[OPLINLIST] The Missing Email Inbox

[SWON Info]

When we couldn't connect to our OPLIN email account last Friday, it made 
for a quiet day in the office. Then OPLIN announced that its email 
database had gotten corrupted during an upgrade 
<http://www.oplin.org/node/620> and that they would no longer provide 
email to Ohio public libraries <http://www.oplin.org/node/625>. That 
day, as we jumped to a new email provider (we chose Fastmail 
<https://www.fastmail.com/>, was a little louder.

We've talked to libraries whose staff lost all the email they had 
received and sent over years of work (though there may be hope 
<http://oplin.org/node/627>). They had only used the webmail interface 
to get to email. It was all stored on OPLIN's server, and now it's all 
gone. Data security is hard. These systems keep getting bigger and more 
sophisticated, and so do spammers and other trouble-makers. To keep 
services like email up and running, all your staff need to be involved. 
Make this into an opportunity to improve the way everyone operates.


      Create stronger passwords

Help people create better passwords by learning about diceware 
<http://world.std.com/%7Ereinhold/diceware.html>. The diceware website 
has a long list of words and five-digit numbers. Roll five dice, and 
look up the matching word. Roll five or six words this way and you have 
a strong password that's memorable /because/ it's strange. Explain this 
at your next staff meeting, or create a password station for staff, and 
help them through the steps.


      Remember those stronger passwords

Give your memory a break by using a password keeper like 1Password 
<https://agilebits.com/onepassword> or Lastpass <https://lastpass.com>. 
These store your passwords and are protected by a strong password that 
you set.


      Use a desktop email program /sometimes/

When you use a desktop program like Postbox <http://postbox-inc.com> or 
Thunderbird <https://www.fastmail.com/help/clients/thunderbird.html> 
(which is free) and connect with IMAP, not POP3 
<https://help.aol.com/articles/what-is-the-difference-between-pop3-and-imap>. 
When you use IMAP, it syncs the online emails to your local computer. If 
you read emails or move them into folder, those changes are also synced. 
So whether you connect through webmail, Thunderbird or your smartphone, 
your changes are always up to date.

If you opened Thunderbird once a week---even if you didn't use it to 
read or send emails---it would sync your emails. If your email provider 
disappeared in a puff, you would still have that local copy. At SWON, we 
use Postbox, and that kept us from losing all our emails.

For added safety, export emails from Thunderbird 
<https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/importexporttools/> 
and save them to external hard drives.


      Yes, it's a lot of work

Time is money, some of the software mentioned above costs money, and 
email addresses have their own costs. But losing your data is costly 
too, in ways that can be hard to calculate. A lost email account can cut 
off access to other accounts (especially if you need to reset your 
password), and email address changes are frustrating for staff and 
customers.

We're glad to help. Invite Nathan to your library and he can lead a 
hands-on session on passwords and Diceware, and introduce Thunderbird 
and email management, for staff or patrons. He'll gladly field questions 
too. Email nathan at swonlibraries.org <mailto:nathan at swonlibraries.org> or 
call him at (513) 751-4422x11.

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      Mapping humanitarian crises around the world

Humanitarian workers across the world need accurate maps to do their 
jobs. What towns did these refugees come from? What buildings were here 
before the storm hit? How can we get truck-loads of aid to the people 
that need it?

*You can help! Come to SWON's Level-Up Lab: Teaching Patrons 
Humanitarian Mapping on May 6th 
<http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=599097&group=>* 
and Nathan will teach you how to contribute. We'll provide the laptops, 
they'll provide the satellite images. You provide the willingness to 
learn, and together we'll assist a high-priority mapping project.


      Summer Reading Program: Last call!

*SWON's Summer Reading Program Workshop is next Wednesday, March 18 
<http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=512929&group=>*. 
We'll have engaging speakers, technology to try out, predatory birds 
(you won't have to share your lunch with them), and lots of ideas to 
take back to your library with you. Be the Summer Reading programming 
hero at your library with this flurry of ideas.

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    Upcoming on the Calendar

  * *KPLA Conference*
    March 16-18, 2015 - Lexington, KY
  * *SWON Summer Reading Program Workshop
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=512929&group=>*
    March 18, 2015 - Washington-Centerville Public Library
  * *Closing Time: Customer Service at the End of the Day
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=533998&group=>*
    March 19, 2015 - Online
  * *Microsoft Publisher 2013
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=593513&group=>*
    March 24, 2015 - Boone County Public Library, Main Branch
  * *Level-Up Lab: LibGuides 2.0
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=596687&group=>*
    March 24, 2015 - SWON Meeting Room
  * *ROYAL Literature Review (Special Interest Group) Meeting
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=517111&group=>*
    March 26, 2015 - Kenton County Public Library, Covington Branch

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