Some things that we have to learn...but sometimes don't want to!

I understand that as public place we have to cater to ALL types of people and we do work very hard to do just that.  I have figured out that all of these different types of people think that their "problems" or "issues" are the only ones that need to be addressed.  I really wish that the public would understand that eventhough we are here to serve them, we are not Superheroes that can do everything that they need RIGHT NOW!  Sorry ... Vent for the day is done!

Family....The links to our past!

We all have those people in our life that make us realize that we are not the only ones out there JUST LIKE WE ARE!  They are called family.  My cousins and my brother are the people that have been there to laugh with me and cry with me, agree with me and tell me I am wrong, but most of all stand up with me.  I love them so!

The Wonderful World of Kids!

These are my kids...The heart and soul of my life!  Andrew Joel was born September 7, 2004.  It was ESPN's 25th anniversary and my husband was so happy that his son was born on such an important day.  Eva Elaine was born October 18, 2007.  She was our miracle child, born after I had had a stroke the year before and was told that I was not suppose to have any more babies.  They make us laugh and cry, smile and frown, but always remember that they are the most important people in our lives.

Final Step (Method #) 12

I can honestly say that I have learned a lot from this course.  I got to try new things (Some I really liked and some that confused me a little bit) and I got to share them with everyone I work with.  Our little library had already started using social media to try and connect with our ever fickle public.  We have started offering adult computer classes that have been hit and miss with attendance.  We have whole heartedly been trying to offer what we think the public wants and what they have actually asked for.  I hope that advancing my knowledge of the technology that is out there and available to us will help me to better serve our patrons.
I want to thank you for offering these classes and courses that we can take.  It helps us to better our minds and sometimes even our spirits knowing that we are doing all that we can to be the most helpful people we can. 
On another subject...Only one month until the last enstallment of Harry Potter comes to theaters!  I can't wait!

Hermoine Granger, the smartest witch of her age!

Beyond Step (Method #) 11 -- Survey Says!

I have never created a poll or survey until today, but I have answered a lot of them.  I think that this step could be a great tool for many of our smaller libraries that are trying to reach out through social media, websites, and the like to get feedback from our patrons.


This is the poll that I created with my SurveyGizmo account. It was really easy to do and you are able to embed it on to your Facebook page, website or even Twitter.

Method (Step) #10 -- Have Web will Travel!

We here at the library have been using web conferencing for some time now.  We belong to HALAN but we are located between 90 - 100 miles outside of Houston.  With gas prices going up and just wear and tear on our own cars, using web conferencing was a logical choice.  The majority of the time we use Go to Meeting.  Also all of the staff can access and attend online webinars from all over the country to continue learning about how the library works and where the library is going. 

We have a few people on staff that have personally used Skype to "talk" to loved ones and friends in different places.  I am not 100% sure that having that as a service here at the library would be an option but I think we could provide a quiet room for people who wanted to use Skype on their personal laptops and not be disturbed. 

Digital World can may you cry!

Photo album created with Smilebox

So I tried to make another Smilebox scrapbook. This one is all about my mom who I lost 2 days after Christmas 2009. She was the cornerstone of our family. She is what helped us keep it together and I miss her everyday. My son misses her more than I do because she was his Mimi!

Method (Step) #9 -- A Digital Story about Us!

Free scrapbooking design generated with Smilebox

This is the digital scrapbook that I made for the Library's Summer Reading using pictures from the last couple of years. I thought it was really easy but I had some questions about how to change some of the things to make it a little more personal. I think it would be a great marketing tool to have embedded on our website but other than that I am not sure what we would use it for. I could possibly see teaching a class on how to do this for parents and maybe even teachers.

Method (Step) #8 -- Capture your screen and teach the world

WOW! I just used screenr to make a little instructional video on how to look for AR books on AR Bookfinder. This is one on the most asked questions in our library at the end of each six weeks.

Screenr was SUPER EASY to use. All you needed to do was plug in a microphone and get to work. The hardest part was figuring out what to make the tutorial about. I can now offically make online tutorials that can be embedded onto our library website to help the public with small questions where the answers get across much better if it is "show and tell" type learning.

Method (Step) #7 -- Next Gen Presentations

"Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. "

-- Captain James T Kirk

This method started up my alley!  I LOVE STAR TREK!  But I regress ... Having been giving adult workshops for the last 3 months, I have been using Google Docs to upload my presentations from my computer in the workroom to the laptop that I use during the actual after hours class.  For this method though, I tried SlideShare.  It was VERY simple to upload one of my own presentations (that I had to download from Google Docs since I am at home today...)  I think that having all of these different options at our hand makes our jobs a little bit easier.  BUT I learned the hard way that you MUST remember to SAVE your work and have a back up plan for when the Internet goes down to be able to have your presentation on hand to present.  I think that having to multitask like most of have to do everyday anything that will make life a little bit easier is a gift! The following is an embedded copy of the presentation that I uploaded to SlideShare. It is on downloading ebooks to your ereader from the library website. I used it originally in my ebook workshop but I have used it in the last few weeks during some informational adult tours of the library. eReaders have been the gifts of choice for the last several big holidays and everyone likes to know their options when it comes to having to either purchase or borrow books especially when they are by authors they have not tried. 

Downloading e books_from_the_library

View more presentations from molli_hall.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Paraskevidekatriaphobia, the fear of Friday the 13th, is a fear that grips those who are scared that the 13th day of the month that just so happens to fall on a Friday will be their doom.  If you have this, please stay away from Camp Crystal Lake today! 

Method (Step) #6 -- eBooks, eReaders, and the World of Tomorrow

I really liked this method.  We have been discussing ereaders here at the library for a while now.  I have offered a workshop on ebooks and ereaders called the Ins and Outs of the Digital Book.  In this workshop, we discussed how to access ebooks on the library's website (we use Overdrive), how to check them out, put them on hold, and how to download them into a Nook.  (We have a Nookcolor here at the library.)  My director and I have been discussing getting ereaders to have for patrons to check out.  We have even written grants to see if we could get the funding for the readers and ebooks for the readers.  During the workshop, I went over free sites online where they can download books onto all of the different types of readers.  We went to Project Gutenberg and downloaded this book:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1322/1322-h/1322-h.htm

I showed them that the Project Gutenberg website tries to get the first editions of the classic books and have them uploaded.  I did warn them that the first editions have not been changed in anyway and may offended those that are easily offended. 

Beyond Method (Step) #6 -- eBooks, eReaders, and portable reading...What is the world coming to?

I really enjoyed this method.  I have presented a workshop here at the library about eReaders and eBooks.  I called it the Ins and Outs of the Digital Books.  It was a nice size crowd that I got and many of them already had their own personal eReaders.  Many had questions of how to download ebooks from the library's website (we are in an Overdrive consortium) to their ereaders.  We went step by step through the process of finding an ebooks, checking out an ebooks, and then downloading the ebooks into a Nook.  (We have a Nookcolor and a Sony ereader here at the library.)
We also looked at Project Gutenberg during the workshop and explored how to find and download one of these types of books.  The one that I looked at for this Method was http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2591/2591-h/2591-h.htm#2H_4_0017 .
I think that Project Gutenberg is very easy to use and I think that it can be helpful to for patrons that are searching for a long lost book that is no longer in print or a first edition of a particular book.  Sometimes the first edition is much better at telling the story than the reprints or edited editions that we now see that are change as to not offend anyone.  Explaining to the patrons and trying to get them to understand how to "check out" and then download ebooks to their personal ereaders can be hard or easy.  It all depends on the patrons and the staff member.  If the staff member doing the teaching is not a patient person or if the patron is one that wants the staff member to do it all for them and does not want to learn anything new, then the whole process will be tough.  If the person teaching and the person learning both take their time and understand each other, the process will be smooth sailing. 
Even thought I personally prefer a paper book, I can see the draw to the ereader and ebooks. I think that all libraries should investigate having ereaders in the building to at least be able to "show and tell" the porcess to the patrons.  It may even be in the near future that we as libraries begin to check out the units like books to patrons.  I know that the future is going to be leaning more toward the electronics but I hope that we never lose the old fashion paper books.

Matthew Gray Gubler and Jackson Rathbone: One of the best episodes of Criminal Minds EVER!

So, I have been super busy in the world of libraryland, but last night was Wednesday.  Wednesdays are when I sit down and watch one of my favorite shows ... Criminal Minds.  I love the characters and the suspense that it has.  I love the complexity of the storylines and how sometimes there is not a happy ending.  But my favorite episode has to be the one where Jackson Rathbone (aka Jasper Hale) guest starred as the unsub.  His character becomes entangled with Dr. Spencer Reid (aka Matthew Gray Gubler) and their dynamic is amazing.  I think that both of them are really great actors.  So here is a little behind the scenes of that episode.

Beyond Method (Step) #5 -- Tag! You're It!

I have used virual bookshelf on Facebook for about a year now.  I like it but you have to be signed into and be my "friend" to be able to see what I am reading.  It does not give me a real feel for discussion.  On Good Reads, I feel that it would give patrons a chance to discuss what they are reading and find something new to read through discussion.  I LOVE to talk about books.  It is something I really LOVE to do but I do not read some types of books that many of our patrons want to know about.  I think that having an outlet for patrons to be able to have a "book club" type forum would be great for those that have simillar taste in books.  I like the set up of Good Read and LibraryThing and I think that trying either one on the library's website would be a great idea.

Every Child Ready to Read -- Version 2.0

Today I attended PLA's preview of the new version of Every Child Ready to Read.  I am not totally sure that it should change if it has been taught to many of us the other way.  Some of the moms and caregivers will wonder if what we have taught them is no longer good information.  The majority of the webinar sounded like the same kinds of information just worded or named differently.  Then there were some new things to talk about with parents such as home environment, singing, and playing.  It was a good webinar but I think I need to listen to it again before I make a decision on whether or not I am loving the changes.

Beyond Method (Step) #4 -- Employment 2.0

How do we as librarians help those who are looking for a job in this economy?  There are several ways.  Our library has now been offering beginning computer classes 2 weeks each month and a job hunting class the last week of the month for the last 2 months now.  I have personally been the "teacher" at each of these classes.  The job hunting class has been an interesting one to teach in that all of the people attending it really have a need.  Some do not understand why they have to apply online; some have never had to have a resume; and still some have been out of the work force for a period of time and have no idea how to get back into it.  I am working on a resume writing class using Word templates and also Google Docs.  I think that being able to use both of them will be able to help some of the public that do not have their own computers and have to use public computers to access everything. 
I have mentioned Linked in when teaching the class but I have not personally used it.  We have worked on some other social networking in the class but most of my "students" have very little computer knowledge if any at all. I was even thinking about changing my job hunting class a little bit and offering it after graduation to the teens who are looking for a summer job or a first job.

Jing! Jinga! Jingo!

OK, so in this continuing education course that we are taking "Beyond Two Steppin'" our method 8 is about capturing your screen but I needed to figure out how to do it for the presentations I am having to do for the library.  So today I downloaded Jing and tried it out.  It is so easy and I am so excited about the fun I am going to have with it!  Here is one of the screens I captured just for this blog!  It is our homepage...I am so proud of myself for learning something new and being able to do it on the first try!

Beyond Method (Step) #3: Map it!

Google My Maps was not as easy as the video made it seem.  I had to redo my map several times before I could get it just right.  I ended up with 3 maps that I made but only one that was, to me, really complete.  This would have to be an item that I would have to work with more before I could say with an amount of certanity that I was good at it.  My map of from Our City Hall to the Marion & Ed Hughes Public Library This is the link to the one map that I felt I truly completed.  It is simple but I have to start small I found out the hard way.  If I try to do this for the library itself, I would really have to take the time to "play" more with the function.

Beyond Method (Step) #2 Your Customized Window to the World (Wide Web)

The Truth is out there!

iGoogle and Netvibes look like great ways to keep up with the information that ONLY you want to see first thing.  You can even have your email fed onto the page so that when you first get onto the Information Superhighway you have all the news that pretains to you at your fingertips.  To me, this kind of looks and feels a little bit like RSS feeds page with the difference being that you don't have to fill your space with just blogs or things like that.  I think for some people this is the way to go, but for me I still love the hunt for the information.  It is thrilling!

Teaching Adult Classes at the Library: The People, The Myths and the Legends

I have been teaching adult computer classes here at the library now for 2 months.  This has been an interesting adventure for me.  Having taught children before, I have some classroom management and teaching skills in my varied bag of tricks.  But nothing can prepare you for the people that want to take free classes.  These people can be classified as the "need to get out of the house" people, the "have no idea what I am doing" people, the people that actually want to learn and have some idea of what people in a classroom setting should act like and then last night I got the first guy that decided he wanted to try and pick up the teacher.  Yes, Boys and Girls, he wanted to hit on me after he has already told me that he lives at home with his mother, has no job, and has no computer skills what so ever.  Let me just tell you that I should have gotten Teacher of the Year for the preformance that I had to put on last night.  Winning smile ... CHECK, Ready to Help Answer any and all questions ... CHECK and lastly Helping him look up EVERY county in the area so he could apply for government jobs because ... "It is really hard to get fired from those."  Yes that was a direct quote.  Even after all of that...I still love my job!

Beyond Method (Step) #1: Here we go again!

Well boys and girls...the adventures in libraryland have come back. I have started a new program and I will have to blog about everything I learn. It has been a while since I have blogged anything so I might be a little rusty so please be nice!