TechBits

Good Calculators, Google Forms, and more

WVLS has shared some short (3-15 min) "Digital Bytes" training videos recently that may be of interest to you or your library patrons:

Good Calculators
Time: 5:01
Jamie talks about an educational and fun tool that can help library patrons of all ages.
Watch

Google Forms
Time: 15:11
Anne talks about creating a Google Form and how to share it.  Watch

Social Media Message Optimizer
Time: 5:26
Jamie talks about using CoSchedule’s Social Media Message Optimizer to see if you’re getting the most out of your library’s social media posts, based on several factors. Watch

JCW Resume Builder
Time: 10:29
Anne talks about using the Job Center of Wisconsin online resume builder. Watch

Using Bluejeans
Time: 10:46
Jamie demonstrates how to use Bluejeans as a moderator.  Watch

Scanning Documents On Your iPhone
Time: 3:24
Don’t have access to a scanner? Jamie talks about using your iPhone to scan documents as a PDF file.  Watch

You can find more of these "Digital Bytes" here on the WVLS website: https://wvls.org/digital-bytes/

Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference - Tech Track

Since 2012, January means the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference. I have the honor of being a part of the team that brings this conference to life. It also means two full days hosting or co-hosting webinars on lots of topics. This year's conference, held on January 22 and 23, featured topics in four tracks: Adult Services, Tech Trends, Library Management, and Small & Mighty. 

For this post, I want to tell you about the Tech Trends webinars. First up was Leah Gentry from the Menomonee Falls Public Library talking about how to Help Your Patrons Cut the Cable Cord. This is the third time I've seen Leah present this topic and I learn something new every time. If you're at all interested in learning more about Rokus, Netflix, Hulu, SlingTV, and more, check out this webinar. (Slides, Recording)

Next up was Laura Solomon from the Ohio Public Library Information Network presenting an "Introduction to Website Accessibility." If Laura's name sounds familiar, you're right. Laura has presented for Wild Wisconsin in past years and also at Tech Days a couple of years ago. She really knows her material and is an enthusiastic presenter. I learned a lot about why accessibility is important in the online world - something I hadn't thought much about before. (Slides, Recording)

And, the final session in the Tech Trends track was Kimberly Crowder teaching us how to "Level Up on Your Social Media Trends 2020." While I learned a lot in this session, I don't think I'll be signing up for Tiktok anytime soon! I believe there will be some future TechBits posts from ideas in this session, too. (Slides, Recording)

Have topics you'd like to see at Wild Wisconsin 2021? Let me know - we're always looking for new topics and ideas.

 

 

How to search within multiple PDF files at once

We all know that we can search within a PDF file for any text that we want to find. But did you know that you can search within multiple PDF files at once? Well, I'm here to tell you that you can and here's how you do it.

1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

2. Click on the Edit menu at the top and select the "Advanced Search" option

3. Click the radio button in front of "All PDF Documents in"

4. Click on the dropdown menu to open it

5. Click on the "Browse for Location..." option

6. Navigate to the folder where your PDF files live

7. Fill in the text box with what you want to search for

8. Click the Search button

9. If you get a Security Warning message click the "Allow" button

10. You will then get a search window that tells you how many PDF files contain your search term and how many instances of it were found

MedlinePlus for Librarians

Answering health related questions at the Information Desk can be a challenge. What sources do you go to? How do you know the source has quality, authoritative, and accurate content?

MedlinePlus is one of my go-to resources to share with library staff and I was pleased to see a new training tool In a recent Public Libraries & Healthy Communities newsletter from National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM). It's an online on-demand course called MedlinePlus for Public Librarians. The class takes about an hour to complete and you can do it at your convenience.

The course gives a very thorough overview of Medline Plus including the sources used in MedlinePlus and their quality guidelines. Sources are regularly checked and updated by National Library of Medicine librarians. In addition. the course covers the Health Topics and Drugs & Supplements areas along with many other features of the site. To make sure you're following along, the course includes periodic Knowledge Checks (or quizzes). I've completed two of the modules and have passed all the Knowledge Checks (so far).

To access the course, you'll need to create an account with some basic information. Once you receive an email with the link to set up your password, you can log in and get started. This is an great way to enhance your knowledge about health information and MedlinePlus and be able to confidently help your patron's with their health information needs.

 

 

 

Important information about Firefox updates

When we moved to Koha SCLS developed what are called "profiles" in Firefox in order to make printing quicker and easier for libraries. So, for this reason, we always test Firefox updates because we know that having Firefox work correctly is very important for the libraries.  A few years ago when Mozilla, the developers of Firefox, moved to update Firefox every 6 - 8 weeks our ILS staff started testing the new version, before the libraries got it, to make sure that Koha functionality wasn't broken.  We even recruited a few libraries to also test the new Firefox version because the more testers there are the better.  When a version of Firefox is approved we then send it out to all the libraries, but before this update is sent out we always send out emails to keep libraries in the know.  When we send out these emails we always have an email subject that starts with "ALL STAFF - Firefox Upgrade".  It is in your library's best interest to read these emails carefully and not delete them.  Because if there are problems, that slip past all of our testers, these emails will contain information on how to fix the problem.  In the past, and even with the last update, we had problems with Koha that were caused by the Firefox update.  So these emails will keep you up-to-date on when a Firefox update is happening, if the update caused any problems with Koha and how to fix the problem.  If you do accidentally delete those emails you can also find information about Firefox updates on our SCLS Network PC Updates webpage.

Tech Days 2019

Chris Willey, Director of the Immersive Media Lab at UW Milwaukee, is the keynote speaker for this year's Tech Days East workshops. The title of his presentation is Extending the Third Place. You can read more about Chris and watch a TEDxUWMilwaukee talk with him on the UWM Research page. Here's the description of his presentation:

Join Chris Willey as he shares ideas on these questions, and moderates a lively discussion that includes your perspective on the future of technology. The purpose of this presentation is about "sharing focus" on our future, together. Additionally, Willey will share the mission, methods, and recent outcomes of the Immersive Media Lab at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee so that you may adopt any/all for your own libraries and communities. He will share what it means to be antidisciplinary, the role of creativity in a "3rd Space" learning environment, and why this is important for our shared technological trajectory.

After lunch, you can choose from a wide variety of breakout sessions including coding & drones, digital archiving, virtual reality, cutting the cable cord, tech classes for adults and seniors and more. The breakout sessions vary depending on location and are presented by your colleagues, including several from SCLS. Thank you for sharing your expertise!

Tech Days East will be held at the Franklin Public Library in Franklin on September 10, Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve in Appleton on September 11, and Monona Public Library in Monona on September 12. More information on Tech Days is on our Tech Days Wisconsin website.

Can't make it to the September dates? If you're willing to travel a little, Tech Days West will be held in Rice Lake on November 5, Wausau on November 6, and Sparta on November 7.

Things to keep in mind when getting a new printer.

There comes a time in every printers life where one invariably has to say goodbye. Whether it has worn out, or you just can't stand the sight of that old printer, it's time for a replacement.  

However, when it comes time for a new printer to be installed there are a few things to consider. 

                              

    1. Is this a new type of printer or just a replacement for the old one?

    2. Is this a staff printer, a patron printer, or both?  

    3. And finally, how critical is this printer?

These questions need to be answered in order to determine how much time it will take to complete the job.  A brand new printer will need to have every computer updated individually, and that can be very time consuming depending on the number of computers that will connect to it. 

It is very important that staff have the answers to these questions, and have called the Helpdesk, BEFORE the date of instillation....if at all possible. 

Keeping these things in mind will help us, help you, in the quickest most efficient manner!

 

Um, excuse me? Weaponized PDFs?

I was going to do a Tech Bits post about Carla Hayden's (Librarian of Congress!) proposal to digitize the  Library of Congress (!!!) but I ran across this other article and thought "What?!  Like with little guns and knives and stuff?"  

American Libraries linked to an April 19, 2019 article on the Nextgov website that has the title "Report: Weaponized PDFs on the rise." (sounds like an excerpt from a Terminator movie, right?) But it is no fantasy my friends, just the next generation of malware, scamming and spamming.   

So in addition to reminding your patrons, staff and coworkers about suspicious emails, ads and hyperlinks you also need to warn them about weaponized PDFs.

Welcome to the 21st century.

 

 

 

Help Desk Tidbits

Early morning work on staff and patron PCs

When SCLS tech staff arrive in the morning they check on different things with both staff and patron PCs. Things like the status of the anti-virus and disk locking software. If we see a problem and we know the library isn't open yet, we will remote in to fix the problem. So if you are working and you see a PC move by itself that is just us working on it. Please don't shut off the PC thinking it has been hacked because we may be in the middle of fixing a problem. If the PC is rebooted it may cause more harm or we may have to start over and run the risk of still be working on the PC when you open. If you want to verify it is us you can always feel free to call the Help Desk and find out for sure.

Help Desk Portal gives "Connection not secure" error message

We've been getting a few calls lately reporting that when going to the Help Desk Portal people are getting an error message saying "Your connection is not secure." This is only with Firefox and is being caused by the fact that we secured the portal with a self-signed security certificate. We have a fix posted on our TechBits page and you read all about it by visiting this page.

Slow Staff PCs

We've been getting a lot of calls lately about slow staff PCs. Before you reboot those PCs, please call the Help Desk so we can remote in and hopefully see what is making the PC slow. Once we remote in what we'll probably do is run a virus/malware scan on the PC and this takes at least 20 minutes to complete. So hopefully you can be without the PC for a while as we look at it.

Keep Talking...About Libraries!

One of the side-effects of being a librarian is that I love to talk about libraries and all they offer to anyone and everyone. I've been known to talk about placing holds at the library, using Libby and OverDrive, and online databases with people I've just met. It's an occupational hazard. I recently read an article in Public Libraries Online called "Never Shut Up About the Awesome Programs at the Library!" which indicates I'm not alone in talking up the library at every opportunity.

When I read this article, SCLS was in the midst of updating all the online resource information as subscriptions change and update at the beginning of the year. It reminded me that getting patrons to use our online resources is an ongoing challenge. Back in 2015, WiLS devoted their Regional Community Meetings to the topic of "how to promote, teach others about, and evaluate your electronic resources" (you can see the slides and notes here).

As you're looking at your online resource statistics from 2018 or collecting the numbers for your annual report, you might be asking yourself similar questions - how do we get our patrons to use this particular resource, attend programs, or check out more books? I have a couple of suggestions for you. As the Continuing Education Consultant, staff training is high on my list! All library staff -  even those who don't work directly with the public - can be the biggest champions of the library. Take a few minutes at each staff meeting to highlight an upcoming program, online resource, or collection. Encourage staff to explore the online resources as part of their daily duties and share what they learn with each other.

Other training resources:

• For BadgerLink resources, you can browse the archived webinars and user guides
• For locally subscribed resources, check with the vendor for their training options as many offer live or archived webinars and user guides
• OverDrive Support Course (next course starts March 11)
• ReferenceUSA in-person training: March 13 at 10 a.m. at Prairie du Sac, March 13 at 1:30 p.m. at SCLS, and March 14 at 11 a.m. at DeForest
• Attend the PLA webinar, "Just One Thing": Training Staff for Community Engagement, February 26 at 1 p.m. Central Time
• Contact Jean for custom training for your library

Most importantly - talk about the library and all that you offer. The last paragraph of the article I referenced above is all about this. Talk about the statistics compiled for the annual report, the programs coming up, the online resources you have, and more. Keep talking up the library!