ISHTOT: Promote the Library on Your Screensaver

OK, this entry into the "I Should Have Thought of That" series is  embarrassing, because it seems like such a no-brainer  that I almost decided not to write this (also because I figured everyone else already knows this and will be thinking, "Well, DUH, Jeri!")

Never one to be afraid of looking well, challenged, I shall post, nevertheless.  And if you're already doing this, you can definitely feel superior! 

As I walked out of a meeting into the library today, I glanced at the student computers.  The screensaver was on and--lo and behold!--they were running a slideshow promoting new books we just added to the collection. Curious, I opened up the system preferences, clicked on the screensaver icon, and there was a folder of slides.

I have three (yes, THREE!  I keep telling you--work overseas!) great support staff, and they just quietly added this last week without me noticing.  Of course, you can do the same thing with a digital frame or a large screen display (if, like us, you're lucky enough to have one of those on your wall), and I've done that.  But--duh--it never occurred to me to use the library screensavers.

If it hadn't occurred to you, either, here's how  (for a Mac.  I'm sure the process is similar for a Windows-based computer, but I don't have one here to test it out).

1) Create an empty  folder on your desktop.

2)  In Power Point or Keynote, create your slides, adding whatever text/images  you want.  Save them as a JPEG file in the folder you created.

 KEYNOTE

 POWER POINT














3.  Load the folder onto your student computers.  Open System Preferences>Desktop/Screensaver and select the Screensaver tab.

4.  Click the + button and choose "Add folder of pictures" in the pop-up menu, then navigate to your folder and select it.

5.  Choose your display style and preview it with the "Test" button.  When you're happy, set the display timer to 3 minutes and you're good to go!