Teching Up: Traditional Library Programs

Sue Scott

Marlboro Free Library

Why care about technology?

• Bridging the digital divide
• showing what is possible
• speaking to digital natives
• digital literacy (access not enough; have to know how to use it)
• balance caution with enthusiasm
• everything in moderation

Children’s Programs

• Skyping Toddlertime
  • (2 laptops with cameras and skype; external speakers)
  • LCD TV with video cable to laptop
  • singing storytime; librarian was at home; kids at the library
• Technology Tuesday camp with 4th and 5th graders
  • 8 weeks after school program: movie creation; game development; gaming; tech crafts
  • Movies:
    • Publisher to create movie premier flyers;
    • took digital camera pics of kids and had them use PAINT to create scary masks;
    • used audacity to import music CD tracks of scary sounds as MP3s into Adobe Elements
  • Game development:
    • set aside 6 computers
    • used web based game tools like Ben10 and Star Wars
    • Went through Scratch tutorial
  • Crafts:
    • Created Starship Enterprise or notebook out of floppies
    • Opened up old computer

Other Kids Programs

• Cooking: enhance trad’l porgrams with some video games, websites, online movies, multimedia (cooking club
• Babysitting Class: plays flash games, www.oyunlar1.com/index.asp
• Book club with online movies: www.patrickcarman.com/enter/skeleton-creek
• Use video games as part of programming to entice new demographics to visit the library.
• Buy books for the collection based on video game worlds
• Kinect/Rock Band require equipment they may not have home; encourage multiplayer, tournaments.

(Comment: Lots of videos in this session — great! Wonder if they’re online anywhere (telling stories better than statements or descriptions –also true for videos over powerpoint bullets)

 

Library videos everything; they are all on the library’s YouTube channel

Partnership with Boy Scouts

• Belt Loop
• Academic Pin Requirements

Technology Petting Zoo FAQ

• borrow stuff for people to use; people bring in their own devices
• Many websites listed on the slides to show (will try to get and add later!)

Applications used: all free ones from CNet.com/dowloads

Programs for Teens

Celebrating the release of Breaking Dawn: Book Club Idea (Dinner party)

• Note the slideshow of stills on the TV from the upcoming Twilight Moon
• Music playing from Twilight CD and Muse (Stephenie’s Meyer’s favorite band)
• Interviews/Reviews filmed for our YouTube Channel

Alternative Fashion Show

• Teens walked to their favorite song (used the chorus)
• iTunes + AnyVideo Converter + Audacity for the process to get the 20 second clip of the songs

Adult Programming

READ posters

Use author websites; blogs; wikis or forums; for book club discussion

Senior Wii Bowling League

Create Computer Classes

http://gameslib.wordpress.com

Patron Computer Desktop: Have experience that patrons would have at home.

• Multiple browser options available
• Image editors
• Google Earth
• Tax forms links
• Blogs on the library websites

Library website uses WordPress. Easy to do 🙂 [yep, WordPress is awesome: www.mykansaslibrary.org; nekls.org] Easy to create mobile site with WordPress.

PSA video from the library, or watch it below

Questions

• Does your library train patrons and staff on how to use the Open Source software available? No. They are told to go to watch YouTube videos on the software in question. You can learn anything from YouTube.  [Great idea!]
• Concerns about waivers. Shoot videos from the back. No names. If faces shown, waivers signed.
• Flickr site: library doesn’t have one; write blog entries with pictures.
• Marketing to teens? they don’t. no budget for teen librarian. have the library pages who then draw in other people