Don't Reinvent the Wheel

That's the tagline at MaintainIt. I was fortunate to participate in an online Train-the-Trainer program they did yesterday which reminded me of the cool stuff they have available. If you aren't familiar with this resource I encourage you to go take a look. Here are some of the great things they're doing -

• Cookbooks filled with tips and techniques collected from libraries across the country are available for free download. Use them to help keep your public computers running.
• 30-minute webinars focused on topics from the cookbooks. July's program is about PC Reservation systems. There's a library in Colorado that has created their own system - it's open source and yours for the taking. Our very own Alachua County was featured in the first program.
• Cookbook Book Clubs, free webinars where you can learn in an informal and friendly setting about the public access computing resources others have used in their libraries. Share how you used the Cookbooks, learn from the experiences of others, and use the Cookbooks to DO something in your library. The July book club will discuss, "Meal Plan 5 - PC Reservation/Management Software"
  
• Discussion forum on WebJunction where "difficulties are aired and solutions are shared."
• e-Newsletter that tells about upcoming FREE webinars, trainings, and new content.