Using New Technology in the Library

I might have had one of those oh-my-I-might-be-in-the-right-field moments when I read the most recent Shelf Talk post... I got a happy, queasy feeling in my stomach and wanted to shout "Hurray!"

Having the call numbers of the books texted to your phone - no need for paper, no need for a pen, no need to worry about forgetting it at home... it gave me goosebumps!

Granted, this blog is put on by the Seattle Public Library and was written to promote their service, but I think that we need more people shouting about the awesome tools that are out there to make your library experience better, easier and more tech-cool.

Many libraries are making iPhone compatible websites, for example, which too will help patrons find materials.

This is yet another example of how libraries are making advancements, not trying to make new habits but fit their technology into the pre-existing habits of their patrons.

In our last Staff Meeting, one of the librarians mentioned her father-in-law, who is currently bicycling from Seattle to San Francisco. He was bemoaning being cut off from the internet for that long. The librarian in her spoke up, saying "Just go to the public library. They'll let you use the interne!"

Something so obvious to people who work in the field, like using the internet at the library, is not obvious to our patrons.

These little tech-savvy moments or movements are necessary and pretty cool. Hopefully I'll continue to hear about them, see them, and/or use them!