• What is Facebook?
• How does Facebook work?
• What can I use Facebook for?

What is Facebook?

Timeline -  This is the place where your friends can talk to you publicly. It is also sometimes called your “wall.”

Profile - This is where you’ll see your stuff: picture albums, videos, and fun links your friends have shared with you!

Post - A Facebook “Post” is a message you can either write on your own wall, or someone else’s wall!

Facebook Friend - A Facebook Friend is someone who you can share pictures, post on each others “wall,” and chat!

Let’s get started! Activity #1: Sign-up an account.

How to Use Facebook:

Activity #2 – “Post” a status on Facebook! Tell everyone “Hi ”

Adding a Friend: Activity #3

Facebook is a great way to keep up with your friends! To find your friends and family and “add” them to your Facebook profile, you must search their name in Facebook search!

After you search your friend’s name, click on your friend’s profile, and click “add friend.” Now wait until your friend accepts your request!

Make sure to only add friends you actually know!

• Make sure you regularly check your security settings – perhaps once a month.
• Make sure you have your settings set to Friends Only, so that your pictures and posts cannot be seen by the public.
• Make sure that you report anyone that might be bothering you!

Downloading eBooks and eAudiobooks with OverDrive

What is it?

OverDrive is a way of lending digital or electronic titles (eBooks and eAudiobooks) to public library patrons. Patrons can take part of your library with them everywhere they go and check out digital titles whenever they want. For instance, a patron can be awake in the middle of the night in another country and still be able to utilize the services of your library. Pretty cool. As a staff member and patron of your library, you get to enjoy this great service, too. All you need is your library card number and an Internet connection to get started. Once the eBook is downloaded to your device, you’re good to go.

OverDrive is a subscription electronic service. Just as your library subscribes to EBSCOhost and EBSCOhost is in charge of how their site looks, so is OverDrive in charge of how their site looks. Your library’s OverDrive site may match your homepage in small ways, but the collection descriptions, the site navigation,  and all other features of your library’s OverDrive site are determined and controlled by OverDrive. Sometimes this can be helpful to remember or to point out to your library patrons.

Why should I know about OverDrive?

More and more public library patrons want to check out eBooks and eAudiobooks. Those who bought the original Kindle, those who just got their first smartphone, and just about everyone in between will find a reason for trying this library service. And many will love it! For some patrons, no late or damage fees is a big plus. For others, convenience is a strong incentive. You may find your own reasons for why you like digital content. Please share!

What should I know about OverDrive?

Enjoy this short overview of OverDrive.

OverDrive Media Console: If you are using your computer to read or listen to eBooks or eAudiobooks, or for transferring eBooks or eAudiobooks to another device, you will need to install the OverDrive Media Console. This is also free and can be found through your library’s OverDrive pages. You may also need Adobe Digital Editions. However, most people no longer use OverDrive with their computers and instead use it with their devices.

Adobe ID: To complete the set-up of OverDrive on your computer or device (except if you are using Kindle), you will need an Adobe ID. This is free. You can get it at Adobe ID, or through the OverDrive pages linked to your library’s website. You can use your Adobe ID on multiple computers and devices, so remember your Adobe ID sign-in information for future use.

You should know the general differences between types of devices. For example, a tablet, a Nook without wireless capabilities, and a Kindle each require a different process to download an eBook. The three main types of devices are:

Pinterest

What is Pinterest?

According to their website, “Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organizing the things you love.”

How is it used?

Pinterest has two types of users: individuals and businesses. Individuals use Pinterest to store inspiration. Pinterest users “pin” items to digital bulletin boards which are editable and can be shared with followers and other Pinterest users. Users can browse Pinterest by predetermined categories or the search bar, allowing them to locate anything their heart desires. DIY instructions, fashion and beauty, and recipes are popular topics for females while men prefer sports, technology, and cars and motorcycle categories. In contrast, businesses use Pinterest as a way of marketing their latest products and services, as well as sharing recent news and increase website traffic (all pins are linked to their original source).

How can you use it?

With over 10 million users, Pinterest is fast becoming an excellent marketing tool as a way to reach a wide audience, particularly females, who make up approximately 60% of Pinterest users. Although the site can only be used after requesting an invitation, it’s free! Making it a cost-effective means of reaching your audience. Libraries can, and should, connect with other libraries, staff, and patrons on Pinterest. By following other libraries, you will be updated with the latest news and can compare and contrast the different offerings. Allowing staff to access boards can mean better workplace involvement. But most importantly, connecting with patrons allows for the promotion of new products, services and events. Indiana University Mauer School of Law Library has a board to advertise new ebooks. The University of Idaho has a board for its subject guides. They also have a board promoting a book discussion event. You can even have some fun, like Purchase College’s board for Quotes & Memes. These types of boards keep the public aware of what’s going on in the library without the pressure of creating a large marketing campaign. The better your boards, the more you pin… the more followers you will get! Ashland University Library has a variety of boards with interesting topics and they have more than 500 followers! And finally, one of the largest benefits of Pinterest is that once a user shares something (“pins” it to a “board”) others on the site can share it, too! This means others can re-pin items from your boards, making them seen by an even bigger audience!

Explore

1. Request an invitation to Pinterest

2. While waiting for your invitation (it should take a few days, at most) watch a few tutorials so you are prepared for when your invitation arrives

Try this one 

3. Sign up for Pinterest and add the ‘Pin It’ button to your browser’s toolbar

4. Create a board and pin something using the ‘Pin It’ button (also try to repin something from another user!)

5. Find academic libraries (try searching “university library’ or ‘college library’ and selecting ‘Pinners’ in the upper left hand corner to see boards) and, seeing how they use their Pinterest

Optional: Watch this webcast on Pinterest for libraries to get some ideas.

Reflect

• Brainstorm a list of possible boards that could benefit your library. Be creative!
• Which libraries do you think use Pinterest most effectively as a marketing tool?
• Read some articles to know what people are saying about Pinterest. Create a blog post on your thoughts. Do you agree? Disagree? Why?

Flickr

What is Flickr?

Flickr is an online photo management and sharing application. It is owned by Yahoo! and has a variety of services that accompany site membership such as applications, and website links. Flickr has over 51 million active users. How is it used?

Flickr is used to store, edit, and organize photos online. Individuals use it to share photos with people around the world, while photographers use it to showcase art. Flickr allows users to organize photos in three ways: sets, collections, and galleries. Sets are similar to albums, where users organize their own photos by any topic they choose, such as ‘Vacation 1999′ or ‘High School Graduation.’ Collections simply group these sets together, usually by theme. Galleries are a way for users to curate their photos combined with others, usually by theme or idea. Galleries have an 18 photo limit to mimick the job of a gallery designer. Photos can be shared across the site, as well. Through Flickr, users can form contacts, who can see each others uploads easily and share photos. Groups can also be joined or created, to connect with people with similar interests. Groups can be public or private, and members share photos and discuss images using the group forum. Photos are also searchable on Flickr on a variety of factors such as geolocation, tags, people, and description.

How can you use it? Flickr prohibits commercial activity. Posting a photo purely for promoting your business violates the terms of use and will result in your account being shut down. However, as a library, the primary goal is to share information, so your account should focus on that: being informational. You do not have to blatantly advertise your products to grow your business on Flickr. Instead, try these techniques.

1) Decide how you are going to use Flickr. Many libraries use it to organize their digital collections and make them accessible online. Others use it to document library activities. Others, still, use it as a make-shift guide to the library. However you use it, consistency is key if you want to increase your number of users.

2) Make good use of tags, collections, and sets. This will make it easier for people to find you on Flickr. Make sure you appropriately describe all photos by being as accurate as possible and using terms that are likely to get you noticed. ‘Book’ for example, yields nearly 6 million results but ‘f scott fitzgerald’, on the other hand, has less than 4 thousand. Choose wisely.

Bonus: Add your website to your profile and include appropriate website links to photo descriptions. Do not do this for every photo (it will bother some users) but if it is useful, it should be included.

3) Connect with those in your industry. Joining groups is a great way to stay up-to-date with industry ‘news’ and connect with other libraries and even the ALA. make sure to stay active in these groups by adding photos and participating in forums. You are more likely to be seen this way. Adding employees, patrons, and other library-related people as contacts also expands your reach and can increase use.

Discovery Exercise

1. Sign up for a Flickr account. This can be done independently or through your Yahoo! account.

2. Upload photos and create a set. Be sure to add tags, people, and a description if appropriate. Learn how to properly tag your photos.

3. Explore Flickr. See how other libraries are using Flickr. See what groups are relevant to your library. See what results are returned when you search industry related terms such as ‘library’ or ‘education.’

Reflect

• Would you use Flickr in your library? How?
• What tools are most effective?
• How could you start an online marketing program with the tools you learned about this week?

Optional: Add a Flickr image to your blog post.

Optional: Read Reasons to Use Flickr In Your Libraries

Other marketing tools to explore on your own

YouTube iTunes and podcasts Google+ Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This Learning 2.0 module was originally designed and implemented by students in Dr. Michael Stephens‘ Transformative Literacies class in the Fall of 2012.  This class is part of San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science curriculum. It was authored by NAME for LIBRARY/GROUP. It is available for use for other libraries or institutions.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

What We Want You to Learn:

• Learn about Pinterest – what is it?
• Sign up for your own Pinterest account
• Select Pinterest “boards” to follow
• Create your own Pinterest board
• Select and repin images to your board

What is Pinterest?

Let’s get started with Pinterest!

Click on “Join Pinterest”

Select 5 “boards” to “follow”

 (item will highlight when clicked and sample boards to follow will appear)

Click a “board” to “follow”

Create your OWN board (again – lets have fun!)

Click on any category that interests you on the left bar

Pinterest will suggest some “boards” (example: “I need this”) for your use

Select and Repin Images

Search through images and find an image you like. Click on that image.

Challenge Projects: 

Want to do more with Pinterest? Here are a few additional items to explore on your own including videos to help you and connecting with your friends through Pinterest. Have fun! 

• Check out the Pinterest YouTube video (see next module on YouTube!) worth checking out!Check out
• How to video on setting up the “Pin It” button on your browser.
• Locate some of your friend and follow them, repin their pins, and comment/like their images.
• Link to your Facebook account – get more of your “friends” sharing on Pinterest

Congratulations & Thank You!

What is Google Reader and what are RSS feeds?

• Use Google Reader to keep up with websites that have frequent updates, e.g. blogs.

• Google Reader uses stuff called RSS feeds – found on loads of websites.

If you see this symbol, you can add the site to your feed reader automatically:
You can also add sites that do not have the orange RSS button.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VSPZ2Uu_X3Y

Why bother?

• Efficiency: you only have to check one place
• Remember sites of interest to you
• Basically, you’re personalizing the internet

Other possible uses of RSS in libraries

• Create an RSS feed for new additions to the catalog
• Use feeds from publishers for new editions
• Create an RSS feed for events and news posted on the library website

Activity
Set up Google Reader and follow some blogs

• Go to reader.google.com

• Add some feeds, trying both these methods:
  • Subscribe button
  • Go to a blog & click the orange RSS button. 

You will need a Google account in order to get started.  Here is a PDF with step-by-step instructions, or you can watch the video below if you prefer:

Bonus Activity

Explore some alternatives to Google Reader. Try this article to start, or let us know about some other sites that you have found on your own.  Set up an account and add some blogs.  Let us know how it goes!  Some ideas we’ve come across:

• Feedly (this site promises a seamless transition from Google Reader, and even lets you log in with your Google account)
• The Old Reader
• Netvibes

Blog post

Don’t forget to write about your experience with Google Reader (frustrations, epiphanies, or indifference!) on your personal blog.

This Learning 2.0 module was originally designed and implemented by students in Dr. Michael Stephens‘ Transformative Literacies class in the Spring of 2013.  This class is part of San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science curriculum. It was authored by Cory Laurence for the East Greenbush Community Library. It is available for use for other libraries or institutions.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.  Special thanks to Helen Westwood for her work from which this module has been adapted. 

Watching Videos on YouTube!

What we hope you’ll learn from this module:

• What is YouTube?
• How can I use YouTube?
• What are some of the advanced things YouTube can do?

What is YouTube?

How can I use YouTube?

Advanced Things YouTube Can Do

Congratulations & Thank You!

Searching the Internet

What we hope you’ll learn from this module:

• What is a search engine?
• How does a search engine work?
• How can I use Google to find what I’m looking for?
• What are some of the advanced things Google can do?

What is a search engine?

A “search engine” searches the internet for something you ask it to find. Most people search using specific words, called keywords or search terms, and the search engine will search the internet for those words. Google is the most popular search engine, but there are many other kinds of search engines too!

How does it work?

There are some rules about what spiders crawl – you can find out more about what Google indexes here : http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=70897

You can find out more about Google’s algorithm here: http://www.google.com/competition/howgooglesearchworks.html

Google has also made a website to explain “How Search Works”: http://www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/thestory/

How can I use Google to find what I’m looking for?

What are some of the advanced things Google can do?

There’s more!

• Shopping: Click on “Shopping” to use Google to find out where to buy things online.
• News: Click on “News” to find news about your keywords.
• YouTube: Click on “YouTube” to find videos about your keywords. To learn more about YouTube, see the YouTube module!

Congratulations & Thank You!

What is YouTube?

YouTube is a popular social media tool and video sharing website. A few activities you can do with YouTube include watching and sharing videos, uploading videos, and creating a list of your favorite videos.

Why Should I know About YouTube?

According to >YouTube’s Statistics, “over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month” and “72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.” Now, the video cap on YouTube is 15 minutes long so that’s a lot of videos uploaded every minute.Most likely, your patrons are using YouTube or have a question regarding this technology and this week’s module will hopefully help you feel more comfortable and give you more knowledge into YouTube.

Activity:

For this week’s activity, we will concentrate on finding videos and uploading our own creations. YouTube is a part of the Google umbrella so the Gmail account you created or used in Week 2 will work perfectly with YouTube.

1. Browse YouTube videos:

Do you have a favorite musical artist? Or a favorite movie or book?
Another browsing option is to type in “Maru Box” in the search bar – Maru is a definite must-see for cat lovers!
Save at least one of your browsing links for your blog post
2. Create and Upload a Video!

You must sign in to upload a video. If you’re not automatically signed in, click the “Upload” button (next to the search bar) and YouTube will ask you to sign in using your Gmail account.
There are several options to upload a video but let’s stick with the following: either, upload a saved video from your computer, create a video using a webcam, or create a video slideshow using saved images from your computer.
If you don’t have a saved video on your computer, you can easily make one using a smart phone or a digital camera with recording capabilities. Ask Karrie for access to the flip camera of, if you’re able to create a video using a smart phone, email the video to yourself and save it to your computer. Please upload videos that are at least 2 minutes long.
A few example topics include: a booktalk for a favorite book or new release, discuss upcoming library programs, showcase your favorite hobby, or a video of pets doing crazy things
The video slideshow is also an option for this week’s activity. You can use personal photos or images from a library program (or programs!). Please include at least 10 images. Add music for more fun!
There are some helpful “Uploading Instructions” to the right, below the side bar, but YouTube provides great explanations per step. Here are two videos I’ve uploaded to YouTube:
A picture slideshow of my cat:

A video of my cat playing with a soccer ball:

3. Write a blog post of your YouTube experience! Include a link or embed a video (note: to embed a video, click on “share” under the video, click on “embed,” and copy and paste the link to your blog) of the video(s) you found while browsing as well as the link to your own video(s). Explain your interest in your browsing options as well as where your video or slideshow came from.

Have fun!

This Learning 2.0 module was originally designed and implemented by students in Dr.Michael Stephens‘ Transformative Literacies class in the Spring of 2013. This class is part of San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Sciencecurriculum. It was authored and adapted by Serianna Leyland with the Public Library Group for East Greenbush Community Library. It is available for use for other libraries or institutions. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

• Mosio for Libraries
• LibAnswers w/ LibChat

If you are interested in learning more about chat services, please check out the Optional section at the bottom, which will introduce you to Trillian, Pigdin, Adium, and more.

Mosio for Libraries

Mosio for Libraries is web-based patron support software for libraries that allows patrons to choose how they want to communicate: via web chat, text messaging, or email.

To start, watch this video:

Features for Libraries:

• Set up is simple with no formal training necessary
• Web-based (nothing to install)
• Multi-channel – text messaging, web chat and email
• Runs reports, gathers stats, and analyzes usage

Explore

Check out the following links:

• Why Mosio? 
• Go on a Tour
• Sign up for a Video/Demo (Mosio will send you a link via email to get started.)
• Sign up for a Webinar
• Testimonials and Buzz
• Get a Quote

What do you think? Take a moment and jot down your first reactions to Mosio for Libraries while they are still fresh in your mind.

Next up is LibAnswers w/ LibChat!

LibAnswers w/LibChat

LibAnswers w/LibChat combines real-time chat service with email reference, SMS messaging, and a knowledge base to help libraries connect with users.

Features include:

• Widgets at point of need
• Smartphone and tablet friendly
• One reference tool for everything
• Usage statistics

Click here to learn more. Once on that page, click on LibChat Video to see how it works.

Explore

• How LibAnswers w/ LibChat works
• Features
• Attend a LibAnswers Webinar held every Wednesday at 2pm EST/11amPST – Enter the webinar here
• Start a Free Trial 

What do you think? Take a moment and write down your first reactions to LibAnswers w/ LibChat.

Reflect

Reflect on your reactions to Mosio and LibAnswers post to your blog or post a comment at the bottom of this page.

Here are some questions to consider:

• Which service did you like best?
• Do you think it would be a good fit for your library? If so, why?
• What features would be useful to librarians and why?
• How would the service benefit your community?
• What would be the first steps of implementation?

Make sure to check your colleagues’ blogs and comments to see their reactions!

Optional

Hungry for more? Check out Trillian! 

Trillian allows you to chat on many different networks including Facebook, Skype, Google, MSN, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo and more all in one place. Libraries can establish a presence on many different services and answer all the inquiries from one place. Trillian is compatible with both a Mac and PC environments.

Features:

• Free
• Chat with contacts on different networks
• Downloadable
• Available on many different devices including phone, iPad, and more

Explore

Check out Trillian’s Knowledge Base to find out more about installation, adding accounts, mobile devices, and any other questions you may have.

Feeling brave, download Trillian to check it out first hand!

DePauw University Presentation on Using Trillian 

Other chat services to explore on your own…

• QuestionPoint
  • Ordering
  • FAQs
• Pidgin
• Adium
• Digsby
• IMO

Additional Resources

RUSA Guidelines for Implementing and Maintaining Virtual Reference Services

Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki – Online Reference

This Learning 2.0 module was originally designed and implemented by students in Dr. Michael Stephens‘ Transformative  Learning & Technology Literacies class in the Spring of 2013.  This class is part of San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science curriculum. It was authored by Terri Artemchik for the Washington University Libraries in St. Louis. It is available for use for other libraries or institutions.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.