Sarah Washburn's blog

Chris Peters is a writer for TechSoup, the main writer of MaintainIT's Cookbooks, a librarian, a voracious reader, an impressive thinker, and a friend.

There's a lot of excitement brewing here at TechSoup about new projects and new directions. You may have noticed some changes on our site that are just the beginning. But there are some other changes that are less techie, less project-focused, too.

I was a Twitter skeptic, and then a Twitter admirer, and I admit I'm at times bored by what some reveal in 140 characters, but I still continue to discover greatness, especially from libraries that use Twitter.

I ran across an excellent post on the CALIX list this week (California libraries) that was worth sharing. Kathleen K. Smith, Projects Librarian at the Fresno County Public Library took it upon herself to ask, "what is your policy for when a patron asks for an extended period of time to complete their work on the public computers?" And then she shared the responses! Read on to find out what California libraries do in this situation.

If you visit our site regularly or attend our webinars, you'll likely recognize the name of one of MaintainIT's prized Contributors, Stephanie Gerding. You may also know that she's a marvel, sharing her expertise in many fields, including helping libraries find and get grants.

With all of the new-fangled technology out there to talk about, to experiment, and to discuss on listservs, I'm always happy to see focused discussions on topics that get down to basics. This one caught my eye, because it was so well-articulated and researched.

Jean Montgomery, the Network Administrator at the Superiorland Library Cooperative in Michigan created a nifty flash video that chronicles how her cooperative supports libraries distributed over the Upper Peninsula. Jean covers many topics, sharing how her organization uses a range of tools to keep in contact and offer services without breaking the bank or spending time behind the wheel.

TechSoup's GreenTech Initiative is hosting a month-long event on reducing travel without breaking the bank. The focus this week is on online training, and since the MaintainIT Project has spent a lot of time on this topic, I thought I'd take this opportunity to gather some choice resources, webinar archives, and articles in one place.

Thanks to everyone who participated in today's webinar. As expected, many useful tips and techiques were part of the lively discussion.

This comic strip was shared on the KLA listserv in Kentucky. Thought it was worth sharing!