23 Things

Once again, I get to use my blog for a school/work related item. Obviously I never kept up with it otherwise. At work, there is a new initiative to get everyone used to working with technology. I think this is awesome! We have some old-school library employees (and librarians) who are avoiding technology like the plague. Technology is so important in librarianship today and if libraries are going to continue to prove that they are pertinent in today's world, then we HAVE to keep up. So super fun!

For this week, we are exploring all that Google has to offer. In one of my classes in grad school, we also had to look at some of the up-and-coming Google items. It is funny to me that those tools that I looked at about a year and a half ago are still not too popular. But you've got to play with things until you find something that works. The library staff was asked to look at Google Docs, Google Books, Google Scholar, Google Patents, Google Uncle Sam, Google Sites, and Google Maps.

At the beginning of grad school, I used Google Docs constantly. We are cheap so we did not buy the Microsoft Office when we got our computers. So I was using Google Docs for homework. It also became a great place to save and have a back up copy of everything. I am notorious for losing flash drives so Google Docs was fabulous for me. I think Google Docs is a great tool for our patrons as well. With many patrons using the library to create and update resumes, Google Docs will be extremely useful as a tool for patrons for their resumes.

I am also very familiar with Google Books and Google Maps. I've used Google Scholar but I am not overly familiar with it. I tend to just use our databases. I have never used Google Patents, Google Uncle Sam or Google Sites. I am looking forward to exploring those.

I am also interested in looking into Google's ebook site. Now that I have a Nook, I am on the lookout for ebooks and deals.