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Productivity Tools List

The 2015-2016 CARLI Public Services Committee’s presents our Productivity Tools List of software and productivity apps that may be useful for CARLI libraries. Some of the tools have been highlighted this year in our three onsite Open Houses, other tools have been suggested by the committee’s members or by Open House participants. (See three onsite Open Houses, for presentations, videos and more info about many of these tools.) Our goal is to provide experience-based information rather than formal reviews. We hope you’ll find the Toolbox helpful to you in managing projects, people, and social media.

Tool Type Cost Mobile version/features Max number of users Platform compatibility
Asana Project Management

Free for teams  up to 15 people. $8.33/person for Premium version.

   15 for Free version. Internet based product
Voyager Media Scheduler Room and Resource Scheduling part of I-Share membership      
Kahoot Instruction/Game Based Learning Platform Free Currently prototype app for Android in Google Play Store; No iOS app at this time; Kahoot works on all mobile devises through web browser Up to 1,000 users can play a game at one time, but dependent on bandwith,etc. http://tinyurl.com/j6aag7v Internet-based product. Kahoot! Video Introduction
Shelflister Voyager Client for Shelf Lists; Use for shelf reading & collection development Free Designed for mobile devices: 3.0 for tablets, 2.0 for smartphones No max number Shelflister is server-based, so it is platform independent
Cluster Photo Sharing Free App for iOS & Android No limit to group size Internet-based product
Wideo Video Creation Free for 30 second wideos; $19 per month for 180 second wideos; $39 for unlimited length iPhone and iPod app video templates are available. No max number Internet-based product
Poll Everywhere Instruction $0 Free; $19 Basic; $79 Presentation; $199 Convention; $499 Summit; $1,999 Custom; Also Offers Higher Ed Plans: $0 Free; $14 per year per student; $349 per instructor for semester; Designed to work on mobile devices (i.e. phones, tablets) Free - 25; Basic - 50; Presentation - 100; Convention - 200; Summit - 500; Custom - 500+ Internet-based product; Compatible with PCs and Macs
Tableau
(Note 1)		 Statistical Analysis Server $10,000
Professional $1,999
Personal $999
Online $500 annually per person
Public FREE		 Free Mobile App is avalible for Android and I-Phone to view Tableau data Server is a 10 user licence; All other options are single user Windows; OSX; Public and Onliner versions are Internet based
OneNote
(Note 3)		 Knowledge/Note Binder cross platform FREE for all platforms Free Mobile App for Android, I-Phone, and Windows Phone and Tablets unlimted Windows, OSX, Android, I-Phone, Chromebook, Amazon, and Internet based versions
Evernote Knowledge/Note Binder crossplatform FREE Free Mobile App is avalible for Android and I-Phone unlimted Windows, OSX, Android, I-Phone
Hoot
(Note2)		 Reserve Item Digital Waiting List Manager FREE n/a n/a Windows
Schedule Source TeamWork
(Note 4)		 Staff Scheduling program that allows for substitutions as well Contact for Price Quote
(UIUC paid a price for package and then so much per person scheduled per month)		 Mobile version is avalible and works with I-Phone, Android, and Blackberry Contracted for a per user price Internet based product
Doodle Scheduling (for staff or meetings) FREE Mobile web app. Native apps for iPad and iPhone. Each free account can produce a poll (for scheduling) with up to 1000 participants Internet based product
When to Work Staff scheduling Varies depending on number of employees and payment plan. Free 30 day trial Web based & Mobile app for Apple and Android devices Various used ranges with cooresponding pricing based on the number of users. Internet based product

Notes:

1. Tableau is a high end statistical package and to purchase it is very expensive (see the chart above for pricing options), there is however a free version (Tableau Public). At the Library Assessment Conference held in Seattle in 2014 it was very highly recommended by many librarians who were doing assessment and statistics. Since the 2014 conference Tableau continues to be highly touted by Librarians in the assessment field. Often College and University administration is already using Tableau for other than library purposes and you may be able to gain some access from those institutions. The free version (Tableau Public) is used by many librarians but data must be published openly and available to the public.

2. Hoot is a desktop based software program for library staff. Hoot helps manage a digital waiting list for checked-out reserve items. The system allow the desk staff to place a watch on the item so that the student can be notified by email or text message when the item is returned. The system can accommodate many students waiting for a single reserve item in the library and multiple wait lists in a library. Hoot works with information directly from Voyager. This applications developed by the Library Prototyping team at UIUC which is headed by Jim Hahn. Hoot is in use locally and seems very popular with staff and students alike. The program is available currently to a limited number of CARLI libraries if they wanted to BETA test it and is expected to available to all CARLI libraries sometime around June of 2016.

3. OneNote and Evernote are great cross platform tools and organizers and can be used in many different ways from organizing documents, work flows, information, etc. They both have strong searching capability. OneNote can be used with the cloud or more securely with SharePoint to synchronize across your various platforms. OneNote works as well on a Window machine as it does on a Mac or a smart phone. At UIUC it is used to process and manage community borrower and proxy forms, to search billing records from various formats including those that are scanned in, and to organize varied types of information into a central information management system.

4. Schedule Source Teamwork- personnel scheduler. Schedule Source Teamwork according to the company can help you: "1) Optimize your staffing in the most cost effective way, 2) Deploy qualified and capable staff while enforcing work rules and preferences, and 3) Facilitate managers, schedulers and employees working together in a team-oriented and morale-building way."

Use of learning management/course software for student worker training such as: Moodle, Compass, Blackboard, etc.. Also useful for this is Lib Guides and Wiki's.

The Public Services Committee welcomes comments, additions and updates to this list. Please contact the committee via