A Lending Library is key to learning at a credit union, notes Inside Training Newsletter for 8/30/06. The training department at Washington State Employees Credit Union, a bank in Olympia, Wash., does more than provide workers with classes and instructional materials. Employees have access to a lending library of business books, videotapes, CDs, DVDs and workbooks. And it’s interactive: The company holds quarterly Readers’ Club meetings in which a dozen staffers, including branch employees who teleconference in, gather with a manager to discuss a book they’ve all read.

Washington State Employees Credit Union ranks #53 in the 2006 Training Top 100, Training magazine’s annual ranking of organizations that excel at training and development. Here’s the complete list of the 2006 Training Top 100. This annual ranking is determined by assessing a range of qualitative and quantitative data, including financial investment in employee development and how closely training efforts are linked to the organization’s goals.

From Online Learning New and Reviews, 8/30/06, came the question “Can wikis be used as an elearning tool in organizations?” Even though the information and tips in the article were developed for companies, they seem apropos to any learning organization, including higher education and libraries.

In answer to the question, some advice was given from Chris McGrath, co-creator of ThoughtFarmer, a wiki-inspired enterprise collaboration platform:

Getting Started
Choose a wiki platform that your IT department will approve. You want it to be in synch with what works best for the organization, not create a headache for IT.

In thinking about a wiki platform, consider the technical aptitude of your users. What is their range of sophistication? You want to have maximum participation and not have the technology either intimidate or annoy users.

Generating Participation
Establish an information framework. “A wiki starts as a blank slate. To get it going, you’ll need to create a logical information hierarchy and seed it with information,” says McGrath. Getting senior people to take the lead will encourage participation. Also, provide an alert mechanism that signals users when certain pages change in order to keep the discussion going.

According to McGrath, his client Intrawest Placemaking, the resort real-estate development arm of Intrawest Corporation, is using wiki technology on its intranet to share knowledge among its 350 employees with “great success.” The bottom-line impact to the company of encouraging online knowledge sharing is huge, says McGrath. “Recently a construction manager added a simple, money-saving tip to the intranet, explaining a process and adding a contact number. Thousands of dollars could be saved on many projects throughout the company.

THE Associated Press reports today that Google Inc. plans to begin letting consumers freely download and print classic novels and other books that are in the public domain.

Using Google’s Book Search service, Web surfers will be able to download PDF files of the books for later reading, to run keyword searches or to print them on paper. Before now, only reading of the out-of-copyright books online was allowed. The service will be supported by showing Google’s small, keyword-generated text ads on search-results pages.

Books under copyright are not included. For these titles, Book Search only displays basic bibliographic information and, often, small snippets of text surrounding a search term, unless it has permission from the publisher to show more. The company’s display of bits of the text has angered some publishers, but Google has argued the small segments of text constitute fair use.

Google’s Book Search service is the product of its Books Library Project, which is digitizing books from major libraries around the world in order to make them searchable online. So far, partners include the University of Michigan, Harvard University, Stanford University, Oxford University, the University of California and the New York Public Library. Google is also conducting a pilot project with the Library of Congress.

Regardless of how we use our personal computers (or work to maintain desktops in organizations), we all must be concerned about spyware and its potential effect on us. My September 19, 2006, electronic issue of PC Magazine (vol. 25, no. 16) recently arrived and I have been looking over the reviews about antispyware utilities (pp. 44-46), wondering if what I have been using is still a good product. This post is intended to share information from the magazine’s article, not to endorse any particular software or opinion.

Since I am still using the free software I started with a couple of years ago, I was particularly interested in the opinion of Neil J. Rubenking, antispyware software “expert,” that the free antispyware that was popular not long ago (such as SpyBot and Ad-Aware) has not kept up with the evolving market and no longer makes the grade. Likewise, he says, the beta of Microsoft’s Windows Defender (free) flopped the testing.

There is a nearly full-featured free version of SpyCatcher, but if you have to use free solutions, Rubenking suggests you scan with several — only one for real-time protection, though, to avoid conflicts. He notes that Sysinternals’ has a free utility called RootkitRevealer to catch rootkit behavior.

Below you will find partial reviews from PC Magazine of the two “Editors’ Choices” that emerged from the antispyware testing.

Spyware Doctor 4.0
4 1/2 stars $29.96/yr.
In its favor, it does an excellent job of removing spyware. Multiple real-time guard modules keep the system clean by watching for suspicious behaviors but do a good job of only identifying the malicious. The software protects itself from direct attack. Unfortunately, it also has very frequent updates that require much user interaction.

Spy Sweeper 5.0
41/2 Stars $29.95/yr
Streamlined user interface. Latest version is more powerful than ever with added protection against rootkits and keyloggers. In tests, it removed almost all test spyware, and shielded the system from malicious programs. The limited real-time reporting to known spyware avoids unnecessary pop-up warnings.

In sum, you need something that removes all existing infestations while stopping new installations and seeing through rootkit chicanery. “It should not alert you over innocent programs and should frequently update both its code and its signature definitions”, says Rubenking. Both Editors’ Choices succeed.

The article also contains good tips and directs you to a site where you can find resources to help you fight spyware and adware.

I don’t know how many libraries make eaudio books available to their users, but I hope that many do. Since eaudio came to my library system (and to the system with which they have a reciprocal borrowing agreement), I have found a new joy as a library patron.

This online library service allows me to check-out and download a wide selection of books (and music, too), synch with my mp3 player, and “read” my favorite stuff while grocery shopping or at the dentist — two great places to have other distractions, I find — all while appearing more or less normal since it is so common to see folks in many venues “plugged-in” to their iPods or mp3 players. And no big portable tape or CD player to haul around. They are great on airplanes, too, as long as they continue to be allowed.

The two digital services (ebooks as well as eaudio) used locally are from NetLibrary and OverDrive. Both work through Windows software and therefore are not compatible with Apple’s iPod device. One of the library systems actually makes mp3 players available to borrowers, as well. They will load your requested book on the player and check-out the whole thing. Of course, in that case, you have to actually appear at the library. One of the things I like best about digital resources is the ability to have a sudden craving for a book and obtain it quickly without leaving home. Conveniently for libraries, the digital resources “check themselves back in” (automatically expire) after the pre-set borrowing time. I am hoping to see eaudio collections grow and grow.

There is a growing interest among libraries in social networking and the library’s potential roles as they become aware of how many library users (and non-users) spend time in online social networks such as MySpace.com, to name only one. Just in the last few days I have seen several announcements of educational events about social networks, and of course, the topic has been explored in the last few years at places such as 2005 Internet Librarian in a track on Communities & Collaboration. This year’s Internet Librarian advance program shows a continuation of the interest and, to me, a welcome focus on learning and training and how libraries can educate using new technology tools, including those in the social networking realm.

A very thoughtful blog posting by Meredith Farkas prompted me to take a look at library profiles on MySpace.com. A search (on 8/21/06) of MySpace on terms such as “libraries” and “library” turned up 17 distinct entries, not all leading to actual libraries.

But first, a quote from Meredith’s post to hint at what I was looking for: “A profile that offers nothing but a picture of the library, a blog post or two and a cutesy thing about how we won’t shush you just looks cheesy. I think there is a big difference between ‘being where our patrons are’ and ‘being USEFUL to our patrons where they are.’ … Just putting up a profile does not make the library seem cool, nor does it make the library more visible. I have seen two ways that libraries have used MySpace and Facebook effectively. The first is to get feedback from students. The second is to create a library portal within MySpace and/or Facebook (or whatever social networking software inevitably will come next).”

In my exploration, I noticed that some sites are “general” library sites, while others are designed specifically for teens (the most likely audience in MySpace) and emphasize programs and staff that serve teens and ask for feedback from users. Baxter Memorial Library, for instance, focuses on teens, asks for their input, and includes tips on safe web-surfing.

Hennepin County Library’s profile is obviously designed to appeal to teens, but it also serves as a portal on a number of levels.

Brooklyn College Library counts 1827 friends on MySpace (as of 8/22/06) and provides access to the libraries blog, resources, services, and staff.

Several library entries — I leave them for you to find and explore if you wish — do little more than have a basic presence, providing hours of service and perhaps one or two access points.

What does it all mean? First, I was surprised to find so few library profiles, although I recognize that it is a big commitment to create and maintain a useful, appealing profile. And second, as a user, I certainly wouldn’t be making a return visit to a library profile if it didn’t have something special to offer. Perhaps a niche site — such as one that really focuses on teens or student needs — is the best way to go in MySpace territory. Otherwise we are in danger of just recreating our library website instead of drawing in potential new users in a way that is truly useful to them.

If, like me, you pictured yourself last week at Heathrow airport suddenly trying to get back to the USA with a bunch of electronic gear, you probably wondered about how to protect it in your checked luggage. Thankfully, it looks so far like few airports have instituted very strict rules about electronic carry-ons, but it could happen at any time and with little warning. Frequent travelers might be interested in research done by Wayne Rash at eWeek Enterprise News & Reviews. Check out the article on checking in your laptop.

I was just reading in ALA TechSource’s Smart Libraries (v. XXVI, no. 8, August, 2006) about WikiMapia. It is a wiki laid on top of Google maps which you can search and view in several ways, zoom in and out of locations, discover places that have already been identified, and add your own entries for places that would be of wide interest (you are discouraged from pointing out your own home!).

When you create a wiki entry a rectange is produced. You can size it, give it a title, tags, and a description. I found that my local public library branch was not identified so I created an entry. In this case, the satellite map is not up-to-date. The branch was built in this new location more than a year ago, but the building and parking lot that were previously there still show up.

I just discovered that two of my favorite things are available together — cruising and technology training — through Geekcruises.com. Is this a good thing or not? I enjoy being lazy on cruises and usually expect any learning to be about the places the ship visits. On the other hand, classes might keep me out of the dining room! This post was created using Windows Live Writer beta.

Every supervisor or manager recognizes the importance of good staff training. It can determine whether our patrons find the resources they need, get the kind of customer service we want to provide (excellent!), become literate library users, and want to return to us again and again. The needs are varied and great. We try all kinds of ways to provide this training. Now here is a potential new marriage between training and technology.

Here is how they market themselves:

Podtraining, ilearning solutions for today’s generation

Finally, a blend of high tech and high touch training. podTraining is a training company, not a technology company. We help you determine the critical path of training success and the essence of excellence in your training program and then put them into short video/audio clip playlists in a video iPod. Move over e-learning – it’s time for podTraining™! Today’s generation learns dramatically different than any other. They don’t want to know information, but rather, know where to find it. Use the tool of today’s generation, the video iPod®. Put training where it’s needed – on the frontline or in their hands. The iPod® helps keep materials easily updated and available at the click of the wheel. We call this process i-Learning™ - allowing the learner to view only the content they need to provide customizable training right in the palm of their hand.

And here are some comments from Business Week Online, April 24, 2006:

Trying to turn out productive workers as efficiently as possible, a few fast-food chains are using iPod video players to train new employees. Pal’s Sudden Service, a regional chain with Tennessee and Virginia outlets, started iPod video training in its 20 restaurants in February. Both programs … use short video clips to show new hires how to do their jobs. Unlike video or DVD-based training systems, the iPods can be updated quickly and cheaply by downloading new content. And the portability of the iPod allows training to be done on the job. New Pal’s employees practice making the chain’s trademark Big Pal burger while watching a video of the process. Other videos address customer service, ethics, and cashier operations.

And my thoughts:

• Can’t help it, I love the idea of using current technology for training, especially young workers
• But, I wonder, can we add a bunch of iPods to the library budget?
• How will we tell if staff are using the players for training or for their own playlist?
• And who is going to produce the training? Is this a new business opportunity for those of us in elearning?
• Or will this type of training not jump to the non-profit market before the next big thing?
• Whatever, it’s fun to imagine, and maybe I should get myself a video iPod®, do ya’ think?