-­‐It’s
a
tear
your
hair
out
moment

35. Taken
from
XKCD:
h"p://xkcd.com/627/
First-­‐off:
There
are
not
eBook
Technical
professionals
in
libraries.
If
you
are
the
person
who
knows
eBooks
or
if
you
have
a
person
who
knows
eBooks,
this
is
exactly
what
they
do.
Mouseover:
“Hey
Megan,
it’s
your
father.
How
do
I
print
a
flowchart?”

36. InformaKon
to
Gather
Before
You
Start
Things
to
get
from
a
patron
(stolen
from
Overdrive,
but
honestly,
the
best
list
I’ve
seen)
Patron’s
Library
Card
Number/ID/Other
Login
Information
Title
and
format
of
problem
media
Patron’s
Operating
System
Patron’s
Browser
and
Version
Number
Device
that
the
patron
is
using
Text
of
any
error
messages

37. 95%
of
TroubleshooKng
QuesKons
are
PEBKAC
Problem
Exists
Between
Keyboard
and
Chair
Keep
a
list
of
problem
questions
and
answers
for
patrons:
Ex:
My
audiobook
won’t
download
(On
Overdrive):
Did
you
perform
the
Windows
Media
Player
Security
Upgrade?
Ex:
My
audiobook
won’t
transfer
to
my
iPod
(On
Overdrive):
Did
you
check
manually
manage
music?
Double
check
everything:
-­‐
What
website
are
they
on?
(This
is
a
multi-­‐part
question
and
essential
to
good
-­‐
What
format
is
the
book?
-­‐
What
type
of
device
are
they
using?
-­‐
Have
they
done
all
of
the
necessary
steps
to
set-­‐up
their
software/device?

38. Forums
can
be
your
friends!
All
these
things
are
your
friends
-­‐
Google
-­‐
Your
vendor’s
help
site
-­‐
Forums
(*gasp*)
-­‐
Coworkers
-­‐
Your
vendor’s
help
site/email
-­‐
Your
actual
friends

39. -­‐Do
your
best
to
do
every
step
with
them
the
computer
in
front
of
you
-­‐When
you’re
unsure
as
to
what
they
are
seeing,
ask
them
to
identify
three
things
on
the
webpage
that
they’re
on,
and
make
sure
you’re
on
the
same
page/piece
of
software
-­‐Let
them
do
the
talking,
you
do
the
instructing
-­‐Don’t
be
afraid
to
tell
them
that
you
can’t
help
them
over
the
phone,
but
be
prepared
to
tell
them
when
you
will
be
able
to
help
them.

40. TroubleshooKng
Don’t
be
afraid
to
admit
defeat.
Get
the
patron’s
contact
information
and
call
them
back
As
a
co-­‐worker
first,
sometimes
you
just
need
a
new
perspective
on
a
persistent
problem
Every
vendor
has
a
support
site,
and
they
have
more
experience
with
complicated
problems
Has
your
library/consortium
considered
creating
troubleshooting
tools?
Create
a
wiki
for
when
you
have
problems.
What
about
discussing
books
at
your
next
staff
meeting
or
consortium
meeting?

41. General
InformaKon
Make
it
known
that
you’ll
take
donations
of
other
technology
Early
adopters
move
on
quickly,
the
iPhone
3GS
might
be
old
to
them,
but
it
will
work
perfectly
for
you.
Do
not
be
afraid.
It
takes
a
lot
to
break
a
computer
or
an
eReader
Ask
for
help
When
you
need
it,
ask
for
help!