Savings Calculator

I saw something interesting on the Martin County Public Library site and thought I would pass it on to all of you! It is a Savings Calculator showing how much your library saves you each month. It is provided through the State Library of Florida and is really pretty darn interesting. Go ahead and give it a try!

Did you even know that we had a state library? We do and it actually is a wonderful archival source as well as providing a variety of services for the people of Florida.

 

I just read a post from The Whimsicallibrarians blog that I thought I would share with you. The blog is maintained by a librarian who used to manage our Youth Services department and now is a branch manager for the Fairfield Public Library in Fairfield, Connecticut.

She had just returned from a conference on developing health information for library patrons and wanted to share some websites with her patrons. Though the conference was for Connecticut librarians, the websites she shares are great sources for any of us.

So take a look at the websites she suggests, I think you will be glad you did!

Janice

 

Computer Classes at the West Palm Beach Library

We have a great selection of computer classes coming up in March. We, of course, have the Basic Computer Skills and More Basic Skills classes during the day. For those of you who work, we are offering the Microsoft Word class in the evening this month. The class will be held Wednesday nights, March 12, 19 and 26 at 6:30 pm. On March 5 at 6:30 pm, I will be offering a beginning class on Microsoft Vista for those of you who have bought new computers or have updated to Vista. Also, I have a brand-new class “Intro to 3-D Modeling” which will be taught by our Artist in Residence: Matthew Hyner. This class will give an introduction into using Google Sketchup, available free from Google. No registration is required; all classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

 I would like to offer an invitation for those of you who are already competent in computer and internet use. Come share your knowledge with others! Whether you would like to help out in a class or actually teach a class, we need you!!!! If you are interested in learning more about volunteering in the computer lab, email Janice at collinsj@mycitylibrary.org

 

 

Library of Congress and Flickr?

The Library of Congress announced January 16 that it has teamed with the photo-sharing website Flickr to broaden public access to the 14 million photographs and other visual items in its collections. So far 3,000 photos from two of the library’s most popular collections—the George Grantham Bain Collection, featuring the photographic files of one of America’s earliest news picture agencies, and Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information photos of rural and farm life have been placed on Flickr.

Ok, I know you are saying to yourself “Why do I care?” You care, because the photos that are already posted are amazing and well worth checking out AND you can comment on them. The George Grantham Bain Collection covers sports events, theater, celebrities, crime, strikes, disasters, political activities including the woman suffrage campaign, conventions and public celebrations. Most of the collection dates from the 1900s to the mid-1920s, but scattered images can be found as early as the 1860s and as late as the 1930s. The collection from the Farm Security Administration consists of vivid color photos from the Great Depression and World War II, an era usually captured only in black-and-white.

The collection is in a part of Flickr called “The Commons”. This is an amazing resource for anyone interested in history or their own past! Because these are all in Flickr, it is possible to comment on the photos. You might even be able to provide new information about one of them! Take a few minutes and check them out, I think you will (like I did) lose yourself in the past…at least for a little while.

 

Computer Classes for the New Year

Well, 2008 is here and with the New Year, we are once again offering a full schedule of computer classes. Remember, it is not necessary to sign up, all classes are first come, first serve. Here is the schedule for January.

January 8	10:00 am	Basic Computer Skills
January 10	10:00 am	Basic Computer Skills
January 17, 24, 31	10:00 am	Microsoft Word
January 22	10:00 am	Internet 1

If you have any questions about any of the classes, give me a call at 868-7701.

Janice (your Tech Librarian)

 

Free Software

Among the thousands of free programs available on the Web, how do you find the best, most reliable ones for your needs? I love to read PC Magazine as most of you have probably realized by now. I often find their tips quite useful. In fact, I enjoy their tips so much that I get regular updates from them on a number of topics. I thought I would share with you an article that came out this year: The Best Free Software. They have recommendations for all kinds of applications, from photo editing to DVD burning to word processing. At the end of the article, there is some information on how to protect yourself from malware when downloading free applications.

I use a number of free applications myself. I especially like Spybot - Search & Destroy. This program detects and removes spyware. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven’t intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been “hijacked” (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. 

I also love Gadwin PrintScreen. This is a program I use all the time at work to capture screenshots. There is a professional version that you have to pay for, but the free one works great and is so convenient and easy to use. Instead of hitting the Print Screen key on the keypad and getting a picture of the whole screen, Gadwin PrintScreen makes it easy to get any area of the screen. Very cool!!!

I might as well mention the Google Reader. Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. It can be used in most browsers and there is no software to install. I use Google Reader as part of my iGoogle page which also includes my Gmail account. IGoogle is a personalized page that gives you at-a-glance access to key information from Google and across the web. You can choose all sorts of content to add to your page including the weather, movie show times, news headlines and a lot more. Gmail of course is Google’s email which I use when I have to give an email when I sign up for something or make a purchase.

 

Upcoming Computer Classes

FYI

We have three computer classes coming up in the next couple of weeks.

1. Internet 1: Thursday, October 29 10:00 - 11:30 am
2. Beginning PowerPoint: Monday, October 29 6:00 - 8:00 pm
3. Internet 2: Tuesday, October 30 10:00 - 11:30 am

I do not have a lot of classes planned for November and December as I have found from experience that people are not interested during the holidays. I am planning a couple of things though. I have a wonderful volunteer who will be doing a “Get that Job” class on Saturday, November 10. It’s a great class which will include learning how to not only put your resume online, but what you need to include to create a resume that will stand out. To see what else is being offered the next few months, check our website or our events calendar.

 

I love e-tickets!

Good morning ya’ll! I am in Colorado visiting my brother and his family this week and they are all out of the house for the moment, so I thought I would write a quick note about e-travel…. Don’t you love how you can research everything you need to know about traveling to just about anywhere online? From buying airline tickets to finding bus schedules, it’s all online and so easy to find! For this trip, I checked air travel prices in a number of places and then checked the airline website also. Since I was going to Colorado Springs, I did a little research (of course, I am a reference librarian after all!) to see what I might want to do while there. One site I found interesting was the Exerience Colorado Springs website which is the official website for the Convention and Visitors Bureaus. I found not only information on events and sites to see, but maps, coupons, weather info, etc.

Any time I go to a new city I like to check out the Visitor’s Center website. Any city worth its salt has a dynamite site to showcase their city. Of course, there are a zillion different travel sites; even most published travel guides have some sort of online version. I didn’t check those this time, but I often do!

Where do you go to get your travel info? Do you have a favorite site? Pass it on, I’d love to hear about it.

Janice

 

Pew Internet and Hobbies

Have you heard of the Pew Internet and American Life Project? According to their website, “The Pew Internet & American Life Project produces reports that explore the impact of the internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the internet through collection of data and analysis of real-world developments as they affect the virtual world.”

This week they released a report showing that “fully 83% of online Americans say they have used the internet to seek information about their hobbies and 29% do so on a typical day.” Looking for information about hobbies is among the most popular online activities, along with shopping, surfing the web for fun, and getting news.

After thinking about this a little, I realized that I use the Internet on a regular basis to get information about my hobbies. I have looked for crochet patterns for a particular project, found earring and necklace patterns for beading projects and done major research on my family genealogy…all without leaving home!

How my life has changed over the last 10 years or so… all because of the Internet!!! If you are reading this, you can probably relate! One of my jobs here at the library is teaching computer classes and I love to introduce the internet to newcomers! Newbies are always amazed at what they can do! Whether it is the weather, directions or information about a hobby…they are fascinated.

 

The Technobuddy

Thought I would take a few minutes to talk about one of my favorite newspaper columns. Do you ever read “The Technobuddy” columns? The Technobuddy, Bill Husted, writes for the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is syndicated across the country. I read his columns every Sunday in The Palm Beach Post. Whether you are new to technology or have been around a while, you will find something of interest in his columns. You can also find him at his website or his blog. 

In one of his recent columns, (back in August) he talked about what he considered high-tech needs. Now you may or may not agree, but the Technobuddy considers that a wide-screen monitor, HDTV, an external hard disk, a digital camera and GPS are essential pieces of technology. I have to admit he makes some good points and I certainly agree with him about some of these needs.  The wonderful thing is that most of these things have come down in price and are actually within reach for the average person. Certainly a wide screen used to be a luxury, but now I would use nothing else! GPS sounds wonderful, but I am not ready to pay the price, but give it time….it, too will come down!

If you read The Palm Beach Post, you can find “The Technobuddy” in the Business section on Sundays and he has a Q and A column on Mondays also in the Business section. Check him out, not only will you learn something, but his columns are fun to read!