As you all know, the advancement of technology is not slowing down, so we simply have to keep up. I marched on in this pursuit by attending Vicki Selznick's Top Ten Tech Tools for Librarians at Region 10 this past Tuesday. There turned out to be many more than ten tools presented, but that was not a bad thing. Some, I had used or heard of before and some were brand new. Vicki packed a Symbaloo to the brim with a variety of resources. One of them was Symbaloo, a great tool that divides a page into fifty-two blocks to which images and links can be added. The concept is simple, and that is exactly what makes it so wonderful. Though, I'm still a fan of LiveBinders when it comes to compiling resources for class research projects, since it is possible to upload text and documents, Symbaloo is perfect for quick links for presentations or web pages.
One tool that I was especially excited about is StatCounter. Vicki has put this on her own school library website to track how many people have visited and, in turn, uses it to justify the need for databases or other resources. Though, numbers aren't all that matter, that's all some people are interested in.
Another awesome tool was ImageChef. This site has a range of graphics, some of which are animated, that can be used to highlight events or patrons on one's library page. It is available for free, though, there is a fee if you don't want the company name at the bottom and a few more options. While I will use it sparingly, since it could become overwhelming and tacky quickly, I am thinking of using it for various library announcements that I really want noticed!
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