Follow the Screener

(REVISED IN 2020)

When I first became a staff training instructor over 20 years ago, if we wanted to illustrate how to use a particular software or navigate a certain website, we had to take screen-shots that we saved as JPEG images, to which we would add text showing where to click or what to do. Then we'd import the images into MS-Word or WordPerfect documents. I wrote training manuals for hospital employees to use payroll software, patient record databases, or MS-Windows programs. If we were really fancy, we'd prepare a PowerPoint slideshow.

In recent years, trainers have been using screen-capturing software to track their mouse movements on screen that they can incorporate into a video illustrating how to use a particular software or web-based interface. Many librarians have used Zoom or similar software to screen-capture, as shown in the video below.

Miss Deb's Digital Tips 2: Rosetta Stone (2020),

by Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library

There are dozens of different screen-capture software brands available, including Snagit, Ashampoo Snap, Faststone Capture, FullShot Pro, ScreenHunter Pro, Hypersnap, Easy Screen Capture, CaptureWiz Pro, Any Screen Capture, and SPX Instant Screen Capture, all of which range from roughly $20-$80 each.

Comments

See All the Fun You'll Have Working at the Library!

For many years libraries have used videos to promote programs, resources, services, community connections, local history, and many other activities. There is often an underlying implied theme: the library is a fun place to be! Patrons and staff have known this to be true forever. Consider, too, that the library is a fun workplace , and videos can share this side of a library's character. I work in a small township public library ( Mooresville [Indiana] Public Library ) where fun is not merely a daily expectation, it is a requirement. MPL's YouTube channel has a fleet of videos showcasing the smiles staff wear while working. Let's see some. Beyond Books Infomercial by Mooresville Public Library Go Ask Reference by Rachel Montgomery & Meghan Adams Librarians Do Taio Cruz by Suzanne Walker We Love Mooresville Public Library by MPL Staff of 2019 Libraries & Old Dewey by Suzanne Walker and MPL Staff & Volunteers It's even possible ...

Avoiding Copyright Law Problems With Your Library Video Readalouds

For decades public libraries have presented readaloud children's programs to encourage reading and early literacy. The photo (below) presents a typical scenario. Click Image to Enlarge Some libraries videorecord librarians reading children's books so that patrons may read along from the comfort of wherever they happen to be at the time. Here are a few examples (click the boxes below to play the videos): Story Time Anytime!, by Clinton (Indiana) Public Library (see their Story Time LIVE video playlist ) Read Aloud, by Meghan Adams: Barn Dance, by Bill Martin, Jr., et al. Ms. Casey Reads a Chapter From Mr. Popper's Penguins , by Richard & Florence Atwater Videorecording someone reading an entire children's picture book could constitute copyright infringement, although some have argued that these types of videos fall within the "fair use" exception under Section 107 of the federal copyright act (17 U.S.C. §...

Library Spokescritters on Social Media

Does your library have resident pets? They can become effective "spokescritters" for libraries, particularly when they use social media to express "themselves." How effective? Consider Thorntown (Indiana) Public Library (TPL) as an example. TPL has Chance , library cat-in-training, who succeeded Tober , TPL's library cat from 2008 to 2015. Thorntown is a community of under 2,000 residents. Tober's (and, now, Chance's) blog has 220,061 viewings (as of today), reaching a worldwide audience. Moreover, Chance (and Tober before him) draws many loyal fans through TPL's doors everyday. Resident library animals are patron magnets. People love to visit them at the library. They are also effective "bloggers" and "posters" on social media and library websites (with a little help from their human library co-workers). Here are several examples of library "spokescritters" and their online presences: Morgan the Libra...

BiblioTechno Global Footprint

Search This Blog