Illinois - MaintainIT Cookbooks

Free Webinars Showcasing the NEW (FREE) MaintainIT Cookbook

2008-10-28T00:00:23Z

We're so excited about the new MaintainIT Cookbook, "Planning for Success"! This free online resource brings together the most current ideas and best practices for planning, building, and managing your library’s computer technology. Librarians around the country have contributed their knowledge on topics ranging from security solutions and strategic maintenance practices to community experiences involving Web 2.0 tools and vital partnerships.

And best of all, like all of the other MaintainIT materials, it is FREE.

For the next month we are hosting a cornucopia of webinars to showcase the new materials—from 20-minute introductions to one hour topic specific discussions. Join us for these learning experiences:

Tasty Tidbits from the New MaintainIT Cookbook: A Free Introductory Webinar
20 Samples in 20 Minutes:
10/29/2008 9:30am - 9:50am Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/5n7llw
10/29/2008 10:00am - 10:20am Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/5aboo3

Get Your Game On - Quick Tips to Start a Gaming Program in Your Library 10/29/2008 11:00 am-12:00 Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/69an7m

Recycling and Refurbishing Old Computers: A Free Webinar for Libraries
This webinar is being offered twice! Just register for the time that works best for you.
10/30/2008 9:00am - 10:00am Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/6duwsw
10/30/2008 1:00pm - 2:00pm Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/6okn4w

Web 2.0 Collaboration Tools and Libraries 11/3/2008 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern Register: http://tinyurl.com/64b2qs

Discussing Technology with Library Shareholders
11/6/2008 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern Register: http://tinyurl.com/5vgmr8

--Stephanie Gerding, MaintainIT Contributor, http://www.maintainitproject.org

RE: Using the Cookbooks for Staff TrainingS

2008-09-17T03:31:49Z

Sarah, No I did not need to make any changes. That's why I am such an advocate of the cookbooks. I printed out the pages I needed and handed them out. I may later on use some of the illustrations to make an online tutorial for this. -L

Using the Cookbooks for Staff Training

2008-09-15T18:03:04Z

Thanks for sharing how you use the Cookbooks, Lori. I'm glad they've been helpful.

Did you change the content at all for your staff training? If so, what types of changes did you make?

RE: Using the Cookbooks

2008-09-14T02:51:21Z

I'm going to add to this discussion that I love the wireless chapter from the cookbooks. I am using it for staff training on wireless.

I was dreading having to research and learn how the techie part of this works. I was so happy to come across this chapter in the cookbook and then find that I can distribute it without worrying about copyright. It has saved me at least a week's worth of work!

The material in all of the cookbooks is great for staff training because it is worded so that anyone can understand and it is very thorough.

After the Webinar: laptop checkout programs

2008-04-11T18:39:40Z

Keep the conversation going! Ask questions, share your perspectives, and learn from each other's experiences with laptop checkout programs. Even if you didn't have a chance to attend the "<a href="http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=19996">Notes from a laptop checkout program</a>" webinar, don't be shy about learning more from your colleagues, here.

And please take a minute to share your thoughts about the webinar in an <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=v4DW8suQfOlmSl812UEIfg_3d_3d">anonymous survey</a>.

After the Webinar: wireless and acceptable use policies

2008-05-20T23:31:01Z

Keep the conversation going! Ask questions, share your perspectives, and learn from each other's experiences with wireless acceptable use policies. Even if you didn't have a chance to attend the "<a href="http://www.webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=19996">Notes on wireless and acceptable use policies</a>" webinar, don't be shy about learning more from your colleagues, here.

And please take a minute to share your thoughts about the webinar in an <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=v4DW8suQfOlmSl812UEIfg_3d_3d">anonymous survey</a>.

Re: Introduction to MaintainIT

2008-05-20T19:36:07Z

Thank you so much. We are so happy and grateful to God for being so generous to us these last months. We got our Grant from Tocker, it makes me catch my breath each time I think of it - $50,000. for new shelving and some furniture. We are getting a new circulation desk with our Lone Star Grant Money that was allotted to us by the Great State of Texas.
The T1 line is really nice - we don't get the speed we could if our City hall and the Police Dept. were not on the same T1 line. It does drag the speed down. But it is sooooo much better than the ISDN line. And it actually hooks up (same cableing, etc.) the same as the ISDN line did. We only had to have a new router and of course had to have the "Fiber Box" I think they call it installed on a rack. They left enough line to take it over to our new bldg. when the time comes.
The new bldg. is right behind us - just walk over with items. The vendor we are getting the shelving from included moving our book collection in the bid. That was such a relief. The new bldg. was the bookkeeping dept for the local bank and so was wired for a T1 line and lots of outlets.

We are having our summer reading program in June, so will not move until July. The bldg. is in such great shape, we will just need to clean up a bit, and move in.

I hope all of you have a great summer, I am looking forward to it.

Thank you, Marian for being in touch.

Faye

Re: Introduction to MaintainIT

2008-05-20T14:14:49Z

Congratulations in a late sort of way. I am wishing you well and would love to hear the status of your move and how things are going for you. What is it like to have a T1 connection!

Just stopping by to say "Hello"!

Marian the Librarian

Re: After the Webinar: laptop checkout programs

2008-04-16T18:45:56Z

Thanks everyone for sharing your ideas and experiences about providing laptops for checkout at your library. Just before the webinar ended, a couple people spoke about how laptops were of particular benefit to certain groups. One library offered laptops to young adults only, and another offered them to parents with young children, so that the adult can have a computer in the children's area.

If you have, or are planning a laptop checkout program, do you have specific uses in mind, or specific patron groups who will use the laptops? Please share!

Re: Introduction to MaintainIT

2008-03-07T19:55:11Z

Hello to all, I have had so much on my plate these last few months that I have neglected all my friends and, even some of my enemies! Not really, no time for enemies in my life.
We have such good news - we are getting a T1 line very shortly. I am so excited about it. I don't know anything about them to speak of. I hope I am able to learn as much about that as the ISDN line and how to configure each computer. Time will tell.
While this is not about maintaining - we also are getting a new (new for us) bldg. and will be moving soon. More space and a great place to put the public access computers.
Good luck to all this year.

Re: Fixing computers that have problems

2008-03-05T14:32:19Z

You are so correct about tech people and how they operate. I have always worked on the Library computers myself. Even if it took me longer to fic the problem, I knew in the end it was done correctly. The City had a tech person hired to take care of all city computers (except the Library) and after they fired him I was asked to come look at a machine they couldn't get to work with Word. Sure enough, he had put on a copy and they had not disk to reinstall the program. Lucky, I had a Pro 2000 Word I could use. One must be so careful in the selection of someone to maintain the computers. Also, you might investigate if you or another staff member have the alility to learn how to do simple repairs. It really is fairly simple to to many things and you can get very inexpensive software from TechSoup.

re: Using the Cookbooks

2008-02-07T20:26:15Z

Hello,
Thanks again for spotting this error. The pdf on the site (both the entire Cookbook and chapters) represent the latest, corrected version. Because of your question, I changed the text on the site to be more clear. Thanks for pointing that out!

-sarah

The MaintainIT Project at TechSoup
--> find out the latest at http://maintainitproject.org/blog

Re: Using the Cookbooks

2008-02-07T19:32:55Z

Thank you, cpetersc, for your attention to this.

The unfortunate truth is that, based on the wording of the pre-corrected section on spyware removal software, some have and/or will interperate it as a license to install the software without regard to the vendor's EULA.

The corrected section is a great improvement. I hope the full .pdf file can be modified with the corrections rather than just having an errata page.

Thank you, again, for your attention to this.

Re: Fixing computers that have problems

2008-02-06T18:08:22Z

Back again with some thoughts on maintaining computers in the library. Trying to save money isn't always the best way to deal with computer malfunctions, especially if one is using a person who builds/rebuilds computers. We've found out the hard way about licensing problems--ex. trying to install a professional license on a computer that was originally a home edition. Something glitched, so now we are exploring an alternative open-source operating system to bypass the problem. We'll find out soon if it does the job.
As far as what would we do if we didn't have some local tech people willing to work on the computers--then it's get on the phone or the internet to find an answer or if all else fails--buy a new computer. Not a prospect that I usually consider.
Getting the tech person to finish a job in a timely manner can be a real pain in the neck. We all think our job is the most important, so it is often hard to be patient. This is especially true when patrons are clamoring for more computers in the library!!!
We just put on our "we're doing the best we can" face and brave the onslaught. Sooner or later things will work out.

Re: Using the Cookbooks

2008-02-02T01:37:38Z

Dear -{00}-,

Thanks a million for picking up that mistake. You're absolutely right about the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) for Adaware Free. It specifies that to install the software you must be a "personal home user". That obviously doesn't cover library use. We've changed the spyware section on page 31 of the Cookbook to read as follows:

"Spyware protection: Even though antivirus software has improved when it comes to picking up and squashing spyware (nasty software that monitors user behavior), it's not a bad idea to also install some spyware protection on your computers. There are several free spyware protection offerings, such as Spybot Search & Destroy and Microsoft Windows Defender. As with every type of software, the best anti-spyware solution changes frequently, and you often receive better protection when you pay some money. So if you want the latest information about anti-spyware utilities, or if you want to know more about fee-based software, check out the reviews at PC Magazine."

We just uploaded a corrected version of the entire Cookbook 1 file, and a corrected version of page 31 by itself (so those who already have a copy can print off the corrected page and slip it in). Check out http://maintainitproject.org/cookbooks/ for the revised materials.

Thanks again for taking the time to review the cookbooks,

Chris

Re: Using the Cookbooks

2008-02-01T16:35:26Z

I really love the new cookbook and forwarded a link to the chapter on PC Reservation/Time Management to a school tech coordinator who is also doing support for the local public library. He was asking if there was software out there that would work in a mixed computer environment (Mac, PC, Linux). Anyone have any suggestions? This is a small library on an island off the coast that has a very small population that explodes with tourists in the summer, so I know a high cost solution won't work.

Re: Using the Cookbooks

2008-01-25T22:55:30Z

Thanks for this valuable feedback; we share your concern about libraries using properly licensed software and don't want to give any advice that implies otherwise. We'll correct this in the .pdf ASAP and post a notice here as soon as the correction is made. We encourage other folks to send corrections and suggestions about the cookbooks to maintainit@techsoup.org.

--Barbara

Re: Using the Cookbooks

2008-01-25T18:42:59Z

Greetings, beckyh.

Not wanting to get too off topic...

If "free" is important to you, then I direct your attention to one of my earlier posts regarding imaging software.

Discussions: All Aboard » Software » Open Source Solutions for Libraries
Topic: PC imaging with CloneZilla

I continue to use the product with great success and have yet to utilize the full capabilities of it. Most useful to me is the GParted-Clonezilla live cd available here...
http://gpartedclonz.tuxfamily.org/index.php

Re: Using the Cookbooks

2008-01-25T18:33:46Z

I am grateful for the cookbooks, having reviewed both.
One exception to my gratitude has to do with a misleading statement on page 31 of the book, "The Joy of Computing - A Cookbook for Small and Rural Libraries" found here...
http://maintainitproject.org/files/TheJoyofComputing-1207.pdf
The statement is, "There are several free spyware protection offeringssuch as Microsoft Windows Defender and Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal. These offerings will help keep your computers and patrons free of this newer security threat." In this case, "your computer and patrons" infers public access computers within libraries. I and at least one other individual protested the above statement previously elsewhere and yet it remains.

The reason for the protest is that installation of the above mentioned Ad-Aware software (now known as Ad-Aware 2007 Free) on a non personal computer constitutes a violation of the end user license agreement. Please be advised that just because the Maintain IT Project says so and just because the Maintain IT Project is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation does not excuse one from abiding by the Lavasoft end user licence agreement (i.e. EULA). Should one happen to disregard the license agreement and proceed in violation of it, one does so at their own risk. Should one instruct their I.T. support person to install the software, in violation of the license agreement, one does so with the risk of losing their I.T. support person.

Being a tech support person myself, I must say that, being in such a situation is greatly disturbing and distressing. I ask that you please do not place your own tech support people in such an uncomfortable situation. Please honor your license agreements. Should you feel that an exception to the license agreement is in order, contact the company and ask them for an exception but do not ask your support person to do something illegal.

Personally, I have worked with Lavasoft to obtain such an exemption for a small number of portable computers used in training the public. It was in Lavasofts interest to provide the exemption since it constitutes a way of advertising their product to the public -a product which I enthusiastically promote and use. Let us show appreciation and respect to the company who works so diligently to make the internet a safe place.

Thank you.

Re: Using the Cookbooks

2007-11-30T21:09:41Z

Hi Eliza!
Ah yes, the problem of time. You're not alone, that's for sure, and I'm right in there with you, too. Finding time to learn new things is quite a luxury.

It's our hope that people will use parts of the cookbook when needed, and not feel obligated to read it cover to cover. On the web site, you can download chapters, rather than the whole thing. And, you'll notice in the next cookbook that you're not alone, either. Over a hundred librarians--in addition to you--contributed their experiences! Look for it soon here: <a href="http://maintainitproject.org/cookbooks">www.maintainitproject.org/cookbooks</a>