once upon a time... the power of a good tech story

Once upon a time…The power of a good <tech> story.

LibTech 2011 conferenceMacalester College March 16-17, 2011

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How we do it: we listen

• By phone

• By listservs

• At conferences

• By surveys, polls

• Drive bookmobiles to rural communities

• By blogs, Twitter, Flickr

Survey: which tools do you use?

MaintainIT Project Cookbooks

BTOP grantee resource

Why do we do this?

• Reinventing the wheel isn’t fun.

• Stories are powerful.

• You don’t know what might be happening in Tappahannock, VA.

A few good stories…

Once upon a time…

There was a librarian named Madeleine.

She wasn’t afraid to hack.

$$$

Madeleine had a problem

Like a good librarian, she researched

“We now have a freeware self-checker that only cost us the price of the touch screen monitor, the scanner, an Internet connection and some retired hardware ($1200).”

Madeleine MundtTeton Cty Library, WY

Once upon a time…

There was an “IT Guy” named Steve.

He hated reinventing the wheel.

Regional workshop, inviting all library folk from Kansas who deal with technology, not just “IT Guys” like himself.

Emporia Public LibraryEmporia, KS

Steve had a problem

"Why don’t we talk to other libraries in Kansas to see what they use?"

Once upon a time…

There was librarian named Faye.

She was fearless.

“You can't fear that you're going to screw up; you just have to get in there and say, 'Okay, I'm going to learn how to do this.'”

Smithwelch Public LibraryHearne, TX

Once upon a time…

There was librarian named Bess.

She was from Tappahannock, VA

Bess needed $$$

“When it comes to the library's computer network, we've been very much like Blanche Dubois, depending on the kindness of strangers. (insert breathy voice here.)”

Essex Public LibraryTappahannock, VA

Adopt-a-Computer

“Local organizations, businesses, or even individuals or families can adopt a computer by committing to donating $365 a year for three years.”

Once upon a time…

Corporations and coders combined forces…

…for good.

X Librar

y

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, NASA,& the World Bank

Why does TechSoup replay ?

• To instill confidence• To promote your work• For advocacy

This is all great, but…

How can YOU benefit from the stories around you?

Conferences (like this one!)

• Organize a sessionwhere librarianscome together to share challenges and successes.

• Outsiders welcome!

“Don’t just be a sage on the stage, be a guide on the side.”

ARSL 2010, Denver CO

Book clubs

• Short texts, nothing heavy-duty (unless that’s what folks crave)

• Advocacy opportunity

• Outsiders welcome!

Netsquared.org

Meetups

• Get together to chat about technology challenges and solutions

• Get outside your library!• Outsiders welcome!

Why leave the fun of field trips to the kids?

Meetup.com

Podcasts

Maurice Coleman, Technical Trainer

Harford County (MD) Public Library

What makes a good story?

"It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential."

- Bruce Lee

Elements of a good tech story

• Humble• Think daily

grind• Outcome-based

What might be

“that’s nothing”to you may be an

“aha!”

to someone else.

Homework!

Thank you!Sarah Washburn Sarah@techsoupglobal.org

TechSoupforLibraries.org

Resources• TechSoup for Libraries: www.TechSoupforLibraries.org• Notes from a Great Conference: LibTech 2011 blog post

– Broadband: Stories from the Field: http://broadband.wiki.techsoup.org/

– NetSquared: http://netsquared.org– T is for Training: http://tisfortraining.wordpress.com– Steve Stone post:

http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/blog/sharing-it-experiences-from-kansas

– Bess Haile posts: http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/search/node/bess%20haile

– Faye Hover spotlight: http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/spotlight/faye-hover

– Random Hacks of Kindness: http://www.rhok.org/– Madeline Mundt post:

http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/blog/a-cheap-er-self-checker-system

– Photo credits:• Book clubs: flickr user New Jersey Library Association• Second life: flickr user joannamkay• Open book: flickr user Jo Naylor