Thing 18 - Google Docs, etc.

I've already used Google Docs for a couple of things. Most recently, someone with YCAC created a spreadsheet using Google Docs for she and I to jointly edit / access, which we can use to track registration and attendees to our zine workshops. I found it very easy to use -- working quite similarly to Microsoft Excel. I was really surprised by the variety of tools offered by Zoho. I'm planning to try out its database option to see how well it works.

I don't think that these applications are particularly helpful for in-house staff use -- if we need to share a documents, we can do so by saving it to the Everyone folder on the network. However, they could be helpful for collaborating with folks outside of the library (like in my YCAC example above).

From a personal perspective, I've been thinking about starting to use Google Docs or a similar application in publishing my zine. I have multiple people who contribute content to the zine, which they usually send me as a MS Word attachment. But some people don't have access to Word (or Open Office), or they instead send the text within the body of an email, which messes up the formatting. Having them post their content to a site like Google Docs and then allow me to access it might be an easier, less messy way of handling their submissions. If the database application is versatile enough, I may use that for the zine, too, to share contact & assignment information with the review staff.