Greenwood Goes 2.0!

Staff at the Greenwood County Public Library are 20 times more tech savvy this year as they participate in an Internet-based learning experience. Staff are blogging, sharing photos, and creating LibraryThing accounts among other activities. Director Prudence Taylor reports: “The staff learning experience is going really well. The 5^th person finished yesterday, and got her new MP3 player today! I gave it to her at the Circ Desk, and she was so excited about getting it.”

Project momentum continues as other staff catch the excitement. The Library bought 5 inexpensive MP3 players and 1 fairly inexpensive digital camera so the staff could learn to use them. Staff who complete all 20 exercises qualify to compete in a drawing for the grand prize - a new laptop computer. The program is modeled after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library’s “23 Things” program. Take a look at Greenwood’s learning experience here. [Link no longer available.--fdv 7/5/07]

 

Staff Training Made Free and Easy!

It doesn’t get any better than free and easy now does it?

 

You can now find free computer how-to tutorials, available at http://www.inpics.net.  The tutorials can be used by anyone, free of charge, and they are so easy to use.  Each tutorial is broken down into categories so that you can just choose the part that you might need to learn about and skip the rest.  This will be a convenient way to provide staff training at no cost. 

Now available:

Microsoft Office

• Access 2003

• Excel 2003

• PowerPoint 2003

• Word 2003

• Publisher 2003

Openoffice.org

• Base 2.0

• Calc 2.0

• Impress 2.0

• Writer 2.0

Web layout

• Dreamweaver 8

• HTML & CSS

Later this year they will be adding more free tutorials such as:

• Microsoft Office 2007 programs

• Photoshop

• Photoshop Elements

• Fireworks

• MySQL

• PHP

• Perl

 

Tagging Classes

The tagging classes offered by the SC State Library are now completed but should not be forgotten.  :)  I have been adding great links to our del.icio.us account for everyone (including more examples of how libraries are using LibraryThing and Del.icio.us).  Check them out by clicking here and visit the tags under the “Tagging” bundle.  I will keep adding more as I find them.  Also, if you find great bookmarks, let me know by tagging them with “for:techtracks” and I will be sure to add them.I am working on scheduling the Flickr classes for April of 2007.  I will let everyone know soon.  Thanks everyone for participating, I had a great time with this class.  Hope to see you soon for the next round of classes.

 

Tagging Classes - Don’t Forget

Don’t Forget to Sign up for a Tagging Class starting next week.  There are 4 locations to take the class. 

 Find a date/location and Register Here.

Directions and dates are below:

December 5: 

Facility: 
      Florence County Library, Computer Training Room
      509 South Dargan Street
      Florence, SC 29506

 

Phone:   

(843) 662-8424

 

Driving Directions:

Take I-20 or I-95 going toward Florence. I-20 becomes David McLeod Blvd.  (You will pass Magnolia Mall on the left.)  Go straight through stop light at W. Evans Street.  Turn left at the next light onto West Palmetto Street (US-76).  Go 2.6 miles, then turn right onto South Irby (US-301/US-52), and the Library will be on your left at 509 South Dargan Street.

 

Click here for a map to Florence County Library.

 

  December 6: 

Facility: 
      Greenville County Library, Computer Training Room
      25 Heritage Green Place
      Greenville, SC 29601-2034

 

Phone:   

 (864) 242-5000

 

Driving Directions:

Computer training lab.  Parking $4.00 per day. 

 

Click here for a map to the Hughes Main Library of the Greenville County Library System.

   

December 7: 

Facility 

     Charleston County Public Library, Computer Training Room      

     68 Calhoun Street
     Charleston, SC 29401

Phone:   

(843) 805-6948

 

Driving Directions:

Facility Description:   Charleston County Public Library is located at 68 Calhoun Street in downtown Charleston. Classes are held in the Technology Learning Center, 2nd Floor.  Parking is available at the Library. Bring parking ticket to class with you for validation.

 

Click here for a map to Charleston County Public Library.

  

December 13: 

Facility: 
      SC State Library, Computer Training Room
      1500 Senate Street
      Columbia, SC 29201

 

Phone:   

803-734-8026

 

Driving Directions:

The Computer Training Room is located on the basement level of the SC State Library building at 1500 Senate Street, Columbia.

 

Click here for parking information, map and driving directions to the SC State Library.

 

Internet Librarian 2006

You don’t have to go to the Internet Librarian Conference in California to get great information about emerging technology. A number of bloggers are writing posts with notes from the conference speakers.

Check out Librarian in Black, The Shifted Librarian, Library TechBytes to see information about:

• MySpace & Facebook with Aaron Schmidt and Cliff Landis
• The RSS & Javascript Cookbook: Creating One Stop with
  Paul Pival and Meredith Farkas
• Podcasting & Vidcasting (a two-part session) with
  Greg Schwartz, Jeff Humphrey, David Free, Sean Cordes, and David King
• Flickr & Libraries with Michael Porter and Lluisa Nunez
• AND MUCH MORE!

These three blogs are great ones to add to your Bloglines account!