One of the best things about my job is getting to spend time in so many different libraries. Most of the ideas I propose to one library are based on things I have seen in other libraries. The best new ideas are often based on the recycling of other ideas.
The MaintainIT project is all about gathering and disseminating library stories. Their recent Joy of Computing Cookbook (available as a free download) is a collection of practical tips and stories about successfully providing computers for the public. Additional cookbooks are in the works.
This week, I have been paying special attention to the MaintainIT blog as Sarah and friends drive a bookmobile around northern California. They will spend two-weeks on the road, taking pictures and talking to the people in rural libraries. I look forward to learning about the libraries there…, but I’m also hoping that at the end of those two-weeks, Sarah and the team will feel so fired up about visiting libraries that they will turn the bookmobile to the east and to the north and will come visit some of the stellar libraries here, too! (That’s an open invitation!)
Brenda Hough is the Continuing Education Consultant at NEKLS. You can reach her by email (bhough (at) nekls.org), phone, or on several instant messaging platforms (look Brenda up by her email address). Visit the 
