Beyond Method 4

Take a look at the Finding Jobs page from the Texas Workskills Development in Libraries website. Search two or three employment sites listed. Do you think that you would be able to do this if you were not computer literate? Were there any confusions on the employment site?

I tried the "texasjobs" from the list, but the only jobs that it had were from Houston. That wouldn't necessarily help the patrons in my area, because Houston is at least a thirty minute drive away, and there did not seem to be any jobs to be found on that site that were closer to home. I am not sure that someone who is not computer literate would be able to figure out that fact so quickly. I also looked around the area for jobs on monster.com, which is a little more well known. Once again most of the jobs on there are from the houston area, with just a few coming from Pasadena and Alvin. For someone from Texas City, this might be too much of a drive to pay for when balancing that against the amount of pay received from the job. Monster.com was easier to figure out, though, for someone who might not be as computer literate. You can type in the box at the top a zip code and get to the jobs much faster than at the "texasjobs" site.


Take a look at the Goodwill Community Foundation’s Computer Basics page. Do you think that this would be helpful for patrons in learning to use the computer?

I think that the tutorials on the website are great for breaking down each part of the computer for a person who is unfamiliar with computers to understand. I think this tutorial would be very helpful for patrons, but the unfortunate thing for patrons that have no understand whatsoever on the computer, is the fact that the tutorial is online. The tutorial, though, could be useful for a librarian or family member to use to explain the different parts of the computer to an indivudal who is completely unfamiliar with it. Some people will need each step explained a little more simply than this tutorial covers, as well.


Blog about your experiences looking at these resources (make sure to include Beyond Method #4 as the title). What do you think you could do at your library to help job seekers?


There are a few things that we already do at our library for these purposes. We offer basic computer classes in the fall and spring for individuals to learn about the computer and how to use it. Patrons looking to learn about computers for jobs or those just curious to learn how one works for their own information are welcome to come to the classes. We also have reference materials in the library and links on our website for patrons that are searching for jobs can use. One other thing that we can do at our library, is set up a job help website, as they were discussing on Web Junction that would have links to the biggest job hunting websites and tips to use when looking for work.