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Lightning Round Presentations

Library of Things
Adventures in Tech Help
Going as Paperless as Possible

Presenters: Jolanda Durbin, Eagle Valley Library District; Erin Hollingsworth, Wilkinson Public Library; Andy Hamilton, Mesa County Public Library

Session: Friday, October 4th at 11:40 a.m.

Room: Mesa

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Our Library of Things

Jolanda Durbin (She, her, hers)

Eagle Valley Library District, Avon, Eagle, Gypsum

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A Library of Things

What is the Library of Things?

A collection of real items circulating at Eagle Valley Library District Libraries

Where the Library of Things began

Part of a strategic plan to explore non-traditional items for circulation,

Funding and supplies came from partnerships, and the adult programming budget

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Things in the Library

The Library of Things contains:

Items our patrons want to borrow
Items that are easy to use
Items that can be used without all the pieces
Items are durable, relatively inexpensive, or easy to replace

Additional considerations:

Any requisite service (internet service for hotspots)
Protective cases for each item (cameras)

Obviously we all want all our items to find their user, in this case I mean that they are items that either people want to try out before purchasing (cameras) or want to use when they visit our area, and either left at home on accident or don’t have space to store when not in use (walking sticks, dry bags, etc.)

The games in this collection are predominantly card games and were specifically selected because you can play them with missing cards. Though the cameras are expensive, the librarian who selected them chose gopros and instamax mini because they are simple to use, and relatively sturdy. It’s really important to budget for things like service and staff time when introducing new formats and unusual items to your collection. Our wifi hotspot devices were donated, the internet service was not. Each of these items required some kind of special packaging and staff training - what to look for at checkout, what we have, etc.

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Cataloging Things, Kits, and Real Objects

EVLD had real objects and kits before the Library of Things.

It’s in the bag: & Read it again! book kits, Check out state parks, Walking Mountains Adventure Packs, circulating items from the Spark Studio, as well as projectors, and maps.

MARMOT standards were consulted

Using OCLC Connexion Browser records were either edited for local holdings or created

Almost all LoT records required links in the records for Pika to find “cover” images

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Thank you!

Questions?

Please reach out if you think of a question later: jdurbin@evld.org

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Adventures in Tech Help

Erin Hollingsworth

Wilkinson Public Library, Telluride

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Adventures in Tech Help...

-History of tech help @ WPL

-Outreach opportunity

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Drop-In Device Advice:

THE FORMAT: Over a given period of time, patrons could drop in with their technology-related questions.

THE GOOD: People came!

THE CHALLENGE: Too many people came at once = overwhelmed staff member.

WHAT WE LEARNED: People need help and will come to the library to get it!

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Focused Tech Classes:

THE FORMAT: A different topic every week, published in advance.

THE GOOD: People came! Patrons could pick and choose which classes to attend. Collaborative learning environment.

THE CHALLENGE: Sometimes, a patron needed more help than could be provided in a group environment.

WHAT WE LEARNED: One-on-one and drop-in help is still needed.

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Moving Forward...

BIG PICTURE: Crucial service for a variety of ages with varying technological competencies. Big payoff. Try it and see what happens!

NEXT: Continue to offer focused classes AND drop-in/one-on-one help.

REQUESTED TOPICS: iCloud, Passwords, iPhoto, Google Photos

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Going as Paperless as Possible

Andy Hamilton, Technology Services Manager, Mesa County Libraries

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Introduction

Andy Hamilton

Technology Services Manager, Mesa County Libraries

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Why Bother?

Large amount of paper used

10 pages per list
Run lists 3x/day
30 pages/day x 340 days/year (roughly)
10,200 pages of paper/year
20.4 reams of paper a year
More than two whole boxes of copier paper per year saved!

Use is temporary!

We shred paging lists once completed

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Use Cases

Paging Slips

Almost entirely paperless - we do print some Prospector transit slips

Lists (In-Transit, Missing, etc)

MCL Technology Services does all Prospector reports paperlessly

Patron Receipts

An email option on self-check kiosks

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Equipment Needed

Computer running Sierra
WiFi
iPad / Microsoft Surface / other tablet
Apps

Gmail, Google Drive, Adobe license (or free alternatives)

That’s it!

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Apps We Use

Gmail

Google Drive

Adobe

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Process (Paging Slips)

Generate lists on computer
Print to email printer
Select group email (mcplpubserv@gmail.com)
Send to email
Open on tablet

“Print” and send to Google Drive
Find in Drive
Open with Adobe logged in
When finished, save to appropriate location

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Demonstration Video!

Switching to Apple TV

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Brainstorm

Could this work at your library?

What other use cases might this work for?

Other paperless tips and tricks?

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Thank you!

We hope you’ve enjoyed MUG