Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Offline Web Tools Presentation

Consider your needs and look for tools to best meet those needs.

Need #1 - for people to know that your library exists and can access some basic information via the web, e.g., hours, location, contact information.

Tool #1 - Web Page. For an easy way to create and update web pages try Google Page Creator. Go to Google Labs and select Google Page Creator from left hand column. Note, you'll need a Gmail account.

Examples of Montana libraries using Google Page Creator:
Need #2 - for people to be kept informed about what's going on at the library - events, new books, policy changes, etc.

Tools #2 - Web Page - good for occasional changes and updates.
Blogs - can be updated easily and frequently. Free blog software includes - Blogger and Wordpress

Examples of general info library blogs:
Need #3 - share information and expertise, e.g., staff updates, readers' advisory, community information.

Tools #3 - Blogs if you expect limited number to actively post and participate. Comments are open to all.
Wikis - if you want and expect wide and on-going participation. Free wiki software includes - Wetpaint and PBwiki.

Examples of Montana library information blogs:
Examples of Library Readers’ Advisory Blogs and Wikis:
Need #4 - promote special events and services, e.g., Teen Read Week, highlighting an author or genre.

Tools #4 - any or all of the above tools and Protopage. Protopage is a free tool which enables you to bring together web content in all kinds of formats - audio, video, RSS feeds, photos, web page content, etc. using customizable widgets.

Examples:
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)