The Best 100 Free Apps For Libraries

Librarian Jim Hahn has carefully culled the over 500,000 available apps down to the 100 that are the absolute best for day-in, day-out library services. The guide covers apps for Apple and Android devices, including tablets. Each entry in this long-needed guide contains: • a basic summary of how each app operates, • at least one example of how that app can be used by a librarian, • one example of how it can help a library user access library services, • a section highlighting critical limitations and apps that may better serve a librarian’s needs, and • the next possible iteration of the app. Entries are accompanied by a photo of the app in action, so this current guide is both descriptive and visual. Introductory and final chapters cover using apps in library settings and library services as well as what the future should bring in this area. This guide is intended as an introduction for those with little or no app experience and for those wanting to know more about app uses for information access.

Over 52 million tablet devices were sold during the fourth quarter of 2012 and sales are predicted to continue to increase in years to come. These lightweight mobile computing devices are quickly becoming an integral part of patrons’ everyday lives. Libraries are responding by incorporating them into their programs and services. Using Tablets and App in Libraries outlines how libraries can support this new BYOD (bring your own device) culture including offering app events and instruction, installing mounted tablets within the library, offering tablet lending programs, initiating tablet training programs for staff, and ways to evaluate and use quality apps. Discover how you can implement a successful tablet program in your library. Through this comprehensive guide, readers will learn: How to integrate the potential of tablet technology into existing library programs and staff workflows How to Host a Staff Training Technology Petting Zoo How to provide tablet support and training for your patrons How to use tablets in your story time and other children’s programming How to circulate tablets in your library How to use tablets to promote library services How to use tablets in your physical spaces to provide and gather information

Ideal for public, school, and academic libraries looking to freshen up their reference collection, as well as for LIS students and instructors conducting research, this resource collects the cream of the crop sources of general reference and library science information.

How can your library—and your patrons—benefit from mobile apps? This guidebook offers a solid foundation in "app-literacy," supplying librarians with the knowledge to review and recommend apps, offer workshops, and become the app expert for their communities. Smartphones and other mobile devices that support downloadable applications—universally referred to as "apps"—can be used to foster productivity, conduct research, or read and study. Additionally, savvy librarians can better serve their communities by gaining expertise in mobile technologies and being qualified to make app recommendations to patrons. This book introduces you to the apps that can help you save time and increase your own productivity as well as serve as a curator and reviewer of apps and resident expert to benefit your patrons. Apps for Librarians: Using the Best Mobile Technology to Educate, Create, and Engage will save you from wading through and learning about the millions of apps available today and direct you to the very best apps in areas important to education, the workplace, and professional development. Organized by function—reading, writing, reference, multi-media, and productivity—apps are profiled with the following information: title, developer, price, platforms, general description, examples of use, and key features that make it worthwhile for learning and creative work.

If you are wondering what mobile technology adoption means for your library or how to get started, Mobile Technologies for Every Library will answer your questions! Wondering what the opportunities and pitfalls are of mobile technology use in libraries? This book will answer these questions. Thinking of starting a mobile program in your library? Want to improve on existing services or add new ones? This book will answer your questions about platforms, options, security, best practices and more. The book will preview many useful apps for libraries. Web links and resources are also included. Chapter coverage includes history and existing types of mobile technologies, mobile devices and supporting technology, ways to provide mobile technology for your users, a survey of currently available apps, ways to use mobile technology for library work, best practices, and future directions. Each chapter is organized by subtopics with tips and examples from real library programs to help you get started.

Whether in person or electronically, users come to the public library from outside the library realm. And that’s exactly where genuinely transformational ideas lie. In this book Doucett mines new territory by exploring how successful organizations "outside the stacks" conduct their business. By analyzing what several private-sector organizations and their leaders are doing outstandingly well, she quickly hones in on transformational concepts that are ready for application in public libraries, offering more than a hundred innovative ideas that can be put into practice to improve customer service and day-to-day library operations. Canvassing the worlds of advertising, online commerce, fundraising, retailing, and more, Doucett profiles such successful professionals as Margaret Atwell, KickstarterChris Wilson, L.L. BeanBrian Kevin and Ginny Wright, Down East MagazineKate Chaney Chappell, Tom's of MaineWalter Briggs, Briggs AdvertisingAn exciting survey of creativity in action, Doucett's book will encourage public library directors, managers, trustees, and staff to cross-pollinate their own expertise with innovative ideas from outside the stacks.

This book provides specific and practical ideas for using social media tools to enhance communications, instruction, and professional development within the K–12 school environment—invaluable information for school librarians, instructional coaches, technology specialists, and educational administrators. Social Networking for Schools is the only book to take a comprehensive look at the topic of social media use in schools. Starting with the numerous justifications for integrating social media into schools, it provides real-world examples of how to seamlessly integrate social media within your classroom or library, examines the methodologies for crafting the necessary policies and procedures to ensure that staff members are prepared to use these tools effectively, and discusses the policy and legal issues surrounding the use of social media in schools. The work uniquely identifies the three core ways that social media can be integrated within a school: as communications tools, as instructional tools, and for professional development. The collaborative effort of a former school librarian and current school administrator with a practicing school attorney, authors Steven M. Baule and Julie E. Lewis bring perspectives and critical insights to the topic not normally considered in similar literature.

Caregiver involvement is key to a child's reading success story, and libraries are in the perfect position to provide the guidance needed for parents and caregivers to embrace their role as their children's first and most enduring teachers. Libraries offer many programs and services for children, but sometimes caregivers are left out of the equation, especially once children start school. Nevertheless, parents and caregivers are an integral part of literacy development, and libraries are a great place for them to witness modeling practices and participate in engaging family programs that encourage early literacy. Mary Schreiber combines personal experience and professional research with the programming expertise of youth librarians from across the country in this guide for libraries looking to make an even greater impact on the level of literacy attained by the children they serve. In Partnering with Parents, readers will find a wealth of information on how to talk to caregivers about the different stages of a child's reading life, what books to recommend to excite both caregivers and children about reading, and ways to encourage parent and caregiver participation in library programming, with additional information on working with and providing programming for diverse families. Whether you are a veteran in the profession or brand new to working with families, you will find something in this book that will help you to make your library a more integral part of the education community.