Week 4, Extra Thing: Using the Library Widget

So many libraries, so many books. How do you keep track of them all? Newton very helpfully sends out emails before (and after!) your books are due but it's good to have some additional reminders to stop those fines from mounting up.

The nice people at the UL have created the Cambridge Libraries Widget to make it easy to keep track of all your loans. You can embed the whole widget into your iGoogle page, Facebook, CamTools or into any webpage (perhaps your library's?). It gives you a Newton search window and the ability to manage your loans, renewals and requests.

Embedding the widget into your iGoogle page is as simple as pressing a button on the Widget page.

But seeing your loans still means logging into the Widget. It might be more helpful to have them inserted directly into Google Reader or your Google Calendar which you'll probably look at more regularly.

How to view your loans in Google Reader

1. Make sure you're logged into Google.

2. Log into the Library Widget. You can find it embedded in many DepFac and College library webpages. For example, go to the English Faculty Library webpage. Click on the tab on the righthand side called 'Library Accounts and Renewals' and log in.

3. Choose the Feeds tab and click on the first link 'RSS loans feed'. It will offer you the option of adding the loans feed to your iGoogle homepage or to your Google Reader.

How to view your loans in Google Calendar

1. Open your Google Calendar.

2. Log into the Library Widget (as instructed above).

3. Choose the Feeds tab and right-click on the second link 'iCal Calendar Feed'. Choose 'Copy link location'.

4. Go to your Google Calendar and open the 'Other calendars' section on the lefthand side. Click 'Add' and choose 'Add by URL'. Paste the iCal link in the box and press 'Add Calendar'.

5. You can use the 'Settings' feature under 'Other calendars' to rename or otherwise customise your calendar.

Extra Extra Thing
Take a look at the Libraries@Cambridge calendar which brings together all manner of library calendars. You can copy feeds or individual events from it to your own calendar.

Week 1, Thing 1: Set up a Google ID and create an iGoogle page

Welcome to Week 1, Thing 1!

After completing Thing 1 you will have...
Created a Google ID and your own iGoogle start page, so all your Things can be organised from the very start.

What is a Google ID?
A GoogleID allows you to make the most of Google and its products by personalising and customising pages, search results and your interface with Google. With a Google ID, you can also make the most of instant online collaborative working through applications like Gmail (Google Mail), but also Google Calendar, Google Docs and iGoogle.

How is iGoogle relevant to libraries?
iGoogle is a personal web portal which allows you to organise your favourite webpages and web 2.0 tools, letting you see at a glance what's happening out there. You can add RSS feeds and gadgets to your iGoogle page, some which are useful (Twitter, YouTube, the Cambridge Libraries Widget) and some which are less so (hamsters which need feeding and a "real age" calculator, for instance!) More and more libraries are developing iGoogle gadgets to facilitate renewals, OPAC searches and account maintenance.


Step-by-step instructions
1. To create a Google ID, go to http://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount (if you already have a Google ID, log in here).
2. Complete the form (it is probably best to use a personal email address rather than a Cambridge University one as a couple of people have mentioned problems accessing Google Docs with a Cambridge email address) and click on I accept when ready. 

3. To create your iGoogle page, go to http://www.google.com/ig and log in with your Google ID.
4. Click on the Add gadgets link to explore the various gadgets you can install - have a look at All categories on the left of the screen for ideas, as well as the most popular gadgets (Most Users), what's new (Newest) , Editor's picks or use the search box on the right.

 

5. Type COPAC in the search box.

6. Click on Add it now - when you return to your Home page, your COPAC will have appeared. 

You can also organise your gadgets with tabs which allow you to navigate quickly to your content, as well as helping your iGoogle pages load faster.

1. To add a tab, click on the arrow button of the Home tab on the left of the screen and select Add a tab.
2. Untick the I'm feeling lucky box.
3. Type in a name for your tab (e.g Library stuff) in the box.
4. Click OK.

5. Your Library stuff tab will open, but there will be no content in it.
6. Go back to the Home tab. Drag your COPAC box onto the Library stuff tab. It will disappear from the Home page and will only be visible when you click on Library stuff.

You can add as many tabs as you like whenever you think your page is getting too busy. You can also choose a theme to jazz up your iGoogle page by clicking Select theme on the right hand side.

You may find this animation an entertaining way to help you explore your iGoogle further:

Want to go a bit further?
The Library 2.0 blog has an interesting article on the utility of Start pages in libraries here, and MMIT takes a look at how UK libraries and associations, including CILIP, are making use of them here. If you've already been using iGoogle for some time, you might want to look at Netvibes, Pageflakes or even Symbaloo to see if they can offer you something a bit different.

What happens next?
In Thing 3 (next week) you will learn how to subscribe to RSS feeds, which you can add to your iGoogle page. Then you can have all your favourite blog posts and articles streamed directly to your start page.

Thanks to Emma-Jane Batchelor for providing the template and ideas in the original 23 Things Cambridge... and Happy iGoogling!