Best Free Web Stuff

for Broke Libraries

Sarah Houghton-Jan
Digital Futures Manager,
San Jose Public Library
Author, LibrarianInBlack.net
We. Are. Broke.

Free = GOOD
Public & Staff Computer Software
Operating System - Ubuntu
Email/Calendar - Google Calendar/Gmail
Web Browser – Firefox, Chrome
Financial Software – GNU Cash
Office Suites - Open Office, Google Docs
 More...Public & Staff Computer
Software
Image Editing - GIMP, FotoFlexer
Typing - GNUTypist, TypeFaster Tutor
CD writing - Brasero, InfraRecorder
Firewall - PC Tools Firewall Plus
Antivirus - MS Security Essentials
AdBusting - AdAware
Antispyware - SpyBot Search & Destroy
 Free eBooks
• Project Gutenberg
• AudioBooksForFree & many more!
• Escholarship
• Google Books
• ManyBooks
• Memoware
• Online Books Page
• Oxford Text Archive
 Free Databases
• ArticlesBase.com
• FindArticles.com
• + free language learning sites
• + free practice test sites
• + free sites in all disciplines

Add to your website and catalog!

 Reference Tools
Multi-platform - LibraryH3lp ($)

You have free options for:

•email
•IM
•chat
•VOIP
video chat
texting
 Staff Scheduling Tools
Droster

AceShift (<20 shifts/day)

Open Office's Calc

Google Docs Spreadsheets

 Team Meeting Tools
Voice – Skype, Google Voice
Video Chat – Skype, Sightspeed, Tokbox
IM – AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, & others
Meeting Space/Chat – Today's Meet, Wiggio
Meeting Scheduling – Doodle, When Is Good,
NeedToMeet
Webcasts – DimDim, Vyew, Ustream
Reaching Out to Customers
 Setting Up a Social Network

Username Check
 CheckUsernames.com

Usernames Claim and Log-In

 Open ID, ClaimID
 Maintaining a Social Network

Post Syncing
 Ping.fm, Hellotxt.com, Facebook & Twitter
settings
Multiple Account Management
 AtomKeep, Touiteur, Seesmic, HootSuite,
Posterous
 Metrics for Social Networks

Social Network Monitoring

 MyBUZZmonitor, TwitterSearch
Statistics
 Twitter Analyzer, Twitter Counter, Facebook
page stats
 Tech Support Tools
Chat box on the intranet w/ Meebo

Screencasts on the fly w/ Jing

Discussion Boards on Google Groups

Remote Support and Computer Sharing w/

LogMeIn, Yuuguu, or TightVNC
 Audio & Video Tools
Audio Recording/Editing – Audacity

Video Editing – Avidemux, DVDx, Lumiera, Kino,

Jumpcut online editor

Video Hosting – YouTube, blip.tv, Vimeo

Audio Hosting – PodBean, LibSyn

 eLearning Tools
Screencasting Tools - Screencast-o-matic, Jing,
Wink, Camstudio
Online Learning Environment – Moodle
Conference Calls – FreeConferenceCall.com
Image Mark-Up - DabbleBoard
Webcasts – Vyew, Ustream
Class Websites – WordPress, Blogger, PBworks,
PageFlakes
 Website Management
Content Management System - Drupal
ILS - Koha or Evergreen
Flickr slideshow - Pictobrowser
RSS Feed and Post Statistics - PostRank
Tag Clouds – TagCrowd, Wordle
Form Creator - Google Forms
CSS-picker – Typetester
 More Website Stuff
Free/CC/RF Photos – OpenPhoto, Stock.xchng,
Image*After, Wikipedia Commons, Flickr image
search
Surveys & Polls - Zoomerang, PollDaddy,
SurveyMonkey
Statistics - Google Analytics, StatCounter
Translation – Google Translate
Website Hosting – WordPress, Bravenet,
Bryght.com, Weebly, SquareSpace
Online Book Club Tools
Blogs for Book Suggestions
Blog on Blogger or Wordpress with each entry as
its own review

Entry templates w/ cover, title, author, and

summary

Tags/categories (ages, genres staff picks)

 Event Calendars
Eventful

Upcoming.org

Going.com

Google Calendar (your own)

Online Book Displays

Westmont Public
Library

http://www.flickr.com/photos/we
stmontlibrary/549380055/
 Exploit Image Generators
GeneratorBlog.blogspot.com
ImageGenerator.org
ImageChef.com
More Free Tools
 Free Mash-Ups
Library ELF - account tracking and alerts
Library LookUp bookmarklet
LibX Toolbar
Google Maps mashups
iGoogle gadgets
 More Favorites
Cloud Storage - box.net, drop.io, adrive
Book Jackets - Book City Jackets
Charts – LucidCharts, Lovely Charts, Gliffy
Text to Voice - Text2Speech
Notes/Citations – Evernote, Zotero, CiteULike
Virtual Business Cards - card.ly
File Drop Sites - DropBox, SendUIt
 Questions?

Sarah Houghton-Jan
LibrarianInBlack.net
Twitter: @TheLiB
LibrarianInBlack@gmail.com