Have You Tried our Technology Help Site Yet?

One of the most common requests we get from patrons, aside from book recommendations, is for technology help. Gone are the days when you could avoid using computers, as technology has crept into every corner of our daily lives. Our librarians are very helpful, but it’s just not possible for them to stay updated on all things about all tech and still have time left over to do the rest of their jobs.

We have created services and acquired resources to get you the help you need, and we have a landing page where we have gathered them all. To get there without a direct link, go to https://eglibrary.org and use the menu to choose: what we offer>services>technology help.

At the top of the page, you will find links to our digital literacy classes. We have recently partnered with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County to provide our in-person classes. This area also contains information about our appointment-based individual help service – Book a Librarian. As you scroll down you will see online resources by subject. Click on the subject title to see the resources.

One service we offer, Tech-Talk, is actually several services in one. It is a collection of articles, short videos, and webinars about a wide variety of tech topics. We have featured them in several of our posts. They also offer a subscription newsletter that drops a tech tip in your inbox once a week. We’ve made a video to show you how to use Tech-Talk and embedded it here.

If you have used some of the resources on our technology help site, let us know what you think! Is there any subject or information you would like to see added? Let us know in the comments.

Has Tech-Talk Improved Your Tech Skills Yet?

The East Greenbush Library provides technology help in a variety of formats. We conduct classes, offer one-on-one assistance by appointment, post help videos, and have a page dedicated to online help articles and videos gathered from vetted websites around the internet. Did you know we also have a subscription resource available to our patrons with great articles, videos, and webinars for users of all skill levels? Whether you’re a technology pro or you’re just getting started, Tech-Talk has something for everyone.

While we’ve featured Tech-Talk and some of their articles before, this time we’ve made a quick video to highlight how to find what you are looking for in Tech-Talk. Can’t find what you’re looking for? You can submit requests for future articles and videos on whatever tech topic you need.

If you’d like to receive a weekly quick tip from Tech-Talk in your inbox, along with information about upcoming webinars, sign up for the Tech-Talk newsletter on the main page.

Have you tried Tech-Talk yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Looking for Your Next Read? Check out NoveList!

It’s happened to all readers at some point. You’ve finished a book you loved, but you aren’t sure what to read next. NoveList can help. NoveList is a unique database that allows you to search or browse various criteria to find your next read.

NoveList can be accessed at home by East Greenbush and Schodack residents, and it can be accessed by anyone at the library by connecting to our network.

If you like a particular title, NoveList allows you to search for that title. You’ll get information about the book, including its genre, tone, and writing style. To the column on right, you can see similar titles.

Screenshot of a book's summary page in NoveList

From the NoveList homepage, you can access their appeal mixer if you’re in the mood for reading books written in a particular style.

You can mix and match, and limit by age. If the pre-made appeal factors aren’t your style, you can make your own combo with the appeal mixer.

For an overview of all the neat ways you can use NoveList to find your next read, check out our YouTube video:

Have you used NoveList? Let us know in the comments!

Find Quick Answers to Common Tech Questions with Tech-Talk

Tech-Talk.com is an online resource available to patrons of the East Greenbush Community Library. This resource comes in several formats.

  • A website full of articles and videos to help you learn what you need to know to be successful with everyday technology
  • An app to help you get the above resources on-the-go
  • A weekly newsletter containing a quick technology tip
  • Access to live webinars that end up as videos on the website
  • The opportunity to request an article or webinar on a topic of your choosing

The Website

In part one of our series about the Tech-Talk website, we showed you how to find novice-level help for using email, the internet, and documents. This time, we will highlight three collections on the website with access to quick answers.

The first collection is a new page they’ve started, called One Tip, One Minute Videos. The aim of this page is to offer cool tips you may not have been looking for, but may be useful. I know the format painter tip is one I use all the time since I watched the video.

The second collection, Popular Problems, can be useful to users of any level. This page contains a list of frequently requested topics, broken down by user level. Click on a subject to find the best 5 related articles.

The last page I want to show you today is the Quick Reference Guide collection. Each reference guide represents an overarching subject (for example, Word) and it contains links to articles and videos on that subject. Save or print the PDF guide for future reference, if desired. Please note that the website navigation has changed since the Quick Reference Guides were created, so some of the navigation tips in the PDFS for finding the articles are outdated. However, the links to the pages within the PDF still work.

Do You Use Tech-Talk?

If you have tried Tech-Talk, let us know what you think! Did they have the answers you were looking for?

Need Basic Tech Help? Tech-Talk Has You Covered

Tech-Talk.com is an online resource available to patrons of the East Greenbush Community Library. This resource comes in several formats.

  • A website full of articles and videos to help you learn what you need to know to be successful with everyday technology
  • An app to help you get the above resources on-the-go
  • A weekly newsletter containing a quick technology tip
  • Access to live webinars that end up as videos on the website
  • The opportunity to request an article or webinar on a topic of your choosing

The Website

There is so much information on the website that finding what you need can be a bit overwhelming if you’re not sure what you’re looking for. Luckily, Tech-Talk has grouped the information in several different ways to help make it easier to browse.

The page we’re highlighting today is Basics for Non-Techies. If you are a novice user looking for basic information about working with email, documents, and the internet, this is the page for you. Even if you aren’t a novice user, you may find something on this page that would be useful to you.

Join us next time, when we highlight other pages that help you browse and find quick solutions.

Do You Use Tech-Talk?

If you have tried Tech-Talk, let us know what you think! Did they have the answers you were looking for?