“Quote-ify” your church library

Using quotes from famous people, either religiously based or not can sometimes provide inspiration to your library users. In fact, if you have purchased a new item for your library, try searching the web for an inspiring quote somehow related to the subject the book deals with.

Post signs around your library to encourage borrowing. Highlight some words from your holdings’ authors.

Some examples…

Inspirational Quotes

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” Michelangelo

“Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.” Mahatma Gandhi

“Prayer is when you talk to God; meditation is when you listen to God.”
Diana Robinson

Books and Reading Quotes

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me”
C.S. Lewis

“When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”
Desiderius Erasmus (Dutch Priest, Editor of the New Testament, 1469-1536)

I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”
Mother Teresa of Calcutta

“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.” Henry David Thoreau

Where can you find these and more? Try searching online at these good sources:

Bartletts Familiar Quotations http://www.bartleby.com/100
Quotations and Proverbs search http://www.faganfinder.com/quotes
Quotations Page http://www.quotationspage.com

Stay tuned for the next installment of the computer corner …

Software for Church Libraries II

It has been three years (my, how time flies!) since the first review of commercially available, inexpensive software to make organizing and cataloguing your church library easier. This time, we will be looking at some new software packages that some of you have requested information about, and of course, look at old favorites to see how they fare against the “newbies”.

As with the last review, I started out researching quite a few (seven) software packages, however, I've eliminated Athena because the cost quite frankly is prohibitive for most small church library budgets. I will include with this article, the handout given out at the Spring Conference identifying the relative strengths and weaknesses of each of the remaining six software packages.

Two packages of the remaining six, I have serious reservations about, not because they are “bad” software, but because they are quite limited in what they can do for your small church library. Library Master, while claiming to be ideal for your personally owned books, really is designed as a heavy duty citation organizer, and for someone bogged down in the minutae of a PhD thesis, this software would be perfect. The other package we looked at, a Canadian product called “ChurchWatch”, is a one-shot-does-everything software package for churches. It contains a hymn organizer, congregation list (cool options include: family or individual pictures, and special notations, for comments such as specific disabilities, and committees served upon), tax assistance software, and many other features. For our purposes, the strengths of the church library portion is just not up to what the other software can offer, so if organizing your library is your priority, then this software is limited.

Four software packages remain; Cross’ Library 1.7 (our top pick last review)(L), PC Card Catalog (PC), Resource Mate (RM), and Win Library (WL), a product from France that many of you have enquired about. Each of these packages retails for between $130 and $300 Canadian, and they have several characteristics in common. Library 1.7 and Win Library come with a built-in circulation component so you can check out and check in books, track overdues, and print gracious reminder notes to transgressors. Resource Mate and PC Card Catalog require you to purchase the “more complete” version in order to get the circulation module, but they offer reduced cost for “upgrading” your current version.

Overall, WL was very much the least friendly of the remaining four due largely, I think, to translation and language difficulties, particularly in their help files. Notably RM provides useful features such as a waiting lists for more popular items, and a recommendation list for individuals. Data can be hand-entered, imported from other files or, with RM, imported from the Library of Congress itself via the Internet. In all four packages, fields such as subject are editable, with L remaining the easiest (via scroll-down windows), and each program will prevent duplicate accession numbers automatically. Each of the four will print cards if you still use a card catalog, each offers preformatted card layout, while RM will allow you to alter or customize your layout. Three of the four (not PC) offer your church members the opportunity to use the computer as an OPAC, or online public access catalog.

While WL has rather poor search capabilities, both L and RM have good search interfaces. RM's report selection is very good, and although report names are confusing, you will always be asked if you wish to print a report after viewing one on the screen (very handy). L too has a very good selection of reports, and allows easy identification by highlighting any "sort" category with colour.

While Resource Mate seems to have the most customizable package available, excellent customer responsiveness, and interesting extras, the package I like best overall remains Library 1.7. I recommend Library 1.7 specifically because of the way it uses the windows environment – it has neatly integrated its windows capabilities into one main screen so that the user always knows where they are. The mouseover status bar identifies the components of the open window, and these components remain pleasingly consistent regardless of the window content.

Before doing this review, I contacted Cross to find out if they were planning to upgrade their Library software, and they informed me that they were not going to improve Library 1.7 but are redeveloping the entire program to take advantage of new programming and technology. What does this mean? If you already own Library 1.7, CROSS will still provide tech support, and as most software companies will do, they are likely to give you a significant discount for upgrading to the new product. If you are interested in Library 1.7, I would suggest you might wish to wait until the new generation of products arrives from this developer. Their decision to abandon “dated programming” speaks to their desire to provide the best application software to their customers. That being said, there is no specific date identified for roll-out of their new product, so timelines may be years and not months.

As stewards of your church library, choice of software products will depend largely on your congregation’s timeline, your budget and your expertise with the online or a print environment.

Software for Church Libraries I

Our series on software for Church Libraries continues with commercially available and relatively inexpensive software to make organizing and cataloguing your church library easier. We are looking at three software packages; Diakon’s PC Card Catalog (PCC), CROSS’ Library 1.7 (L), and Jaywil’s Resource Mate (RM). Several other software packages were available for review, however, given the endemic nature of limited funds, I have chosen those I feel most suitable for a small- medium sized church library budget.

I started out researching five software packages, however, I've eliminated two DOS-based products (Clavis' Church Library Cataloging System, and Scarecrow Press' Librarian's Helper) because I feel very strongly that to be useful, software must be easy to use, easier still to navigate and relatively intuitive. As a bit of a computer geek, I have never felt DOS based software to be anything of the sort, and computers in the 21st century are already powerful beyond our wildest expectations. I cannot in good conscience recommend software that takes us back to the last century. Should either of these companies develop a windows-based product, however, I'm sure it would be worthy of a good look.

Each of these packages retails for between $181 and $300 Canadian, and they have several characteristics in common. Each comes with a built-in circulation component so you can check out and check in books, track overdues, and print gracious reminder notes to transgressors. PCC was the least friendly of the three, and RM thoughtfully has provided waiting lists for popular items, and a recommendation list. Both of these would provide valuable services to your congregation. Data can be hand-entered, imported from other files or, with RM, imported from the Library of Congress itself via the Internet. In all three packages, fields such as subject are easily edited, with L being the easiest (via scroll-down windows), and L will prevent duplicate accession numbers automatically.

Each of the three will print cards for your card catalog, or lists of items, but PCC will only print both spine and pocket labels- in L and RM printing just spine labels is allowed. Each offers preformatted card layout, while RM will allow you to alter or customize your layout. RM will also auto-mark those new or edited records you haven't printed cards for yet, so you don't forget. All three offer your church members the opportunity to use the computer as a public access catalog, complete with security settings.

While PCC has rather poor search capabilities, both L and RM have good search interfaces. RM's report selection is very good, and although report names are confusing, you will always be asked if you wish to print a report after viewing one on the screen (very handy). L too has a very good selection of reports, and allows easy identification by highlighting any "sort" category with colour.

While Resource Mate seems to have the most customizable package available, allowing listings by location, cost, etc, and interesting extras, the package I liked best overall was Library 1.7. It appears to be a DOS-based program moved into the Windows interface, and still relies on many windows opening to do different things. Conversely, Library 1.7 has neatly integrated its windows capabilities into one main screen so that the user always knows where they are. The mouseover status bar identifies the components of the open window, and these components remain pleasingly consistent regardless of the window content. Their fully indexed help files are excellent, in fact, there's even a "help on using help" section!

I would recommend CROSS' Library 1.7 to anyone from beginner to advanced in computer skills, planning to computerize a small to medium sized church (or school) library because of the way it uses the windows environment. If cost is a significant factor, then Resource Mate would be my software of choice- one of their real strengths is responsiveness to customer needs. If at all possible, try to see both programs and evaluate them based on your own congregation's needs.

NOTE: First published in 2003, so information is now quite dated!

Listserv’s

Congratulations to those 85 of you who have already signed up for the CLAO
listserv, located at Yahoo.ca. What you might not be aware of is that you can
tailor all your listserv experiences to your own preferences. At
“churchlibraries” group (groups are what yahoo calls their listserv feature)
membership is at the discretion of the group moderator, and only members can
post messages to each other and see email addresses. Messages do not go
through an editorial or review process, but appear directly for all members.
Currently email attachments are not permitted in messages (such as pictures),
and all text appears in black and white (no color).

You can join our churchlibraries listserv using any email address you like, just
remember that your address will be visible to the entire group. The intention of
listserv’s are to allow a group of like-minded individuals the opportunity to
share expertise, answer each others’ questions, and comment on whatever
someone is interested in.

When you initially sign up to a group, you are given the option of how to
receive notices regarding posts to the message board. You can choose to
receive posts through individual emails, a Daily Digest (or daily summary of the
posts), or you can do as I do and select No Mail / Web Only. I prefer to read
the posts when I choose to visit the group site (sometimes no more often than
once a month), and I find individual or daily emails are far too bothersome and
interruptive for me.

One individual can join multiple groups, for example, my group list includes
Brantfordfreecycle, GardeningInCanada, and churchlibraries, and you can drop
out of a group by unsubscribing (Yahoo! Groups > My Groups page >
name of Group you wish to unsubscribe from > Unsubscribe > Update).

Sharing information is much more critical than most of us realize, and using a
listserv is a good way to share what you know.

Databases

I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet some of you at the Fall annual conference in Cambridge this past September. The majority of questions you asked are about software appropriate for your Church Library, so for our second topic, I thought it best to start right in.

This subject is not an easy one to address, because software rarely comes in a one-size-fits-all format. The different types of software available merit several issues worth of discussion, so I have decided to start at the beginning with an overview of databases in general (which is what specialized software designed for libraries really is), and some rather uncomplicated options you may be overlooking.

Databases are software programs that help manage data or information in a variety of different ways. The most popular and common generic database programs used today are MS Access, Dbase, and MS Works, and these often come pre-installed on your computer, so there’s nothing to buy. Database software can provide you with lots of information about your data, as well as organize it in any manner you desire. I have created an example database using MS Access with 19 fields or categories of data, and real items catalogued by my local church librarian (yeah, Mom). As shown, each field can be formatted to identify the type of information displayed, and often you can set up your software to auto-enter information such as the date you input the information. It is useful to set up more fields (categories) than you actually think you will need at first, or ensure that your software allows you to add more fields as you need them. In our example, we have included fields such as Pages (how many, if any), Acquisition (where did it come from), Cost (very useful to find out how much you’ve spent on any one group of items, such as children’s picture books), Cards (in this case, do we need to print some- Yes or no), Acquisition Date (when did WE get this item), and an interesting and useful idea, “Category”.

This last entry allows this library to identify major groups of items by where they are shelved, and quickly create bookmarks or other lists of topical items. It is not necessary to fill in every field with information, often books or videos do not have second or third subject headings. Just use whatever information you think your library will need to identify and group your materials.

I would recommend including price (Cost) and date of acquisition, as you can then use the software to identify how much you spent in a year (or any time period), or by any category.
The greatest strength of database software is the ability to arrange information so that your printouts can look any way you want, and include any information you wish, without having to type the information in more than one time. Often called reports, these formats can be used to create catalog cards, book lists, subject guides, shelf cards, or accession lists. You can design your own forms or reports- very often, the software package contains tutorials or small sample lessons on how to do specific things. The other wealth of information is always the HELP files within the program itself- software developers spend months writing these how-to files and they are usually very useful. In addition, you can get help and training on the use of specific software from local adult education courses, congregation members who are familiar with them (and don’t forget the kids), or from books on how to use your software.

One last thing….It is very important to make sure you make several back-up copies of your database files and update them on a regular basis. In our example library, the task of recreating 2300 items would be daunting- you might want to keep a fresh copy in your church or synagogue safe or strongbox, as well as extra copies at home JUST IN CASE!!!

Well, if this all sounds too much like work, and you have neither the time nor the inclination to make up your own database (which in many cases is probably more than sufficient for a small church library), there are several pre-designed software packages designed for use by church libraries.

Clip Art I

Many times I have been asked questions regarding clip art and its use for your Church Library. In this column, I hope to introduce you to the exciting world of clip art, and demonstrate how easily you can create wonderful documents from your own home computer.

Clip art refers to images used to create interesting publications with your computer. The phrase “clip art”, originated from the practice of finding an image in a document, such as a book or magazine, clipping it out with scissors and pasting in the document you were creating. With widespread use and acceptance of the photocopier, this type of graphic became almost a requirement for producing professionally presentable publications. Today, word processing programs such as Microsoft Word are now sophisticated enough to allow the insertion and layering of graphic images and offer a wide variety of interesting clip art images on the Microsoft.com website. (The Microsoft Design Gallery ~ http://dgl.microsoft.com/)

Desktop publishing has become a ‘home based’ activity largely because professional quality graphic images and the software necessary to create slick looking documents is less expensive and more user friendly than ever before. Software such as PrintShop and PrintMaster are quite inexpensive, and will walk you through projects such as creating greeting cards, newsletters, and brochures. Most people have their favourite programs to work with, and I am no exception. I work frequently with Microsoft Publisher because it comes bundled (often free) with the purchase of Microsoft Office Suite package- a package I have available through work. Publisher has pre-built and sample templates and a step-by-step wizard to help you create great looking documents from your home computer.

Hundreds of clip art images are included with the Microsoft Office Suite package and even if you only have Microsoft Word, there are lots of clip art files available for you to insert into your word processing document. Using MSWord software, choose “Insert” in the top toolbar, and then select the “Picture” option. This allows you to choose between clip art (already loaded in the software), or if you prefer, you can add your own picture file (choose “From File”). Once you select the clip art option, a new window will open allowing you to identify which particular theme, or topic you want, such as “church”, or “Christmas”. Entering your search word (for our example, we will use “church”) and clicking on the search button will bring up a selection of images that are related to the word you searched for. In our example, at least 40 images appear in a scrolling window, and by clicking on whichever image you like, Word will place that picture on your document where your cursor was located. Often when you first place the image on your page, it’s too large, so be aware that you can resize the image so that it better fits where you want it to go. Click on the picture and a series of squares and lines will surround the image. Select the bottom right corner square by placing your cursor overtop of it, and a diagonal arrow should appear, allowing you to click your mouse button (HOLD it down) and drag the square toward the top left corner of the image. The size of your image will be determined by where you let go of the mouse button. This method can be used for making the clip art image both smaller and larger.

You can do many things with clip art images, in fact, similar to text, it is possible to center it on the line, put fancy borders around it, or make text appear in front of it, behind it, or wrap around it, as in our example here. Many software packages offer excellent tutorials on how to accomplish some of these fancy placement tricks, and there are always third party books (such as the “for dummies” series) on how to work with common software packages.

Stay tuned for the next installment of The Computer Corner, where we’ll discuss where to find free clip art on the web.

Mice

I thought it wise to focus on some of the hardware commonly found in most computer systems. This issue will be specifically dedicated to that marvel of modern technology, that most baffling of input devices, the mouse.

It is amazing how simple and effective a mouse is, and it is also amazing how long it took mice to become a part of everyday life. Given that people naturally point at things -- usually before they speak -- it is surprising that it took so long for a good pointing device to develop. Although originally conceived in the 1960's, it took quite some time for mice to become mainstream.

In the beginning there was no need to point because computers used crude interfaces like teletype machines or punch cards for data entry. Full screen editors were the first things to take real advantage of the cursor keys, and they offered humans the first crude way to point. There is something about the mouse that is completely natural. Compared to a graphics tablet, mice are extremely inexpensive and they take up very little desk space. Once ‘windows” graphical user interfaces (GUIs) became a standard, mice came into the PC world very quickly.
The main goal of any mouse is to translate the motion of your hand into signals that the computer can use.

A ball inside the mouse touches the desktop and rolls when the mouse moves. Two rollers inside the mouse touch the ball. One of the rollers is oriented so that it detects motion in the X direction, and the other is oriented 90 degrees to the first roller so it detects motion in the Y direction. When the ball rolls, one or both of these rollers move as well, rotating a disk, which breaks a beam of light. An infrared sensor sees pulses of light through the disk, the rate of which is directly related to the speed of the mouse and the distance it travels. Almost all mice used on personal computers use this optomechanical arrangement.

Most mice balls rest best on what is commonly called a mousepad, or as I have seen advertised lately “a mouse rug”. This slightly rough surface allows the ball to roll freely, however, the surface must be kept clean or the ball inside will pick up dirt and lint, making it work only sporadically. To clean your mouse (which you should do on a regular basis), open the back cover and let the mouse ball fall out. Using tweezers, pull off any stray lint or dirt from the inside rollers, and then wipe your mouseball with a damp cloth saturated in the best cleaner available~ lighter fluid (be careful- this is caustic, flammable and smells awful). Mousepads are much less expensive to replace than mice (although even these are often less that $10), so when yours starts showing wear and soil- replace it!

Of course, with the advent of new and ever improving technology, mice have evolved somewhat from their earlier cousins. Should you be itching to spend your dollars on technology, a wide range of mice are available, from wireless, to foot-controlled, to ergonomically designed, to the downright silly. (see picture at left) Input devices, like mice, are an essential part of a well maintained computer system.

Overdues

In this issue, we are going to look at some of the ways a computer can assist with handling your overdue library books and other materials.

Patrons everywhere are notorious for not returning materials when they should, and your church library is no different than any other in that respect. The amount of paper which can be generated by tracking who has which overdue item can be prohibitive, so using a computer to keep records makes perfect sense. In fact, computers make overdue notification much simpler in many ways. Form letters can be generated to send to borrowers and can be filled in, either by hand if you don’t have many overdues or by what is commonly called a “mailing list” of names.

In this case, the names included on the list will be your wayward borrowers, and once the name is entered, specific letters can be reprinted again and again until the material is returned.
Your word processor can help you remind delinquent borrowers of the items you would like returned, in very creative ways. Send your patrons graphical postcards, and if you have access to the Internet and your patrons’ email addresses, remind them with silly email postcards (look on the web for e-postcard sites such as www.bluemountainarts.com, and send a “you are missed” card addressed to the book or item itself). You may not get your book back, but you will get your point across in a positive way.

If you create a special flier with fill-in-the-blanks spots for relevant information, remember to include :
• the date the note was printed and sent,
• the title of the item(s) you would like back, and
• include a statement about your fine policy (if you have one) such as the following:

“Overdues
The Librarian does not charge fines for overdue items, but when items become more than 2 months overdue, they will be considered lost and the borrower will be billed for replacing the item.”

Keep track of when each reminder notice was sent, and set yourself a “not later than” date (for example, five months after the first notice was sent) to declare the item either missing or lost. Remember too, that if you buy a new copy of the missing item that each copy must have a different (new) accession number. Maintaining a list of unreturned items in either electronic or print format will help you with routine tasks such as inventory, weeding and collection use.

Computer Tutorial - PILOT

In this issue, I invite you to look at a project I have been working on for over two years now. My day job as a library instruction librarian at an academic library requires me to come up with creative and accessible ways to reach students both on-campus and off-campus, on our timetable or on theirs.
Learning how to use the library and it’s resources is never high on students’ priority lists, however, when they do need us (and often that is at 3 am when they’re writing that paper for the 8 am class), we are often unavailable. In addition, when we are successful in convincing classroom faculty to bring their entire class in for a talk, we throw so much information at our captive audience (well, WE know it’s important, and more often than not, we only have 50 minutes in which to impart many years of wisdom!), they are overwhelmed well before we’re half way through.

Our creative solution is an online tutorial named PILOT, found on Ferris State University Library’s website (http://libun1.ferris.edu), and available for anyone who would like to use it. You are welcome to use it as a “guest”, although we do allow students to register so their results can be part of their coursework grade. I encourage you to try it out- although it is designed primarily with undergraduate students in mind, it is a fun way to learn about the wealth of information available in our highly technological world. If you have a high speed connection to the Internet (56k modem or faster), Full PILOT includes games, sound effects, and silly graphics designed to captivate the MTV generation, but also teaches very basic principles of research. The Lite version doesn’t use the fancy graphics and sound effects, but teaches those same research principles.

The three modules in the tutorial (which each take about 30 minutes to complete) cover the topics of selecting an appropriate source, searching for information, and evaluating what you have found. This kind of explanation is useful to anyone and everyone- particularly if you find it difficult to search the Internet (and believe me, we all do!).

It is grounded by the principles of a ‘new’ concept called “INFORMATION LITERACY”, which essentially is the skill to find the answer to a question regardless of the format of the source. An individual who is information literate knows how to use resources made available through both the library and the World Wide Web to locate needed information. They understand the purposes, strengths, differences, and similarities of each provider and how they complement each other. An information literate student is able to use information resources effectively at each stage of a project or paper, from defining a topic to critically evaluating the information found. Knowledge may be housed in many new formats, but the principles of information discovery and use have not really changed much from what you learned in school.

Take a look at PILOT, try a module or two, and I hope you will appreciate the complexity of what today’s undergraduate student is facing when attempting to “do research”. In spite of the apparent ease that computers have brought, being a student is just as difficult as ever- in fact, with more competing “sources” of knowledge (some clearly more reliable than others), “good” information is both more abundant and elusive.

After successfully completing this three module tutorial, students should be able to:

• locate and use major Library facilities and services;
• select information sources appropriate for a particular need;
• use standard research techniques to search electronic databases;
• use the library catalog to find items owned by the library;
• use a general periodical index, such as InfoTrac OneFile, to identify articles;
• locate copies of articles;
• find resources on the World Wide Web;
• begin learning to critically evaluate resources”

The Ten Commandments of Netiquette

Sending email through an Internet connection has become a staple in businesses and organizations both next door and around the world. Much of my own work as an academic librarian involves email messages, in fact, it has become my preferred method of communication.
When communicating with other homo sapiens in any format there are standard practices that apply, so let’s review the common practices of Netiquette.

Thou shalt not type in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
This is *shouting* and it's considered extremely rude. There aren't many ways to express strong opinions in email or chat correspondence; so ALL CAPS is used. Emphasizing a word or phrase using ALL CAPS is fine, but overuse diminishes the effect.

Thou shalt not leave the subject line of emails empty.
If you’ve ever gotten a message with no subject line and are like me- you’ll trash it immediately without even reading it. It is safe toassume messages like this are spam, and only trashworthy.

Thou shalt not send lengthy epistles via email.
Keep your messages short and to the point, and break your writing into short paragraphs. Reading a three page email on the screen can cause eye strain to say nothing of shortening tempers, so try to keep it on topic. If it’s long, consider attaching a copy of a word file instead. After all, some of us have other things to do with our lives.

Thou shalt not send all thy friends copies of emails.

This includes what we used to refer to as “chain letters”… messages that get sent to everyone you know… just in case.Answer individual requests individually, and send only relevant materials to groups (a function of your email program).

Thou shalt not type anything thou wouldn't tell someone to their face.
Remember, there are people out there on the Internet, and sometimes they get cranky and take what you say the wrong way. If you're rude, or if your words appear to be rude, you could start what’s called a "flame war" ~ creating unwanted litter on the information highway.

Thou shalt not reply and include the entire original message.
It’s worth taking the time to delete, or cut and paste bits and pieces so that only relevant parts of the original message remain. It is both tedious and unnecessary to re-read the entire original message, but selecting a line or point for reference, is often appreciated.

Thou shalt not talk out of school.
Email is not secure and recognizing this, hopefully you will never be in the awkward situation of having your confidential email forwarded to the multitudes.

Thou shalt not be a spammer.
A spam is defined as sending the same message to a very wide audience. That is normal discussion group activity. Spamming is the practice of sending the same message to several different discussion groups or news groups at the same time.

Thou shalt not assume the reader knows you're being sarcastic.
If you're not sure how your remarks will be received, insert an emoticon, i.e., for "grin," or a "smiley," like the few you've been seeing scattered through this article. I like to use this wry "wink" ;-> for those times when I make a comment I hope the recipient won't take too seriously.

Thou shalt not respond (or reply) to junk e-mail.
Junk mail is often sent out like a spam message. Don’t bother replying to messages asking to be removed from the list. If you do reply, your address is automatically attached to the message and then they really will have it.

I’m looking for suggestions of topics to write about – please email me with your ideas.

Signage and more in your church library

Creating advertising can be more intimidating than you might think. The next four computer corner articles will be devoted to helping you create effective advertising, and I’ll let you in on tips and tricks that’ll make your life easier.

While we often use computers in our church libraries for making book lists and creating catalogues for our congregations, computers have the ability to create really great advertising for your church library too. The possibilities can be endless- signs, shelf labels, posters, bookmarks, brochures, fliers, and fridge magnets (sheets of magnetic paper are at the Dollar Store).

To get started, you need a computer, printer (a colour printer is nice but not necessary), and software that will help you create your sign. Software programs like WORD have improved their capabilities in the “creativity” arena and are more than powerful enough for the average library sign. Personally, I also use Microsoft Publisher (part of my Office Suite), and Paint Shop Pro to crop, rotate and edit images (I have version 6, but version 10 is available for $59 US

One of the most effective signs I’ve seen is a plain white arrow on a black background (basically a directional street sign), with the word fiction in black letters on the arrow (see photo). Printing this sign on your computer printer will use far too much black ink – instead, use a piece of black construction paper for the background. The word in the picture was handwritten, but you can print off the shape of the arrow with your words on it using Microsoft WORD, and fasten it to the black background quite easily. Try making signs using coloured paper, and if you stick to one colour (I use neon green) it starts to mean “library” if people see it often enough in that context.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the computer corner …