Category Archives: Pretty Sweet Tech

Learn how to plan and implement a GrandPad program, with tablets designed by older adults for older adults, on next week’s NCompass Live webinar, ‘GrandPads: Creating Digital Connections for Older Adults’, on Wednesday, March 29 at 10am CT.

Special monthly episodes of NCompass Live! Join the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet, as she guides us through the world of library-related Pretty Sweet Tech.

During the pandemic, social isolation became a significant problem for many seniors, who were also the most vulnerable to COVID-19. On top of the isolation, the persistent digital divide left many older adults in the St. Louis area either without internet access, a device, the skills to use digital technology, or all three. St. Louis County Library devised a way to serve the digital needs of the community through an innovative program of lending GrandPads to isolated, low-income older adults. GrandPads are tablets designed by older adults for older adults with a simple, intuitive, and decluttered design. In this session, learn how St. Louis County Library planned and implemented the GrandPad program, including securing $1,000,000 in funding from local government, reviewing applications, and distributing and administering the GrandPads.

Guest Presenter: Eric Button, Deputy Director, St. Louis County Library.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

• April 5 – T(w)eens: Programming, Partnership, and Burnout
• April 12 – Art Show! Where Art and Science Meet to Bring the Community Together
• April 19 – Creative Aging Arts Program for Nebraska Libraries
• April 26 – Pretty Sweet Tech
• May 17 – Read the Rainbow: Serving the LGBTQ+ Community in Your Library
• May 24 – La Biblioteca Es Para Ti – Building Community Relationships in a Different Language
• May 31 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Bots for the Community!

For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Learn how to manage your library’s technology problems using SpringShare LibAnswers on next week’s Pretty Sweet Tech NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, December 28, at 10am CT.

Special monthly episodes of NCompass Live! Join the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet, as she guides us through the world of library-related Pretty Sweet Tech.

Come to this session to learn how (and why) to set up a SpringShare LibAnswers Queue to manage all technology-related problems in your library. I will share our experience in setting up and using our “LibTech” queue to track issues pertaining to the library website, library services platform, and hardware/software in the library.

Presenter: Bobbi-Jean Ludwig, Coordinator of Library Technology Services & E-Resources Librarian, Calvin T. Ryan Library – University of Nebraska – Kearney.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

• Jan. 4, 2023 – Critical Hit! Tabletop Gaming in the Library
• Jan. 11, 2023 – Best New Teen Reads of 2022
• Jan. 18, 2023 – First Amendment Audits: What You Need to Know
• Jan. 25, 2023 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Learn About TechGirlz & Inspire Girls in Your Community Today!
• Feb. 8, 2023 – Accessibility Isn’t Just for Patrons! Internal Documentation for Everyone
• Feb. 15, 2023 – Digital Libraries as Digital Third Place: Virtual Library Programming
• March 8, 2023 – Read the Rainbow: Serving the LGBTQ+ Community in Your Library

For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Hear about everything you missed at Internet Librarian 2022 on next week’s Pretty Sweet Tech NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, November 30, at 10am CT.

Special monthly episodes of NCompass Live! Join the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet, as she guides us through the world of library-related Pretty Sweet Tech.

Maybe it’s because the conference was finally in person this year, but this was my favorite conference in a long time. It’s nice to know people still come in 3D. It helps that Internet Librarian is the leading technology conference for librarians. If you weren’t able to make it this year, or missed some sessions you really wanted to see, this Pretty Sweet Tech will cover some major themes, resources, and good times from this year’s Internet Librarian 2022 conference. Here’s a sneak preview:

• Tackling community problems in the library: sometimes it’s techy, sometimes it’s just human, learn new ways to get the job done.
• New Ways of Communicating and Working Together: open source platforms, consortiums, partnerships, and that gooey togetherness.
• Games, Gadgets, & Techy Goodness: explore all the cool new tech, activities, and resources available to libraries.
• Entrepreneurship, Makerspaces, & Library Resources: how can libraries leverage makerspace tech to support entrepreneurship and career preparation?
• Predicting the Future: touching on cutting edge technology in and out of the library

There’s a lot to unpack here, so I hope to see you there!

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

• Dec. 21 – Summer Reading Program 2023: All Together Now
• Dec. 28 – Pretty Sweet Tech
• Jan. 11, 2023 – Best New Teen Reads of 2022
• Jan. 18, 2023 – First Amendment Audits: What You Need to Know

For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

If you have been looking for ways to get started with 3D Design and career exploration, this 3D Room Design Activity is for you! Learn how to use TinkerCAD & Thingiverse on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, March 30 at 10am CT.

Special monthly episodes of NCompass Live! Join the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet, as she guides us through the world of library-related Pretty Sweet Tech.

This is a free set of activities I put together because I’ve been getting questions about how the metaverse is creating and changing jobs, and how kids and adults can learn these new tools. Here’s what we will talk about in this webinar:

• Introduce the VR, AR & Room Design Lesson Plan series for career exploration (adaptable for ages 12 to adult). I put it together, so it’s free!
• Demo of building a room in TinkerCAD.
• Overview of AR, VR & 3D Design tools for both classroom and everyday use for all ages.
• Overview of careers impacted and created by AR, VR & 3D Design

This activity can be adapted to ages 12 to adult to introduce new tech concepts, explore career opportunities, or brainstorm new community innovations. I hope to see you there!

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

• April 6 – Expanding the Health Information Landscape In Your Public Library
• April 13 – Tweak Your Library’s Social Media
• April 20 – Starting a Board Game Club at a Small Library
• April 27 – Pretty Sweet Tech – The 40 Day Challenge Initiative

For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to revamp your library website? Learn how to use ‘WordPress Layout Templates Using Elementor’ on next week’s NCompass Live webinar, on Wednesday, February 23 at 10am CT.

Special monthly episodes of NCompass Live! Join the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet, as she guides us through the world of library-related ‘Pretty Sweet Tech’.

There’s not always a lot of time to design web pages from scratch in WordPress. Luckily, libraries tend to use variations of the same layouts across all pages on a website. To make life easier, I made a set of templates that can be used by any library using WordPress, paired with the free Elementor plugin.

By the end of this session you will:

• Explore the website templates that are available, and when to use them.
• Access pre-formatted Digital Skills templates that can be embedded on your website.
• Learn how to quickly customize and deploy these Elementor templates on your site.

This will be a great session for anyone who is looking for a quick and easy way to revamp their library website. I hope to see you there!

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

• March 16 – Can you see me? Collection Development for Marginalized Communities
• March 23 – If You Build it, Will They Come? Makerspaces Work in Small, Rural Libraries
• April 13 – Tweak Your Library’s Social Media
• April 20 – Starting a Board Game Club at a Small Library

For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Explore new ways to work remotely, connect with groups, collaborate, and innovate with ‘Spatial for Librarians: A 3D Meeting Space’ on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, June 30 at 10am CT.

Spatial, a 3D meeting space, is a new way for librarians to collaborate using the power of augmented and/or virtual reality (VR). With VR headsets (e.g., an Oculus Quest), a team can brainstorm using post-it notes on a large whiteboard, interact with digital 3D objects, conduct presentations on multiple screens, connect and use services like Google Drive, do screen sharing, and more. Everyone can walk around Spatial’s 3D digital space and work alongside one another as though they were physically in the same room. As teams continue to operate remotely, or partner with organizations from around the world, this shared experience is a game-changer! There is a desktop computer and mobile option for those without a VR headset.

The augmented reality (AR) experience adds a digital layer to one’s shared physical space. Similar to the VR experience, users can save both time and paper by sticking digital post-it notes to a wall, pulling up shared calendars, accessing web browsers, adding 3D objects inside the physical space, and more. AR is designed to complement the real world and help people build a shared vision that would never have been possible without this technology. All one needs is a smartphone or a special AR viewing device to see this augmented layer of the world. With Spatial there is no after-meeting clean-up: just close the app and the room disappears!

In this session, Chad and Amanda will introduce you to the Spatial app. Together we will explore new ways to work remotely, connect with groups, collaborate, and innovate! You will get a quick-start guide and some resources to get started with Spatial in your library. It’s time to try something new, so let’s do it today!

Presenters: Chad Mairn, Innovation Lab Librarian, St. Petersburg College and Amanda Sweet, Technology Innovation Librarian, Nebraska Library Commission.

Special monthly episodes of NCompass Live! Join the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet, as she guides us through the world of library-related Pretty Sweet Tech.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

• July 7 – History Nebraska: Taking History Online
• July 14 –Finding Partners & Preparing Staff: Teaching Technology in the Library Series (Part 3)
• July 21 – Accessing Census Data
• July 28 –Marketing & Follow-Up: Teaching Technology in the Library Series (Part 4)
• August 4 – Small Libraries Will Save the World! Implementing Sustainability at the Library
• August 11 – The Kreutz Bennett Donor-Advised Fund: Grants to Nebraska’s Small-Town Public Libraries

For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.