Roanoke Public Libraries - Recently Updated Pages

We Were All N00bs: Learning the Social Web by Using the Social Web.

justnathan — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:15:44 CDT

Roanoke Public Libraries Conference Presentations

justnathan — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:09:42 CDT

Nathan Flinchum, Community Technology Librarian at Roanoke Public Libraries, will be presenting a talk at the Computers in Libraries 2009 conference.

The staff of the Roanoke Public Libraries are presented five programs at the 2008 Virginia Library Association Conference.
This site will house the presentations and supplemental materials.

Stop & Shop: The New Generation in Branch Services
Presenters: Sheila S. Umberger, Amber Yopp and Wendy Allen
Thursday, October 23, 2008
4:00 - 4:45PM

Get Hip: Libraries and Gangsta Lit
Presenters: Shiloh Campbell and Randi Wines
Friday, October 24, 2008
8:00 - 8:45AM

Guiding Your Users to Find It Virginia
Panel Presenter: Wendy Allen
Friday, October 24, 2008
8:00 - 8:45AM

Our Jefferson Cup Overfloweth
Panel Presenter: Amber Yopp
Friday, October 24, 2008
9:30 - 10:15AM

Staff Training the Wiki Wacky Way!
Presenters: Nathan Flinchum and Wendy Allen
Friday, October 24, 2008
1:45-2:30PM

Visit us on the web:
Official Web Site
Flickr
MySpace
Facebook
Emerging Artists Facebook
Emerging Artists Tumblr
RPL Teens MySpace

Excel Tips and Tricks I - Formulas I

justnathan — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:48:09 CDT

Microsoft Excel is a great program for the organization of information, especially fairly small chunks of data (such as numbers, IDs, names, etc.) There are many MANY little things that you can change or do in Excel; I taught two and a half full days on Excel at my last job and had not gotten through everything there was to discuss.

This first class in the Excel Tips and Tricks series is meant to introduce users to the world of formulas, how they work, and a few of the basic formulas users may need. Included in the Attachments to this page will be a Word document recounting everything the class will cover. Also attached will be an Excel spreadsheet that uses many of these formulas as examples.

This is a big topic! After you attend the class or review the materials create a thread with any questions you have or any other items you think would be good to know. I'll do my best to address any questions or concerns!

Lesson Two: Blogs

justnathan — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:56:49 CDT

**Make sure to check the bottom of this lesson for helpful videos!

The "assignments" on this page are all voluntary, but if you would like to participate please do! Attached to this page is the Powerpoint presentation used in the Blogs class. As in other classes, please reply to the "Participation" thread if you review all of the materials on this page and are not attending one of the physical classes.

Weblog or Blog from Dictionary.com:
"A website that displays in chronological order the postings by one or more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings."

Popular Free Blog Hosts:

Examples of Library Related Blogs:

Top 1000 Blogs on Bloglines

Technorati - Search engine for Blogs

Assignment 1:
Look at various Library Blogs

Assignment 2:
Set up your own blog on Blogger
HINTS:

Use an email account (Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail) that you created for SPAM/Junk Mail.
Practice safe Internet - Do not use your REAL name - create a screen name. For instance, I am wensimmie.

Help for Blogger

Assignment 3:
Email your first name, last initial and address of your blog to Wendy. I'll post it here. You will need this list throughout the rest of the program. You will be asked to add comments to your co-workers' blog - so remember to come back here for the list!

Name	Blog Address
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.	1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Assignment 4:
Write some entries for your blog.

What do you hope to learn from this experience?
What library websites did you like best from Lesson One and Lesson Two?
What do you think the RPL should add to its web page?

Assignment 5:
Visit some of your co-workers' blogs.
Add a comment to at least one blog.

Videos

Blogs Explained in Plain English

Twitter Explained in Plain English

End of Lesson Two.

Get Hip: Libraries and Gangsta Lit.

justnathan — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:19:17 CDT

Presenters: Shiloh Campbell and Randi Wines
Friday, October 24, 2008
8:00 - 8:45AM

Publishers:
Dafina (Kensington Books)
Genesis Press
Kimani Press (Harlequin)
Q-Boro Books
Strebor Books (Zane)
Teri Woods Publishing
Triple Crown Publications
Urban Books
Urban Christian
Walk Worthy Press

Other Sites of Interest:
African American Literature Book Club
Hurston/Wright Foundation
Street Fiction

Media Coverage:
Collection Development "Urban Fiction": Streetwise Urban Fiction Library Journal 7/15/2006
Sex, Drug Deals, and Drama: More Books like the Coldest Winter Ever VOYA August 2005
Street Fight: Welcome to the World of Urban Lit School Library Journal 7/1/2008
Takin' it to the Street: Teens and Street Lit VOYA August 2008

RSS Feed of Street Lit:

Patron Computer Classes

justnathan — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:57:48 CDT

Attached to this page you will find all of the materials we currently use for our patron computer classes. The classes offered are:

Meet the Mouse - Our basic class; students learn about the parts of the computer and desktop, how to use the mouse, and other basic computing skills.

Introduction to Microsoft Word - This class covers creating, saving, opening, closing, and printing files as well as basic text formatting.

Navigating the Net - Our basic Internet class; students learn what the Internet is and get experience in many different ways to visit web pages.

Introduction to Google Email - Students can create their own Gmail account and learn about checking and reading their email as well as replying and sending new messages.

Intermediate Microsoft Word - This class covers margins, page formatting, spell check, find and replace, line spacing, and AutoText functions.

Intermediate Internet - This class covers advanced web searching techniques, how to read a web page, and other advanced web topics.

Microsoft Word Tips and Tricks I - Formatting and Summarization

justnathan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:37:51 CDT

Update: I'm adding an item here that I realized was missing from the PDF. When working with margins, you have the option to choose "Mirror Margins" in the Page Setup menu. This options will make the Inside and Outside margins switch places on alternating pages. So, if you are binding a book or punching holes in a document you may want more open space on the inside of a page. Mirror Margins causes that wider area to show up on the right side of a left facing page and on the left side of the right facing page.

The PDF "cheatsheet" attached to this sheet includes the same items as the staff training class given during March. It covers the most common page and paragraph formatting tools and shows you how to easily derive information about your document (length, readability, etc.)

There are also "before" and "after" documents for examples and practice. By following the steps in the "before" document you should be able to change the "before" document to look like the "after" document.

Staff Training the Wiki Wacky Way!

justnathan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:30:58 CDT

Staff Training the Wiki Wacky Way! is a presentation that will be given at the 2008 Virginia Library Association Conference on Friday, October 24, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. Its purpose is to illustrate how Roanoke Public Libraries used the Wetpaint web service to create a clearinghouse of information for their staff to educate them in Web 2.0 and other technology topics as well as foster a closer community among Library staff. Feel free to watch the presentation below and to look at all of the links available here. Many of the class materials used for both patron and staff computer classes as well as database tutorials and other materials are available for use in your own library!

Please take a look around, sign up for an account, and comment! Ask us questions, tell us what you like or don't like, anything! We've been very pleased with the results we've gotten from building community with our staff; we'd love to see similar results here as well!

About the Presenters:

Wendy Allen is the Head of Public Services at the Roanoke Public Libraries. She can be reached at wendy.allen@roanokeva.gov.

Nathan Flinchum is the Community Technology Center Librarian at the Roanoke Public Libraries. Among other things, he works in the Public Services Department at both Circulation and Reference and teaches patron and staff computer classes for the City Libraries. Nathan likes the Internet a lot and uses it often, both at work and home. He's interested in using breaking down barriers to technology and then using technology to break down other barriers. You can contact him at nathan.flinchum@roanokeva.gov and find him online at justnathan.wordpress.com and on many social websites as justnathan.

Staff Technology Training

justnathan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:29:35 CDT

We have done a number of training sessions for staff on different technology topics. We have covered many Web 2.0 topics as well as Microsoft Office tutorials, collection development tips, and some basic computer troubleshooting. The pages found in the Navigation Bar below this one mirror the content available to users on our private Wetpaint site. In any case where specific passwords or other site-specific information was present, it has been deleted.

The Latest and Greatest: Finding out What's New

justnathan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:17:07 CDT

One of the features we initially overlooked on Wetpaint is the "What's New" link towards the top left of the page. This page lists all of the recent edits to all pages of our site. Without any prompting, users discovered and began using this link on their own to see when class pages got updates and when their friends updated their profiles! Users will check that page first to find out what's new; they can then simply click on the link to that page to see the new content. Users don't have to search through all of the pages to find new content; especially good once more and more classes were being added.

The Social Aspect of Wetpaint: Learning by Doing

justnathan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:12:10 CDT

One of the things we liked best about Wetpaint are the tools it offered for social communication. Whether through comments, compliments, or the discussion forums, site users can easily and quickly send one another message or give information or ask a question to the entire group. This allows staff throughout our branches who do not normally get to interact to know each other better and to create a tighter Library community. In addition, staff that use the site, whether they are commenting often or just updating their profile, are practicing the use of social websites without realizing it! This experiential learning, or "learning by doing", is often a stronger teaching tool than anything that is done in a traditional classroom. Experiencing social tools on the web lowers the barrier to access to other social sites and makes users more capable of assisting patrons with social sites like MySpace and Facebook. Users who learn about the Social Web also get a better insight into the web surfing behavior of their patrons which can help them develop programs and craft policy with their patrons in mind.

Stop & Shop: The New Generation in Branch Services

wensimmie — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:09:09 CDT

Virginia Library Association Conference
Presenters: Sheila S. Umberger, Amber Yopp and Wendy Allen
Thursday, October 23, 2008
4:00 - 4:45PM

Media Coverage:

ABC News Clip October 14, 2007
3M
Nov/Dec 07 Library of Virginia Newsletter p.7
Roanoke Times May 19, 2007
Roanoke Times May 18, 2007
Awards:

2008 Virginia Public Library Directors Association Outstanding Service Innovation Award
Premier Visual Award – Best Kiosk
2nd Place - Best Kiosk Display 12th Annual Visual Victory Award

What is Web 2.0?

justnathan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:54:09 CDT

Welcome to the first lesson of the Web 2.0 series. I have gathered a few links that I want you to visit. These will get you started on thinking what Library2.0 is all about.

Sowhat is Web 2.0?!?
Everyone quotes Tim O'Reilly for the official definition of Web2.0. I have a link to it at the bottom of this post if you want totake a look at it.

However, I like thisdefinitionfrom Zdnet's RichardMacManus:

"Web 2.0 is social, it’s open (or at least it should be), it’s letting go of control over your data, it’s mixing the global with the local. Web 2.0 is about new interfaces - new ways of searching and accessing Web content. And last but not least, Web 2.0 is a platform - and not just for developers to create web applications likeGmailandFlickr. The Web is a platform to build on for educators, media, politics, community, for virtually everyone in fact!"

What is Web 2.0- an article from O'Reilly back in 2005. The VP from O'Reilly was one of the people who helped coin the phrase.

Web 2.0- Wikipedia article

The Difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 (Wendy's explanation)
Web 1.0 is static. Information is fed to the consumer from the website - business, government, library, etc.

Web 2.0 is more social. More communication between the web site and the user. People are contributing to the the websites - reviews, comments, uploading pictures/videos, writing blogs.

What is Library 2.0?!?
Ilove this definition fromLibrarian in Black'sblog. She is a well known blogger on library issues.

"Library 2.0 simply means making your library's space (virtual and physical) more interactive, collaborative, and driven by community needs. Examples of where to start include blogs, gaming nights for teens, and collaborative photo sites. The basic drive is to get people back into the library by making the library relevant to what they want and need in their daily lives...to make the library a destination and not an afterthought."

Library 2.0 definition fromWikipedia

Examples of Libraries using Web 2.0:
Hennepin County(OH) Library- look at their construction updates & videos
Also look at theirBookSpace

Kansas City (MO) Public Library- Look at their Subject Guides RSS Feeds

Louisville (KY) Free Public Library- library page for mobile devices

Williamsburg (VA)Regional Library: Blogging for a Good Book

See also thePublic Library Website Hall of Fame

UPDATE: First Monday (a peer-reviewed online journal about the Internet) has released theirMarch issuewhich is all about criticisms of Web 2.0. It's an interesting read; our materials tend to point out the good things about Web 2.0. These articles will give you a view from the other side of the debate.

End of Lesson One

Wetpaint Tutorial

justnathan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:30:33 CDT

If you are reading this page you are either in the Wetpaint tutorial class now, you've completed the class, or you answered an invitation. In any case, welcome!

All of the materials used in the Wetpaint tutorial classes are attached below under "Attachments". Simply click on the name of any of the files to view its contents or save it to your own computer. Note that some of the content is specific to Roanoke Public Libraries; you may need to alter some of it for your staff.

I'd invite anyone interested in doing work on their personal site to click on "My Wetpaint" at the top right of the screen and go to their site. There will be a series of tutorials that will show up under "Wetpaint Orientation". Going through those files and viewing theWetpaint Help sitewill give you a good start at creating and modifying your own pages.

Creating RSS feeds using Gale Databases

wensimmie — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:20:42 CDT

Green Living Example

Guiding Your Users to Find It Virginia

wensimmie — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:49:33 CDT

Virginia Library Association Conference
Friday, October 24, 2008

8:00 - 8:45am

Gale Support - http://support.gale.com
Gale Support for Virginia Libraries - http://access.gale.com/va/
Public Library Database Trials - http://access.gale.com/public/index.htm
Gale Widgets - http://access.gale.com/databases/
Direct Links to Individual Gale Databases
Direct Links to Individual Gale eBooks (Gale Virtual Reference Library)
Tips, Webcasts, Navigation Guides
Creating RSS feeds

Gale Database Tip Sheets

wensimmie — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:52:26 CDT

Expanded Academic

Gale Virtual Reference Library Links

wensimmie — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:26:48 CDT

Gale Support Page for eBook covers & links: http://access.gale.com/ebooks/

Roanoke Public Libraries' Gale eBook links
Just replace "va" with your location code

Contemporary Fashion

Database Direct Links

wensimmie — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:52:40 CDT