Media and Technology Section
Updated: August 30, 2007
Fall 2007 Newsletter
- Webbies Awards Nominations are Open
- Scholarship Deadline Extended
- Success Story: Gadget Training at SCLS
- Tech Tip: Monkey with your Web Browser using GreaseMonkey scripts
Webbies Awards Nominations are Open
We hope you've already heard that MATS is seeking nominations of web sites for the 4th annual Webbies Awards! The Webbies celebrate excellence in Wisconsin web site design. The nomination form and past winners can be found on the Webbies page.
We also hope you'll take time to nominate a site and then come to the WLA conference in Green Bay where we'll announce the winners!
Scholarship Deadline Extended
The deadline to apply for MATS' $250 scholarship to cover the costs of attending the WLA conference has been extended to September 14, 2007. MATS members are encouraged to apply!
Success Story: Gadget Training at SCLS
Sumbitted by Jean Anderson, SCLS Continuing Education Coordinator
This year, South Central Library System (SCLS) received an LSTA grant to purchase a “stable” of gadgets and provide training on those gadgets for our member library staff. The goal of the program was to encourage library staff to play and learn about the kinds of things their patrons are using every day.
In early 2007, we purchased a video iPod, a Creative Zen mp3 player, a GPS unit, a Palm PDA, a PlayStation Portable (PSP), a Canon digital camera, and a card reader. Five staff members each took responsibility for a gadget or two and created activities and step-by-step instructions for their gadget.
Gadget Training was held during six sessions in July. Registration was limited to 14 people per session so that the participants could be broken down into groups of two or three. Tables filled with gadgets, computers, and step-by-step instructions were arranged into six stations. Each participant was randomly assigned to a group that started at an assigned station. After 15 minutes, each group proceeded to the next station. Ultimately, over 80 SCLS member library staff members attended training!
At least four SCLS staff members helped out at each training session. One staff member accompanied the group doing the outdoor GPS activity, "Trail of Secrets." Two staff members helped out and answered questions about the remaining five gadgets.
The fourth staff member showed participants how to play Guitar Hero! Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero are part of the PlayStation 2 (PS2) package available for SCLS member libraries to borrow and use for library programming. This equipment was also purchased with an LSTA grant in 2007. After gadget training, reservations for the PS2 package filled the schedule for summer and into fall!
We hope the gadget training inspired library staff to learn more about gadgets and, most importantly, banish some fears about playing with new technology!
Tech Tip: Monkey with your Web Browser using GreaseMonkey scripts
Submitted by Jon Mark Bolthouse
Firefox mavens know all about extensions: those handy little add-ons that add weather reports, password vaults, and other nifty tricks to your browser. But advanced users can benefit from GreaseMonkey, a Firefox extension that modifies the web pages of others, allowing you to manipulate the information presented on screen in many different ways.
There are enough GreaseMonkey scripts out there to merit a book from O’Reilly but I’d like to focus on two that can really benefit librarians.
First, however, you need to acquire GreaseMonkey. You can download the Firefox extension at http://www.greasespot.net/.
After installing GreaseMonkey, head over to OCLC Research’s Audience Level Prototype. This GreaseMonkey script will display a numeric value within the description of any book you view on Amazon, indicating the relative audience level (school, public, academic, or ARL library) of the item.
Next, install the Lib20 Library Toolbar. LIB20 grabs the ISBN from the display of many OPACs, and adds an amazing assortment of content to the item: cover art, customer and editorial reviews, and links to purchasing sites such as Amazon and Powell’s.
If you are a regular user of GreaseMonkey, please send along your favorite scripts to the so that others can benefit as well.
