I’m a huge proponent of Google Docs, Google’s suite of productivity tools similar to Microsoft’s Office Suite. In fact, just yesterday I turned one of my library school profs on to it when he groused via email about not being able to access a .DOCX file from someone else’s computer while traveling!

Aside from being platform agnostic (Mac? Windows? Linux? Google doesn’t care!), Google Docs are super-shareable. Here at BCR, the training department uses a Google Spreadsheet to track our team’s coming and goings and what we may need when we’re on the road.  With a team of trainers always on the go and a handful of folks who try to keep on top of what we’re up to, this can be a huge chore.  Having the team share and collaboratively edit one web-based document - instead of having several versions existing in various lo0cations -  saves us a lot of headaches! 

But Sarah Willeford at the MaintainIT blog points out another benefit aside from the hassle-saving: it can also save you money! She writes:

I have found that using Google Docs to collaborate has helped to reduce the number of meetings needed by a group, thus cutting down on travel and time away from your library or office. 

Of course, it’s also free, which is more than we can say about Microsoft Office! Check out Sarah’s post for a little more info on this fantastic tool that you should be using.

Any of you out there using Google Docs in your libraries  as a way to share information with your patrons or with your coworkers? Share how you’re using it by leaving a comment below!

Tags: cool new toys, Google, Google Docs, saving money, Technology

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 4:23 pm and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.