Article #1

Schaffhauser D. Make It Work. T.H.E. Journal [serial online]. August 1, 2008;35(8):34-37. Available from: ERIC, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 5, 2010.

This article was essentially a look into a few different situations where budget constraints were directly holding back the implementation of technology for schools and media centers. It was a collection of ideas on how to "make it work."

It really seemed to line up with my frugal philosophy with electronics. I would prefer not to spend $500 on an ebook reader if my netbook (that I already own) can serve the same purpose. Some of the situations were solved through book fairs and grant writing, but I don't think you can expect to depend on unexpected funds coming in. I was more partial to where they hooked up with other libraries to split the fees to access a database, or decided to set up a Google Custom Search Engine to help their patrons.

Speaking of a Google Custom Search Engine, as I was reading it I knew that I had seen that option in the Google Apps listings, but I didn't realize how useful it could be to restrict access for students to sites and content that you want them to search. It would be pretty useful to create alongside of a pathfinder to allow students to search the sites on the pathfinder collectively!

I'm not sure if frugality is learned or innate, but this article showed me that I am already well suited for facing the budget constraints in my field. It just takes a bit of creativity to "Make It Work."