Presentation Tools in the Libraries: What should I use??? by Kathy Meengs

Presentation Tools in Libraries: What should I use??? By Kathy Meengs

In the world of libraries, we can make all kinds of presentations: we can present to a hall full of colleagues, a classroom of elementary school students, or a small book discussion group. We can present in person, or remotely, where we look to the digital presentation we’ve created to stand on its own. Regardless of the delivery dynamic, we need to make these presentations effective, crisp, and engaging. Part of that success will depend on the presentation tools we use.

A quick review of the latest ‘best of’ lists for presentation software shows there’s no shortage of choices, as well as opinions. Of course there is the old workhorse PowerPoint, but we also have Google Slides, Prezi, Visme, Canva, Haiku Deck and more. While it is worthwhile to acquaint oneself with the options (here are two recent articles assess the options; note that one of them is a blog from Visme, so there might be some bias there: https://www.consumersadvocate.org/presentation-software and https://visme.co/blog/best-presentation-software/), time is valuable, and constantly changing presentation software might not be worth it. The tools you choose need to be user-friendly and effective, but also compatible in look and function. And while no one is looking to make work, your library website must continue to look current. According to Unrein, a library website that looks outdated will turn off users, especially younger users, and make visitors question the usefulness and relevance of your library (8).

So, which presentation tool you use is important, but how you use it is more important. Software is constantly expanding and changing, so the perfect choice you made eight years ago may no longer fit, but if it’s a dynamic and responsive tool, you should be able to keep your presentations looking fresh and current without having to re-do.

 

Work cited:

Unrein, Sabrina. (2019). “What Makes a Good Library Website?” Syracuse, NY: iSchool Public Libraries Initiative at Syracuse University