Check out the list of online instructional resources at PRIMO: Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online Site of the Month [ http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/is/iscommittees/webpages/emergingtech/site/index.htm ]. It was just mentioned in a post today on the ILI-L discussion list [http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/is/ilil.htm ]

Working without an office during the last 3 weeks meant I needed useful online applications: Thinkfree [http://www.thinkfree.com ] calls itself the 'best online office on earth". You can create Microsoft compatible documents and store them in a free 1gb online file storage area. A review of the applications can be read at Extremetech http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1952434,00.asp (located through Slashdot article http://slashdot.org/articles/06/04/25/056204.shtml ).

Tools useful for conducting outreach: cheap compass, and Google maps to show the way. We just visited nearly 200 public libraries in Nebraska as part of our Consumer Health Information Resource Service (CHIRS) network, and found both of those resources to be invaluable!! To make a map easier to carry, each map was turned into a pdf, and the relevant section was cut and pasted into a Word document, fitting about 4 to a page. The compass was a low-cost find from Oriental Trading Company ( http://www.orientaltrading.com ), and worked to get us out on the right road after each visit.

GLOBAL HEALTHCARE INFORMATION NETWORK (GHI-net) http://www.ghi-net.org/ : a new organisation dedicated to a future where everyone has access to an informed healthcare provider.
GHI-net will focus on the practical healthcare information needs of healthcare providers at household, primary and district levels indeveloping countries.

In October 2006, in partnership with other stakeholders, we will launchthe first phase of a major campaign, ‘Healthcare Information for All by2015’. The aim of the campaign is to ensure that healthcare providers worldwide will have the information they need to deliver safe, effective healthcare. Lack of access to essential healthcare information will no longer be a significant barrier to the delivery of care in developing countries.
We shall engage with the full range of stakeholder groups - healthcare providers, librarians, publishers, researchers, technologists, developmentworkers, policymakers, the general public, and others.

Yes, Virginia, public library services can be outsourced. Can academic libraries be far behind?? And would that be a bad thing? Here is an article about public library outsourcing in the Jackson Sun: http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060404/NEWS01/604040306/1002 . Companies mentioned that offer library management services are: Library Systems & Services, LLC http://www.lssi.com/ ; and Information International Associates http://www.iiaweb.com/ .