QR codes, those little images containing information when you snap the image with your smartphone, continue to become more prevalent in the world, and libraries, around us. This cybertour highlights how QR codes are used, examine their strengths and weaknesses, and share best practices for using QR codes in your own institution.

The cloud allows us to work more efficiently and collaborate easily over distances for a fraction of the cost. This cybertour discusses library services moving to the cloud and resources, such as Google forms, Doodle, Pinterest, and Dropbox, that can be used both in your library and for your own professional.

Reserving a DVD while waiting for the bus . . checking out a book from anywhere in the library...finding a book at Barnes & Noble and instantly being able to determine if it’s available at the local library...one-click access to OverDrive titles. These scenarios demonstrate the rapid evolution of mobile applications for libraries. No longer simply an extension of a library s web presence, mobile technology now offers librarians a unique channel for engaging patrons and increasing the utility of their organizations. For the first time, libraries are able to "one-stop" access to information, services and materials, anytime anywhere. Speakers discuss future opportunities that mobile presents to expand library services and reinforce relevance within communities; highlight considerations for evaluating and designing mobile solutions that meet the patron needs; and share Boopsie’s strategy for continued innovation.

With all the changes and new features and databases, what are the most important search features and databases to keep in mind when searching? Come to this quick tour of our search engine expert's current top ten search tips to better improve your research experience.

Being online is part of kids' lives. Hear about the FTC’s new, free resource for tweens and teens, "Living Life Online." It talks to kids about what they do online, and how the choices they make matter. See how to help kids stay safer online, encourage them to use critical thinking skills, apply those skills to the advertising they see all around them.

In the changing information landscape with a huge array of devices and gadgets, the challenge is determining which gadgets will prove to be the most useful to customers and patrons. Hear about UNC Libraries’ "gadget fund" which is used to tackle this issue by purchasing a variety of new devices such as iPads, iPod Touches, Xooms, Kindles, bluetooth keyboards and more to circulate to library staff members. The staff is encouraged to take these devices to conferences, use in their everyday work, or just to try out. Learn about their experiences, lessons learned, and more!

This cybertour discusses methods and lessons learned during the development of the Goddard Library Repository from its inception in 2008 to its release in 2011. It covers how objects in the Repository were created and related through the use of RDF and linked data, how these relationships provided information that was not available elsewhere, issues encountered when the design was altered to meet community needs, how design choices affected the types of additional statistics and data to be extracted from the system, and how these additional statistics provide added value to our system.

Hear how systems librarians created a more collaborative and learning environment by documenting and sharing their expertise and procedures in SharePoint. Pick up tips for your organization.

In order to demonstrate the value of their research programs, scientific research institutions and funding agencies need to be able to quickly summarize both the quantity and quality of the scientific research that has resulted from their support. Bibliometric maps provide powerful and intuitive solutions to this problem and are visual representations of the relationships among a group of scientific publications.  Belter illustrates how these maps allow users to easily identify the research topics, the publication and citation intensity, and the topical interconnections of a group of scientific publications. Using NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration as a case study, this cybertour gives an overview of the various ways in which bibliometric maps can be constructed, shows how the resulting maps can be used as indicators of the value of an institution’s scientific research, and demonstrates how these maps can be used to evaluate an institution’s past and future funding decisions.

Hear how CPL's Future Action Team transformed after two years of thinking, discussion and engaging staff and Board members into taking action and implementing ideas and involving staff at all levels. Get some concrete ideas and tips on how to inspire innovation and new thinking in your library.

Join our speaker in previewing the next generation of information and knowledge management. It is both exciting, and maybe a little scary! However, libraries and archives have the right tools to make information come alive and create innovative libraries. Be inspired to make some changes and add even more value to your organization and community.

Want to create really great-looking web interface components and interactions?  Want to design web pages that look professional and behave like next-generation web sites should?  Come learn about Twitter Bootstrap, a simple and flexible CSS and javascript library that will make you a hero.  In 15 minutes, we'll download Twitter Bootstrap, install it and create a slick-looking webpage.  You don't have to tell anyone how easy it is.

As budgets shrink and every library is asked to do more with less, it's easy for library staff and users to forget the joy that a library can bring. As leaders in the future of libraries, we can all help bring a bit of lightness and levity back into our institutions. From appropriate April Fools' Day website 'hacks' to videos like the "New Spice" sensation, the sky's the limit when it comes to comedy in the library. Get inspired to “bring back the funny” to your work environments and communities.

Hear about the best add-ons for Firefox, Chrome, & Google from one of the most up-to-date librarians in libraryland. Our industry watchdog shares his knowledge and browser secrets to help you, your colleagues and clients, become more efficient!

Pinterest has been called the hottest website of 2012. It’s a virtual pinboard for sharing and discovering online images with lots of potential for libraries. Hear all about this massively popular service, what its impacts on information are, and how to leverage it in your information setting.

How do we have an impact with those requiring high level, customized data and information? Learn from our industry expert about the latest tools and techniques for continuously delivering reliable, focused, actionable resources to your organizations, communities and customers who believe they know how to use Google to get what they need.

Today's digital "gathering places" include popular hangouts like Facebook and Twitter, and many libraries are there, too. King discusses why libraries use those sites, which sites are important, how much time should be spent there, and what strategies can be used to turn them from an interesting toy to useful tool.

Hear how project management and business process management tools can be applied to electronic resource management to gain improvements. Our speakers discuss their use in brainstorming; planning and designing; executing; monitoring and controlling; and more. Learn some new tips and techniques to apply in your library.

With social media mainstream and the lines between our personal and professional more fluid, do we stop to think about the implications? Industry watcher and thought leader, Ojala discusses and provides some guidelines for the following issues: Suppose you change jobs; do your blog and social media feeds stay with your institution or travel with you? Does your institution have guidelines about postings? Do you follow them? Can your employer dictate what you write outside of working hours? Who owns your handle? Does your name belong to you or is it a brand extension of your workplace?

Want to give your associates and clients the latest in your industry or on the issues that matter to them? Hear how to use Paper Li to do that easily and automatically! Jones highlights two she put together on knowledge management, and future issues for libraries.

Academic libraries have heavily invested in their library Web portals - an information gateway for electronic resources and library services. Yet, it has been widely observed that students, especially undergraduates, tend to use Google instead of library Web portals for their course-related work. Based on research before and after undergrads took an Internet & Information Access course, our speaker talks about the top influencers and indicators for improving undergraduates' perceptions and use of the Libraries' Web portal. Get some tips to apply in your organization.