Technology explained in plain English

If you haven't seen these before on YouTube or elsewhere, let me recommend these technology videos from Common Craft. They give very straightforward, visually interesting introductions to a variety of technologies "In Plain English."

TechTrends Midwinter 2010

Here's an archived, hour-long ALA TechSource webinar entitled "TechTrends Midwinter 2010." It presents four speakers discussing technologies and larger trends from the exhibit floor and elsewhere at MidWinter.

I also meant to post a link to the LITA Top Technology Trends discussion from Midwinter - this is the twice annual update from the Top Technology Trends Committee. Here's a link to the LITA blog that has a summary of the conversation as well as a link to video of the event - http://litablog.org/2010/01/alamwttt/ It also offers a link to all the links in the conversation.

Enjoy your trend discovery!

Listen to Library Tech Experts!

There's a new series of library tech books, The Tech Set series, coming out from Neal-Schuman in March 2010. Whether you decide to buy the books or not, have a listen to a collection of podcasts from authors in the series at Tech Set Author Podcasts - The Tech Set. You can use the scrolling menu on the left to see which author goes with which book, and also find more information on the whole set. The podcasts are set as conversations between the author and series editor Ellyssa Kroski. I think they are great introductions to the topics covered in the series, and I hope you'll find them useful

Tech Gadgets Galore!

A recent (Feb. 9) webcast from Library Journal showcased a selection of web gadgets and apps of interest to the library community. A link to the webcast and links to products and services mentioned is available at http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6718984.html

Useful tech links from American Libraries

The "Technology News" section of the November 2009 American Libraries offers the following five links that look interesting and potentially useful:

Web Work 101: Be Your Own Tech Support - a list of 10 ways to troubleshoot basic computer problems in a post to WebWorkerDaily.

7 Steps to Make Computers Accessible for the Elderly - a blog post from MakeUseOf that offers techniques to adapt Windows to make using a computer easier for folks "of a certain age."

300+ Resources to Help You Become a WordPress Expert - a post from WebDesigner Depot that offers many (and I mean many) resources for working with the WordPress blogging platform.

The Top 10 Things Library Administrators Should Know About Technology - Ten great pieces of advice from Roy Tennant (who knows a thing or two about technology in libraries) for library administrators who may have qualms about innovating with or implementing technology.

6 Ways We Gave Up Our Privacy - Post from CSO Online noting that by sharing pieces of ourselves through social networking, Google, GPS', the Kindle, RFID tags, and the Patriot Act, we have lost privacy in large part. How to get it back? Read the post, for starters.

Talking about expected library technology competencies

I had a nice opportunity recently to talk about my findings on expected technology competencies in libraries and how we can (corporately and individually) grow our skills.

I gave a Technology Spotlight presentation at the Academic Library Association of Ohio's Annual Conference in Wilmington, OH on October 30. You can see my presentation and handout here.

I then spoke at the Michigan Library Association's Annual Conference in Lansing, MI on November 4. The presentation and handouts are here. That was a great trip for me, in part because it gave me an opportunity to visit my old stomping grounds as an undergraduate at Michigan State University.

Both presentations were entitled "Are You Ready to Roll?: Expected Technology Competencies and the Library Worker." That is the key question for all of us with technology, I suppose: are we ready to roll? Are we ready to take on the challenges that come with working in libraries today? We all come into our jobs with skills and abilities and knowledge in various related and not-exactly-related areas. Can we find ways to keep track of new developments and to add to our skills as we go? I think we can, and that combining a personal assessment like the survey I did last year (and many other options out there) with some goals to grow our knowledge can get us on the right track. I hope these presentations may be of some help to you as you look at your technology skills and desires for professional growth.

I should also include in here a presentation I did back in August on similar ground for the Ohio Library Support Staff Institute.

Keep learning, keep succeeding!

Top Tech Trends from LITA at ALA

The twice a year run-down of technology trends has just had its most recent report from ALA. Here's a summary of the trends by David Lee King LITA’s Top Tech Trends | David Lee King (there's also a link on David's page to a webcast recording of the session. It's always interesting to listen to the tech experts give their takes on what we should be watching or adopting next.

MaintainIT Webinars

I came across the MaintainIT Project when I was making updates for the third edition. There's a lot of usual information on the site, and this is something new: free webinars on a variety of technology topics: the 23 Things staff development project, an IT book discussion, and grantwriting for technology in libraries. Check it out!

Top Technology Trends - ALA Midwinter 2009

Head to the LITA blog to read, watch, and hear the discussion of top tech trends from this year's ALA Midwinter. To be honest, I have yet to listen or watch it in full, but I do check this out after each ALA conference to see what trends continue to impact the library world and which new ones bear following. I'll chime in with my thoughts once I've had a chance to listen fully, but I thought I'd be sure to pass it along before I forget.