Tech help available at library [UPDATED]

Published 9:17am Friday, October 19, 2012 Updated 11:19am Friday, October 19, 2012

Are you frustrated by new technology that doesn’t come with a user guide? You’re not alone. Buy a new Kindle, Nook, smartphone or laptop and the only guide to your new device is an electronic one. You have to turn your device on and get it working before you can even access the guide.

Never fear, the Fergus Falls Public Library is here to help you. In addition to providing monthly technology classes, the library offers free one-on-one technology appointments personalized to your needs. As the Adult Services Librarian, I meet with you for one hour to teach you about a tech topic of your choice.

Appointments are designed to help you learn how to use technology, including computers, the Internet, email, smartphones, tablets, eReaders, and programs like Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.

Some popular topics include: how to use iPads, Kindles and Nooks, setting up an email account, using Facebook, using mail merge, organizing files and folders on a laptop and loading photos onto a laptop.

When setting up an appointment you can ask to learn more about a topic, such as using an iPad, or you can ask to address specific problems, such as how to use email on an iPad.

One-on-one tech appointments are available from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and from 3 to 4 p.m. Thursdays. We also schedule 30 minute appointments to show you how to download library ebooks onto your Kindle, Nook, iPad, or other eReader. These appointments are available at 12:30 or 1 p.m. Mondays, at 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays, and 2 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Not available during any of these times? Let us know and we’ll find a time that works for you. To schedule an appointment, please call the library at (218) 739-9387 or email me at kedds@fergusfalls.lib.mn.us.

All tech appointments and classes are free. We’ve helped many satisfied customers figure out how to use their iPad or start a Facebook account. One comment we hear over and over again is that they cannot believe that we are providing this valuable service for free. The Fergus Falls Public Library is dedicated to fostering lifelong learning, and one of the ways we accomplish this mission is by teaching community members how to use and keep up to date with modern information technology.

Upcoming classes:

• From 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, find out what Tablet Computers are, how you can use them, and how different tablets compare.

• From 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6 learn what eReaders are, how to use them, and how different brands compare.

Also join us for Try Out Tech to try out the latest tablets and eReaders before you purchase them. Try Out Tech will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 29, Nov. 20, and Dec. 13..

Stop in, email, or give us a call to see how the library can help you learn about new technology.

 

Katelyn Edds is the Adult Services Librarian

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