Task #10 - New Website

I missed the December staff training due to being short staffed at the Clifton branch but I've had some time to play around with the new site.

Things I Like:

• I love that there are no drop down menus! Those were so irritating.
• The "Other Free eBooks and Audiobooks" links are a good addition. 
• I like how I can get to downloadable media from both 'Books and Media' and 'eResources'.

 Things I Don't Like:

• The Services page was a little plain, a pictured icon for each service would have been a nice touch. 
• Too much text! Will there be more icons? It took me a while to find the "What's Next?" link which I use a lot.
• Why does searching the catalog bring up a new tab? Is this just because it's the development site? I hope so because I always have too many tabs up.

I'm not sure if our patrons will like it, nobody reads anything anymore - kind of like signs.

Task #9 - Universal Class

I take online courses for my business degree through Adam State College in Alamosa but one course that's required that they don't offer online is 'Speech'. Universal Class offers a 'Motivational and Public Speaking 101' so I emailed my adviser and she is going to find out if I could get my 'Speech' credit with this course. I have been putting this credit off because my only other option is to take the class in person at Colorado Mesa University and then transferring the credit to ASC. Getting this credit through Universal Class would save me a ton of time and money.
I also have my Pharmacy Tech Certification which requires me to get CE credit every two years to renew and Universal Class offers a medical terminology course that would be a great refresher.
There are a ton of courses that our patrons could benefit from like a home-schooling section, genealogy course, novel writing and....dog psychology? 
Although I haven't taken a course yet I do plan on utilizing this resource.

Task #8 Español LibGuide

Google Translate - I didn't know it existed, very cool. I got 80% on the quiz, missing the questions where you had to count stuff like links and logins. I never go on the Spanish LibGuide. I had to ask a coworker where the link was. We have a laminated, color coded sign with basic library questions in Spanish and knowing how to translate the Spanish LibGuide so I can point the patron to the right information is a great resource. I tried to translate our main page from English into Spanish and only parts of it translated, disappointing.

Task #7: Cloud Computing - Google Docs and Dropbox

I've known about and used Google Docs for awhile. Like I wrote on this topic last time I use it mainly as software-as-a-service over the web so that I don’t have to install programs on my own computer. I use it to collaborate partnered school work through my independent studies at Adam State and it allows me to access my school work on any computer so I don’t have to remember all my memory cards.And I recommend it to patrons who don't have a personal computer and don't want to carry around a memory card.
Dropbox was new to me and I've downloaded it to my laptop and computer because I think I'll love it. My mother-in-law is always coming over to my house with a memory card to copy pictures from my computer and I can now use Dropbox to share the pictures with her. 
I used to use 'GoToMyPC.com' at my last job to access my work computer from my home computer but you have to pay a per month fee to use it. 
I have been using Amazon Cloud which I really like because you can access it from any computer, nothing to download and file type doesn't matter. But if you edit a document you still have to upload it to the website. With Dropbox, you can simply save it to a file on your computer and it syncs with all the other devices you have Dropbox on.  
The only problem with Dropbox is that you have to download the program to the device you want to access you files from - I can't always do that on say a friends computer or a public computer so I will still use Amazon Cloud since I can get those files from any computer without have to download Dropbox. But having two places to save stuff is great since 20GBs seems like a lot until you start uploading videos and pics :)

Task #6: Helping Patrons

The quiz was easy, 100%. We have limited physical resources at the Clifton branch so we know how to take advantage of all the options we have to assist a patron, especially the online databases.

A patron tells you about the new job she got that will require her to know MS Excel and she needs to learn how.

a.       Show her how to access the free tutorial through the Research and Learning Center Subject Guides.

b.      Help her search for Excel books and sign her up for a Basic Excel computer class.

c.       Combine A and B.

d.      Give her Ike’s full name, phone number, and home address.

Extra Credit #2 - A Google A Day

‘A google a day’ is fun, never knew it was there. My first question was very easy:

Before I sent my first message, "What hath God wrought!" via my invention, I painted a piece that consisted of 38 miniature copies of famous works. What was my piece titled?

The “What hath God wrought!” gave the inventor, Samuel Morse, away instantly. I didn’t know he was an artist though and his Wikipedia page was very informative. The project he painted was miniature copies of some 38 of the Louvre’s famous paintings on a single canvas (6 ft. x 9 ft) which he entitled The Gallery of the Louvre.

 I like the setup of ‘a google a day’ where you can view the question at the bottom and research it at the top.  I answered several other questions - could be addictive if I had the time…

I’d like my entry to be for the Sony Reader, please.

Task #5: Chilton Library

The Clifton branch has used the ChiltonLibrary.com quite a bit since we don't have any of the actual manuals at our site and it seems to be 50/50 on whether we find what we are looking for. The diagrams are nice and I like the way you can zoom and cut and paste into MS Word. I looked up the car I used to drive in high school - a 1979 Chevy Monza which wasn't a popular car  - they only made them from 1972 - 1979. I inherited mine from my Grandpa who had purchased it brand new for $1800. They are similar to station wagons but they have a hatchback. It was rust colored and had bucket seats. I was surprised to find it listed. I don't know anything about fixing cars so most of the information is gibberish but I found a neat illustration of how to tell what the model and year are by looking at the headlights. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't any "troubleshooting" drop down menus - I've seen these while looking up info for patrons.  And although our younger patrons use the online Chiltons manuals, I have had some trouble convincing older patrons to use it - they like the actual manual in their hands.