This document summarizes favorite tools and trends from 2013 that are relevant for libraries. It profiles several mobile apps, web tools, and trends. BrowZine allows browsing and reading scholarly journals on tablets with alerts for new editions. Pixlr is a free, cloud-based photo editor and creator tool. Feedly is a news aggregator for monitoring feeds. Google Hangouts allows video chat meetings. Trello is a visual, flexible tool for project management. Wunderlist, Todo.ly and Teux Deux are to-do and task management apps. The document also discusses the trend of increased mobile device usage and how libraries are adapting services, as well as trends around 3D printing and makerspaces in libraries.

1. TNT’s Favorite Tools
and Trends of 2013
December 6, 2014
Beth Bernhardt, Beth Filar Williams, Kathy Shields

2. BrowZine
An easy and familiar way to browse, read
and monitor scholarly journals across the
disciplines. http://thirdiron.com/browzine/
● Optimized for tablet devices
● Personal bookshelf of favorite journals
● Alerts when new editions are available

3. Your Library

4. Article View

5. Saved Articles

6. Favorite Journals

7. Pixlr
http://pixlr.com/
● FREE, cloud based, image
creator & editor tool
● Flash based
● Mobile app (iOS or Android)
● Screen-grabbing tool (for FF or Chrome) Pixlr
Grabber
● Share via imm.io (a one-click easy image sharer)

8. htt
p
://p
ixl
r.c
om
/
Pixlr
photo editor
most used
“photoshop-lite”
image express
quick adjustments
fun overlaps & effects
vintage effects
connects to FB
mostly “fun”

9. Pixlr
Quick Demo!

10. Feedly
Google Reader is dead. Now what do I do?
Use Feedly!
Feedly is a news aggregator that
is available as a mobile app for iOS and
Android, and via web browsers such as
Chrome and Firefox.

11. Feedly: Key features
● Free; pro version available for $35/year
● Minimalist design
● Easily add URLs and RSS feeds and group
them into categories
● Highly customizable - change the layout,
color scheme, organization of posts, etc.

12. My Feedly

13. Google Hangout
My new favorite way to hold virtual meetings!
Source: http://inthecrowds.wordpress.com/tag/lincolnmovie/

14. Google Hangout
Things to know:
● Need a Gmail/Google+ account
● Need to activate Google Hangouts
● Can be chat only, or can incorporate
video (up to 10 video participants)
● Can embed other apps into your hangout,
such as Google Drive and SlideShare

15. How do you usually schedule
meetings with your colleagues or
your patrons?

16. Schedule Once
● Online scheduling
software
● Anyone can see when you’
re available and schedule
a meeting with you
● Completely integrated
with Google calendar

17. Trello
● Web-based project management tool
○ Free but has options for upgrades
● Can be collaborative
● Main elements:
○ Cards
○ Lists (groups of cards)
○ Boards (groups of lists)
● Visual, flexible, intuitive

18. Trello
Trello is an incredibly flexible,
highly visual tool for project
management, task-tracking,
and recording ideas. You can
use it on your own or with a
group. I use it to keep track of
my personal workflow, break
down tasks into steps, and to
capture ideas for future
projects.
I started at a new institution
and they use Trello for
managing digitization
project workflow. It's easy
and intuitive - more
structured than email or
Google Docs but not overly
burdensome...

19. To-Do List Tools

20. Wunderlist
● Free; pro version available
● Available for iOS, Windows, Android, Kindle, & web
● Create lists, tasks, and subtasks, set due dates &
reminders
● Can attach files
& notes to tasks
● customize
background & layout
(pro=more options)

21. Wunderlist
“It has a simple interface with
pretty photo backgrounds, and it
lets you organize your lists into
categories, add due dates and
reminders, and sync to all your
devices. I use it to keep track of
all my projects and what I need
to do on each one. It’s also fun to
see all of the ‘completed’ tasks
grayed out at the bottom.”

22. Todo.ly
● Available as an iPad/iPhone app, Android app,
Chrome web app, and
via web browser
● Create projects and
subprojects, add due dates;
cross things off when
you’re done
● Simple, easy to use
interface

23. Todo.ly
“I like the color coding system
for prioritizing the to do list. It
also allows you to do projects
on the side bar, which helps
me track all the individual
projects that I am doing with
faculty. It also tracks the stuff
once it is checked off, so I use it
for my reports to the library to
keep track of what I have
done.”
“I like todo.ly because I can
easily pull it up on my phone
or any computer. At my job
I'm constantly moving around
and I can pull it up from any
location...including my iPhone.
I can also keep separate lists
for work and my personal life
(movie to-sees, grocery,
presents).”

24. Teux Deux
● Free trial, $24 dollars a year after
that
● Clean, simple design
● Can set repeating tasks
● Single day and multi-day views
● Additional lists for things that
aren’t date-specific
● Mobile integration

25. Your turn!
What’s your favorite to-do list or task management
tool?

26. Trend: All things mobile!
● More Americans own
mobile devices than
ever before (91% own cell
phones; 56% own
smartphones).
● 34% of adult cell
users now go online mostly
on their phones, and not
on a laptop or desktop.
Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project (2013, Sept 18). Pew Internet: Mobile.
Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/February/Pew-Internet-Mobile.aspx

27. Trend: All things mobile!
● Libraries are responding in a number of ways:
○ providing materials, such as ebooks and
magazines, through mobile platforms (ex.
Overdrive & Zinio)
○ providing training on how to use devices to
access library materials
○ upgrading library websites to more mobilefriendly platforms (ex. Bootstrap)

28. Trend: All things mobile!
What are some ways that your library has
adapted to the mobile device trend?

29. Trend: 3D printing!
● Have you ever used a 3D printer?

30. Trend: 3D printing!
● Does your library have a 3D printer?

31. Trend: 3D printing!
● But what place does a 3D printer have in a library?
○ Access to technology
○ Community space
● Things to consider
○
○
○
○
Will my users use a 3D printer?
What will they use it for?
How much money am I willing to spend?
Who will support 3D printing?

32. Trend: Makerspaces!
● It’s not just about 3D printers!
○ Make it @ Your Library
○ Series on ALA TechSource
● Grew out of the hackerspace movement
○ focus is on creativity
○ DIY
○ Makerspaces can take many different shapes and sizes

33. Thank you!
We’ll be sharing the recording and slides on our blog:
http://nclatechandtrends.wordpress.com/