EDITOR'S NOTES
Libraries Looking for Better Ways
by Dick Kaser
In this issue, our contributors take on the challenges of changing the digital landscape by suggesting practical approaches to achieving key objectives.
We should all know by now that nothing online lasts. What better way to move on from Twitter/X (or maybe even TikTok?) than to consider alternative platforms? David Lee King (Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library) gives you his advice on the rapidly growing social media platform Bluesky, which may feel like old Twitter to you.
A good way to teach computer literacy is to show staffers and patrons how to more efficiently utilize the apps/programs that most of us use every day. Learning consultant Julie Erickson runs you through Office 365 and Google shortcuts that may be helpful to you.
There’s no better way to teach patrons about digital preservation than by helping them digitize materials they already prize. Preservationist Meghan Kowalski (Catholic University of America) demonstrates how you can build local archives around family memories and personal memorabilia.
An effective way to inspire students to learn their digital media skills is to launch a publishing program to promote their work. Joe Marcantonio, teen manager at Schaumburg Township District Library, discusses how his library wound up with its own record label to promote student music.
As the content of this issue shows, sometimes achieving goals is best accomplished by taking a practical approach.
If you have not already booked your ticket for the Computers in Libraries conference later this month, please do so now. I hope to see you there for a rich and varied program that covers many more practical, technical approaches to managing and promoting your library than we can fit in these pages.
Dick Kaser, Executive Editor
kaser@infotoday.com
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