More Google

I used Google translate to discover the word 'librarian' in many different languages. For example: bibliotecario = Italian, библиотекар = Bulgarian, 圖書管理員 = Chinese. This could be a very useful tool in a library with a largely multi-cultural clientele. The web page I translated was Amazon.com and I translated it into Arabic, a very different look! I wish we had such a tool on our website for our customers. It would be brilliant if they could translate our catalogue and instructions on its use into
their own language.

Google books can be very useful for Reference work. For example a search for 'Nazism' brings up many books with preview or limited preview. Searching through the available pages gives access to some great information.

iGoogle is both cute and useful and I use it at home but at work my home page is our team blog and from there to the library service own home page.

Google calendar is useful due to its accessibility but like so many workplaces as yet we are bound to Outlook. I hope there will soon be a future where we can use these tools more readily in the workplace itself, not just at home. The google calendar can be installed onto blogs and websites and could be used on library web pages to advertise events on certain days. It could also mark training days and could enable;e customers booking their own PCs or attendance at workshops etc.

Google maps are used by our service to show the correct roads our Mobile Library must take to get to its many destinations most efficiently, and it also enables pictures of the vehicle itself at each stop so customers can see exactly on the street. So it is used by both staff as a guide to driving and by patrons as a guide to stops.

I hope to have enough time to get back to this with my owngoogle mash up map!