Your Calgary Public Library card allows you to access free, self-paced MS Office courses. Here’s how:

• Start at our homepage, and then choose the link to e-library.
• Choose the category Job Search, Careers & Courses.
• Choose Learning Express. Once you do, I suggest that you register, so that you can start downloading content immediately.
• Choose Popular Software Tutorials and you’re off to the races!

Complete these courses at the Calgary Public Library branch of your choice, or from the comfort of your couch or kitchen table. If you still need assistance, remember you can access free computer programs and one-on-one volunteers at various library branches throughout the city. Call 260-2600 for more information!

Social media is still in its infancy and already we’re sharing pictures, videos, links, music and more - with just a few clicks. Increasingly, the ability to use these tools and platforms will be regarded as a type of literacy - not unlike the ability to read, write and perform numerical calculations.

If you haven’t yet delved into the world of social media, drop into your local library and check out books about smartphones and tablets, blogging, podcasting, and lots more. If you’re downtown, stop by Central Library’s 3^rd floor Learning Lab and learn about LinkedIn, twitter, facebook, Google Reader and other such sites. We’ll even spend time with you one-on-one, to make sure that you’re up and running.

For more information about library resources and programs, please call (403) 260-2782.

Check out this link for more information about Social Media Day.  And while you're at it, check us out (and follow us!) on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest!

“I was working in the lab, late one night...”

Actually, it was yesterday night.

The Central Library now has a dedicated space for learning and skills development. It’s our 3^rd floor learning lab!

Drop in for beginner classes in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel and Power Point), basic internet searching, career resources and much more. Take advantage of one-on-one help with crafting a resume, writing a business plan, or navigating our e-library.

For more information about class schedules, call us at (403) 260 – 2782.

Do you have a LinkedIn profile, yet? I’ll admit that when I received my first invitation to join this social networking site, I rolled my eyes. I was already on facebook, so why did I need another profile elsewhere? But LinkedIn is definitely not another facebook. It’s a social networking site that allows you to post your professional credentials, search for jobs, network through contacts and club memberships, and expand your ability to secure employment. Learn who works where, get updates about industries you’re involved with and find college alumni, too. There’ll be no pictures from your most recent drunken escapade – LinkedIn is for professional purposes!

The Calgary Public Library regularly works with career coaches and counselors. The feedback we’ve been receiving is that LinkedIn is an essential tool for job hunters, and that its importance will only continue to grow as companies and recruiters use it to find new employees.

If you’d like to learn more about LinkedIn, then be sure to register in our free programs, or check out our collections. Here are some new titles:

LinkedIn for Dummies by Joel Elad

The Power in a Link: Open Doors, Close Deals and Change the way you do Business using LinkedIn by Dave Gowel

The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success: Kick-Start your Business, Brand and Job Search by Wayne Breitbarth

Kobos and Kindles and Nooks – what’s the best e-reader for you?

Thinking of giving an e-reader for Christmas? Well get on it, man! It’s already December 22^nd!

Thinking of buying one on Boxing Day or over the Boxing Week, as it’s now become? OK, you’ve got some time. If you’ve got a library card, you can access Consumer Reports magazine from home, through our e-library.

Start at our homepage, select e-library, and then choose Research Databases from EBSCO (lower left hand side). Once you log in with your card number, you’ll be at a search screen. Choose the Publications tab (top of the screen) and then MasterFILE Premiere. Search for the Publication title “Consumer Reports” and then you’re off to the races. Read issue by issue, or search for a term like “e-readers”. If you’re not quite sure how to do this, then just call us or strike up a chat, through our homepage.

The e-library is a wealth of resources! Ask us how you can read Consumer Reports, The Economist, Maclean's and other popular magazines online.

Good luck in choosing an e-reader, and check out our program guide for upcoming demonstrations on e-books and e-readers.

If you’re downtown on Tuesdays over the noon hour, then drop in for TechKnow Tuesdays, our brief introductions to a variety of databases and social media tools. No need to register – just pop in – and bring your lunch, if you like. Here’s the schedule for our upcoming sessions: