(Text generated at http://cooltext.com/. Try it out. It's fun.)

Welcome to 23 Things, the course which introduces library staff to Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and new technologies. It was originally written by staff in the library authorities of Aberdeen, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Surrey, and is endorsed by the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL). It is now being revised by Aberdeen, Bradford, Cambridgeshire, Dudley, Essex, Hertfordshire, Hounslow, Kirklees, Libraries Northern Ireland, Swindon, and Surrey. Don't let this stop you doing the course - we'll keep disruption to a minimum and we'll put a sign on each module as we update it.

It's free to do - just work through it in your own time. At the end of each Thing, you'll find some activities, which you HAVE to do if you want to claim to have done the course, and some recommended followups which are simply to allow you to explore further if you want to. Record your progress and your activities on your blog, which you'll create in the second module.

If you're short of time, we've identified the seven core Things that we think are absolutely fundamental. You'll find them by following the links on the left hand side of this screen.

• Introduction
• Blogging
• Flickr, photos and images
• Facebook and social networking
• Twitter and microblogging
• Tagging and social bookmarking
• The legal Bit

Although we haven't identified it as a Core Module, we would also recommend you go through the Ebooks module at the very end of the course.

Each Thing will take roughly an hour. To help you, we've put a guide time at the top of each one. Don't worry if it takes you longer (or shorter) - some people will know more than others, and some will be more confident.


Information for UK public library services
If you'd like to roll this out to your staff, feel free. If you contact us using the email address below, we'll supply you with the SCL-endorsed certificate, to which you can add your authority's logo, and a guide to help you to structure your rollout.


Credits and rights
The course is, of course, based on Helene Blowers' original which you can still see at http://plcmcl2-about.blogspot.com/. We'd also like to thank Kirklees and Devon library services for their help when we started out.

In the spirit of Helene's original, please feel free to borrow or use or change any information, exercises or content found on this site. Just remember to provide proper credit according to Creative Commons.


Contact
Please email virtuallibrary@surreycc.gov.uk.

May 2013