Rather than post my redundant notes from the PLA program “Thingamabobs and Doodads: Why Tech Support IS Reference” from Monday July 13 (already seems so long ago), I’ll link you to the presentation slides from the Salem-South Lyon Library District librarians here.

(It’s funny…I used my new Dell Mini netbook at the conference and now that I’m home I’m using my regular laptop and it’s like ‘Whoa…this screen is huge!’)

PC basics, troubleshooting, and web familiarity are essential skills for library staff, especially now that our computer usage is skyrocketing and patrons of all skill levels require assistance. To illustrate one point that presenters Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly make, yesterday morning a patron asked me why she wasn’t able to access a document from her USB drive on our computers. I checked it on my computer and discovered it was an MS Works file (file extension .wps). Our computers don’t have Works and tries to open .wps files as .wpd which is WordPerfect. I explained the problem to her and said that next time she could save her document at home as Rich Text Format (.rtf), which is compatible to most word processing programs. Other options are Works converters and open source software like Open Office, if they feel comfortable downloading and installing something.

That’s pretty basic stuff, and library staff should have the know-how to deal with similar problems. As Holly and Mary emphasized at the program, keep libraries relevant by making sure your staff are trained and up-to-date on technology!

Holly aligns her presentation with WebJunction’s publication “Competency Index for the Library Field”, which is a good starting point and guide for tech training in libraries. Also recommended was Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki.

And, just for fun, check out their blog dedicated to Awful Library Books . Their most recent example is quite retro…very funny!: