The laptop issue last month (at my own class - very humiliating!)was really a battery pack/laptop issue, not at all related to the projector. Apparently these laptops are very fussy about their power supplies! But everything is working now - we should probably mark each power supply and laptop combo to avoid this in the future.

Now we are planning our "mini tech fair" for staff in a few weeks. We'll be showing the digital camera, flip camera, Kindle, iPod, netbook, and laptop/docking station. I hope the rest of the staff is at least somewhat curious about these! Not everyone will have a use for them, but at least they will know what things are and how people might use them. We're arranging for CE credit from the state library too. People who do a project using one of these gadgets can get an extra hour of credit.

We've trained another person to work at Computer Services, so we have options when people take vacation. So far we don't seem to have any flu going around here but we're prepared!

The Joys of Technology

Just when I thought I had a handle on technology, something comes along to remind me I don't! Saturday was the Computer Safety class, and I was prepared with handouts of my PowerPoint presentation. Good thing, since the projector and laptop decided not to cooperate! We'd used this laptop for classes all spring, (although we did have a few issues at first - mostly because I was trying to project when it wasn't plugged in - we learned that doesn't work) so I can't figure out why it wouldn't continue to behave. We have a second laptop now, so I'll give that one a chance before calling in the Projector Guys.

We also have a projector in the board room that isn't projecting, just flashing (we think of it as a strobe light!). I tried both laptops so this might involve the Projector Guys to figure it out.

But the class was good, and hopefully a few more people will be a little safer on line! When someone says they always refuse automatic updates, I have to think this was a necessary class!

Several staff people went to the state library's Fall Workshop in Great Falls this weekend. I reminded everyone about the library's netbook - a handy way to take notes and get a report written while at a gathering like this (instead of having to write it later!). Happily, someone asked to use it - I'd like to think this will catch on for other meetings and conferences. The library's cell phone also went along; unbelievably one carload of folks didn't have a cell phone among them!

The document scanner we made available to the public has been getting quite a workout. People seem to be able to do pretty well on their own, or at least following the instructions posted. Maybe we should add this to our list of Technology Fair items so the rest of the staff would be familiar with it too.

Before last week's staff meeting we were asked to post a list of 15 of our favorite books. It's been fun to read everyone's list and see the wide variety! And, we each received 5 "Staff Pick" stickers to put on books from our list. Amazingly, a lot of my titles were checked out! I finally found 5, though.

Imaging Update: I made the new children's computer image (there had been one, but it needed updating) and managed to schedule the process all on my own, so now those computers start "fresh" each morning. I want to try the 4 teen computers next just to see how difficult the process is with our time-print management system. I'm considering making an OPAC image too - it couldn't hurt to clean those up, since I know people sometimes use those for the internet event though we don't want them to!

Next week is our first computer class: Computer Safety. I suggested this, after watching so many people leave themselves "exposed" on our computers. And I recently read a great article in Smart Computing magazine that had lots of good ideas. Hopefully this will help a few people be a little safer on line.

Almost Labor Day

It finally feels like summer, now that the calendar says it's almost over. Tourists seem to be gone for the most part, and students are back, so that's close enough to fall for me.

Not much progress on imaging, since I realized the reservation system is not going to go along easily. I'm afraid it adds a complication we can't overcome. So it's on to Children's! We could eliminate reservations, but I don't think that's an idea that would be popular - it's too convenient for people to even consider giving that up.

A minor hitch in our fabulous new internet: for some reason the router needs to be reset periodically. We didn't know this, and yesterday suddenly just lost all public internet. But now I know how to reset it, so it shouldn't be a major disaster, just a small annoyance.

We're planning a small Technology Fair at our library to help staff learn some of the new toys we bought recently. We have a flip camera, a netbook, a Kindle, amd iPod and a new digital camera. We'll have a morning when people can come and see how each works, then if they want extra credit they can do a project with one or two. Even if they don't use it for anything else, at least they'll be familiar with what they are. We keep trying to get everyone to not fear technology!

Improvements

The imaging project continues, and actually seems to be working! I can see that life will be absolutely wonderful once all public internet computers are re-imaging themselves each night. Four express stations are complete; I added 3 more this morning. I think I'll move to the teen computers next. There are just 4 of those but they are part of the reservation system, which adds a little complication. These will be an easier test than the 12 adult computers.

Even more exciting this week: our internet service has been upgraded! We've been living with a nightmare for months: sometimes the network would run along smoothly, then suddenly slow to a crawl. We suspected it was one or more wireless users hogging the bandwidth but had no way to determine this. Our service was a donation so we didn't have much power. But now the router has been upgraded, and service is incredibly fast. It will amount to a $200/month cost, but I'd be willing to sacrifice that much from my salary for dependable service. We've joked about putting a tip jar at Computer Services ("did you enjoy the internet? make a contribution!").

Of course, now school has started and we aren't as overwhelmingly busy as we have been, so it really isn't a fair comparison. But I'm not complaining!

Drill Team Update

The Drill Team marched in the parade this morning. It wasn't too hot, and it didn't rain, so we were pleased! We started out slow but by the end of the route were moving along a quite a clip. Crowds loved us, as usual, even without the book carts. I had hoped we'd get some video on the library's Flip camera, but when it was returned to me I didn't see any video.

The Library was fairly quiet most of the day, until an incredible thunderstorm moved in. Then we became the safe haven for the festival crowd - we expect that will really run our numbers up for the day! The sun is out now, and things are quiet again.

August already

So glad I mentioned the heat in my last post - it's been a little on the chilly side ever since, and we're afraid we've missed summer completely. I'm holding out for a warmer August.

Just when you think it will be a dull, ordinary day things happen. This morning we had a man with a dog wanting to come in the library. Service dogs are perfectly fine, but this one had no paperwork or tag to verify the owner's claim. I'm afraid some staff may have over-reacted: for some reason police were called. As the ADA coordinator for the building, I checked on regulations and found that service animals (and their owners) aren't required to have documentation with them. I visited with the patron and police officer, who suggested it might be a good idea to have that available in the future. Two more officers arrived - we had to suspect it was a slow day for law enforcement, especially since the first officer had already reported everything was fine!

Not long after we saw a long (really long!) black limo parked outside the Library, with a red carpet extended. This turned out to be a 65th birthday celebration for a woman, who had planned a day with friends (10 of them, who all showed up for pictures). They had champagne and looked like it was going to be a fun time.

My feel-good moment of the week: a young British tourist asked why the iPhone doesn't work in Montana? He was traveling the US, had just come from Idaho, and needed to call the person in town he planned to stay with. He asked about a pay phone, and I directed him to the one in the lobby. He returned a little later saying he couldn't hear on that one, and that's when I realized he was watching my lips carefully and had hearing aids; he did have the speech associated with deaf people who learn to talk but I thought it was just his British accent. The cell phone number he had for his local contact was a long distance number. It seemed like he was out of options, so I called the local person - we don't usually make calls for people, and long distance requires a special code. But the person on the other end was happy to hear he was in town, and came right over. He was very pleasant to visit with, and we had a discussion about how the At&T network isn't everywhere like you think! Every so often we have stranded travelers, and it feels good to help.

MLA board retreat this weekend - guess that will count as my summer vacation this year.