Usability of Websites for Teenagers (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

I was mainly interested in this article because SEMLS is now working on a grant project to provide a teen web site to our member libraries. For those of you who already have a teen site or for middle and high school libraries, Usability of Websites for Teenagers (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox) is worth a look. Jakob Nielsen is the guru of web site usability.

Blogging at the Reference Desk

I found this link through librarystuff.net. Ohio University reference librarians have found a great way to communicate about student assignments, stumper reference questions and the like. All reference librarians are authorized to post to the blog and the postings are organized under topical headings.

Ohio University Libraries Reference Blog

Twelve Techie Things for Librarians 2005 (Updated)

I think I posted this link in the past, but it's worth the update. Twelve Techie Things for Librarians 2005 (Updated) comes from the Tame the Web blog and talks about fun and exciting ways libraries can make technology work with their users. I really like the idea of providing a toolbar to patrons from which they can search the library catalog or have quick, one-click access to databases and live reference.

The Up-to-Date Techie Librarian: Six Resources Every Techie Librarian Should Use (Updated) is also worth a look.

Pew Study Predicts the Future of the Internet

Interesting study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project on the Future of the Internet.[PDF] The Pew Internet Project sent this survey to respected technology experts and social analysts asking them about the future of the Internet. Here is the summary of the findings:

• A broad-ranging survey of technology leaders, scholars, industry officials, and interested members of the public finds that most experts expect attacks on the network infrastructure in the coming decade. Some argue that serious assaults on the internet infrastructure will become a regular part of life.


• The internet will be more deeply integrated in our physical environments and high-speed connections will proliferate – with mixed results.


• In the emerging era of the blog, experts believe the internet will bring yet more dramatic change to the news and publishing worlds. They predict the least amount of change to religion.


• Experts are both in awe and in frustration about the state of the internet. They celebrate search technology, peer-to-peer networks, and blogs; they bemoan institutions that have been slow to change.

Brush up on those troubleshooting skills

Are non-functioning computers the biggest headache you face at the library? When you take a vacation, is there anyone else who can work on computer problems so that you don't come back to a deluge of "out of order" signs? Are you just a computer user who would like to know some basic steps to take when the computer freezes up?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, consider signing up for one of our upcoming troubleshooting workshops, PC Rescue: All You Need to Know for the Care & Repair of Your Computers.

We scheduled these workshops because libraries often identify computer troubleshooting skills as an area where they would like to see more CE programs developed. Many libraries don't have a designated IT person. Even if there is a technology guru at the library, front-line staff can learn basic troubleshooting skills to keep computers and printers running while the designated IT person is at lunch. We scheduled multiple workshops so that libraries could send as many staff members as possible to these sessions and increase their overall comfort level with technology.

To sign up for one of these workshops, fill out our CE registration form.

Yahoo! News - The Need for Speed

Yahoo! News - The Need for Speed

This article provides some housekeeping tips that will help your computers work with a little more speed. Some are likely maintenance tasks, like defragging the hard drive, but others things I wouldn't have thought of, like starting the Windows indexing service.

The Return of the SEMLS Technology Blog

A few of you noticed the temporary blog I tried last summer to keep SEMLS members abreast of new technology. However, the blog expired prematurely while I was out on maternity leave. I guess that's what happens when you go three months without adding a message to a blog. Now that I'm back in the office, I've restarted the SEMLS technology blog and intend to keep it going this time with frequent posts about new developments in technology, especially when it impacts libraries, as well as news we need to disseminate from the SEMLS office.

If a posting inspires you to do something in your library or raises some questions, please leave a comment and I promise to respond. I also have an RSS feed for this blog. If you are using an RSS reader, you can access the feed by going to http://feeds.feedburner.com/semlstech. I hope you find at least one thing useful in this blog. I look forward to hearing from you all.