Free Cool Web-Based Tools For You and Your Library

(organized in 11 broad categories)

Sandy Littletree

2008 National Institute for Tribal Libraries

October 21, 2008

We all use the web, but do you USE the web?

Are you taking advantage of all it has to offer?

My goals for today…

• Introduce (or reintroduce) you to some free cool tools

• Get y’all thinking about how you can start exploring tools you can– Use for yourself

– Or show to your patrons and community

(yes, I said y’all)

Have your own cool tools presentation

(Plus, it makes you look cool when you know about a few cool

tools)

Bookmarked sites

• Delicious.com\ohsharks Tag: TribalLibraryInstitute

Back in the early years of the web…things were a lot simpler

• Courtesy of the Wayback Machine: http://www.archive.org

What’s the deal with Web2.0 and Library2.0?

It’s all about customization and interaction

Web2.0

Basic cool tools

Category #1: Web Browsers

Moving beyond Internet Explorer

• Firefox!

• Addins, plugins, themes, extensions

Did you know…

• With Firefox addons, you can– Transform your browser into a 3D experience– Have one place to manage your social

networking sites– Add a toolbar to just search music– Select any word and choose from powerful

commands (Hyperwords)– The list continues (over 5,000 add-ons)

Introducing a new kid on the block…

The Ultimate Web2.0

Category #2: Social Networking Sites

Ning = social network for anything

Second Life

• Professional Networking

• Job searching

• Recommendations

• Gets your name out there

• Tell people who are looking for a professional job

Tools to Communicate with Patrons

Category #3: Chat Reference Services

Chat reference service• Have a screen

name just for the library

• Tell people what your screen name is

• Connect with patrons who aren’t able to come to the library

Embed a Meebo Widget

Everyone’s Doing It

Category #4: Blogs

Why use blogs?

• Free

• Easy to update

• Outreach

• Use instead of a traditional website

Try Twitterin

g

Let people know

what’s going on in your library

Ideas for using your library blog or Twitter account

• Post news, library events, community events, websites of interest

• Encourage comments

• Reuse content

• Repeat important information

Blog Search Engines and RSS Feed Readers

• Google Reader www.google.com/reader

• Netvibes www.netvibes.com

• Bloglines www.bloglines.com

• NetNewsWire (for Mac OS X) | www.newsgator.com

• BlogScope | www.blogscope.net

• BlogBridge | www.blogbridge.com

Google Reader

Ask them!

Category #5: Surveys and Polls

Survey Tools

• Gather information to do a community analysis

• Can still do print surveys—just do data entry to analyze the results

• Insert in your library’s blog, facebook page, website, etc

Find and Recommend Books

Category #6: Book sharing sites

Find and Recommend Books

• Librarything.com – Catalog your books– Find people with similar books and tastes– Librarything for libraries

• Goodreads.com– Share books with friends– Create virtual bookshelves: “to-read”;

“Southern fiction”

Discover, remember, recommend, share websites

Category #7: Bookmark Managers

• Firefox extension

• Citation management of websites, pdfs, files, images, links

Start Stumbling

Find, Create, Store Images

Category #8: Public Images

Explore Public Photos

• Share photos of your library with the world

Flickr.com

• Look for images to freely use and adapt under the Creative Commons License

Do Things with Your Images

• Slideshows: add to blog or website

• Moo: make business cards, stickers

• Qoop: Mash-up tools and templates

• ImageChef.com: Customize photos

• Zazzle: shirts, bags, mousepads, mugs

• Imagegenerator.org: Free custom graphics

ImageChef.com

Wordle.net

The Voice and Face of the Community

Category #9: Podcasts and Videocasts

Podcasting

• Record storytimes

• Record elders and their stories

• Indian Humor (clean, of course)

• Make tutorials for using the library resources

• Add to your blog or website

Videocasting

Avidemux

(free video editor)

Ideas for video casting

• Book reviews

• Library programs

• Library promotion : I love my tribal library videos

• Youtube (imagine searching youtube for “tribal library” and finding lots of videos showing what you all do!)

Get Google-fied!

Category #10: Google Tools

Google Calculator = Timesaver

Just enter a basic math problem in the toolbar(you don’t even have to press enter)

More Cool Tools

Category #11: More stuff to share if there’s time

• Internet Archives and the WaybackMachine

• WorldCat.org (free; plug-in available for Firefox)

• Internet Public Library: www.ipl.org • LibX.org (browser plugin for libraries) • LibraryElf.com (track your library books)• LibriVox: Free audio books of public

domain books• HowjSay.com (pronunciation guide)

Final Thoughts

• Slow or no internet connections– Encourage technology development

• You don’t have to be an expert on all the tools

• Recommend the LibrarianInBlack.net blog

Ahéhee‘ Thank You!

Sandy Littletree

Sandy_Littletree@ncsu.edu