Lesson 4 badge!

Lesson 2 Challenge

• A customer comes up to you and says they think their Facebook account was hacked, but they’re not sure.

My first thought is always to ask if the person is interested in learning more or if they would just like help. If the patron would like to learn more, I would offer books from the collection. Otherwise, I would suggest regularly changing passwords and, if the patron has a cell phone, using 2 step authentication. I would direct the patron to websites that help review security settings.

• A customer shows you a “too good to be true” email about getting free money from Nigeria, and asks you to help them seal the deal with their banking information.

I would let the patron know that the Library can't assist with banking information. Then I would direct the patron to websites explaining how to recognize a scam. If there's time and the patron is interested, I might talk a little about how scamming always seems believable. If it didn't seem believable to someone, it would never work. Most people feel embarrassed in this kind of situation, once they understand the scam, and I would think about that as I work with the patron, to help avoid embarrassment.

• A customer accuses the library of spying on them, because they have observed something “unusual” on their PC.

This is always difficult, as the patron has generally observed something that seems unusual to the patron. I've found that the best approach is to talk calmly with the patron and to encourage the patron not to use public computers for sensitive information, if there's any option. I've found that simply denying the activity sometimes isn't helpful, though of course the Library isn't spying on the person. 

Lesson 6 part 2 challenge

Social media can, as I mentioned, be negative quite easily. People might tag a picture of you that you don't like. It's easy to misunderstand someone's post and become angry (or happy) for no real reason. You might say something that you wish you hadn't--and people know quickly. It's also amazing how quickly something can move from a few friends to thousands of people.

Lesson 6 Part 1 challenge

It's interesting to think back to 2007 and the 23 ½ things at Queens Library which introduced me to some social media sites. I hadn't used Facebook before then, but it's become an important way for me to stay in contact with friends, family, and colleagues. I've used it in ways would never have expected (like meeting a friend for lunch when at a conference by just saying "is anyone near this corner and would like to meet for lunch?). It's fun to share photos and experiences. Of course, social media is also in some ways like having a diary--but knowing that it's going to be read every day by people you know and people you don't know. So, I share what I think will be interesting to my "friends" that I also wouldn't mind being read aloud at work.

Facebook is pretty much my social media "home". I say to much for Twitter and there's a little too much arguing there (at least among people I know). I don't take enough pictures for Flickr. I do keep a profile on LinkedIn, especially for conference speaking opportunities. 

Lesson 5 Challenge

Buffalo, Broadway, Great Wall, fishing in the Amazon! It was an interesting exercise to give people ideas of how to search. I got 100% on one of them, on the second try. Otherwise, more like 65%. I know that I can construct effective searches, but I tend to use quotation marks "Other than piranhas" and Boolean logic in the Google advanced search. What this reminded me, though, is that we can all learn more and that I could probably improve some basic search ideas. On the other hand, I think that some of my searches would be more effective than the keywords suggested by these exercises.

Lesson 3 Part 2 Challenge

LibGuides were new to me here. That's one thing I enjoy about libraries and about technology--there's always something new to learn (even if it's something other people have known for a long time). I've used LibGuides many times, both public and staff ones, especially the Guide for Learn (http://guides.mysapl.org/GED), for Staff Picks (http://guides.mysapl.org/staffpicks), and for Vital Records (http://guides.mysapl.org/vital_records).