TechAtlas for Libraries Features Overview
Interested in starting a technology plan for your library, but not sure where to start?
This overview provides a quick introduction to technology planning with TechAtlas. Each of the bold words/phrases in the text below highlights a specific function within TechAtlas. When logged in to TechAtlas, you will find each function under the relevant tab.
Home Tab
The Home page provides links to each of the functional areas in TechAtlas. Visit the Getting Started page found on the Home page. While we recommend that you build your technology plan in the sequence described, you can jump around in TechAtlas and enter information as it becomes available. TechAtlas will save all of the information you enter, so you can log back into the program after obtaining more information and pick up where you left off.
Planning Tab
Plan Years: Start the planning process by specifying which years will be covered by your technology plan.
Team: Assemble a technology planning team that includes representation from a broad spectrum of program and stakeholder perspective. Finding the right mix of board members, staff, volunteers, and others will help shape a technology plan that supports your library's mission and will be successfully implemented.
Mission & Vision: Describe your library's service priorities in a mission statement and create a vision for the use of technology in your library.
Goals & Objectives: With a mission and vision in place to guide your planning, you are ready to start setting goals to accomplish your vision for technology, creating objectives to reach those goals and assigning activities to specific staff members.
Professional Development Strategy: Part of planning and managing technology in your library is anticipating the training needs of your staff to ensure they know how to use new technologies to improve education or library services. Use the professional development box to explain how the library handles training and ongoing efforts to meet staff training needs.
Budget: With a clearly defined plan you can now prepare a budget. Configure setup options for your technology plan budget by choosing to budget at either the Objective or Activity level, designating budget categories and listing funding sources. Fill out the budget worksheet for your technology plan entering as much or as little budget information as you need.
Evaluate: Once you have completed your technology plan, design a formal review process that can be used to evaluate the plan on an ongoing basis.
Policies: Consider attaching library and technology related policies to your technology plan and storing them in TechAtlas for direct assess.
Download Technology Plan: You can download and edit the plan further, if needed, then print your technology plan. You can even send the plan by e-mail to the members of your technology team for review.
Survey Tab
Survey: Survey your staff members to learn about their current professional development and technology skills and need for future training.
Assessments: If you need help breaking your goals down into more specific objectives, you can take one or more online assessments The assessments generate recommendations for improving your library’s technology services.
Inventory Tab
Library Locations: If you want to organize your inventory by branch or functional area set up Library Locations.
Inventory: One of the most popular features in TechAtlas which is used to create an inventory of computers in your library using manual and/or automated inventory tools. You can use additional functions to inventory your networks, software, peripherals, Internet systems, telecommunications, and database subscriptions.
Reports Tab
Event Tracker: Create your own online "help desk" tool for recording technology problems and solutions with Event Tracker.
Reports: Learn more about your existing technology assets by running reports against your current computer inventory data.
More about Technology Planning
If you need more information or have questions about using TechAtlas through WebJunction, please contact the WebJunction Technology Planning Team: techatlas@webjunction.org
For additional assistance in building or updating your library technology plan, as well information on upcoming technology planning events, please visit WebJunction’s Technology Planning section:
http://webjunction.org/TechPlan
