I've been too busy to experiment with any of my own ideas (or Josh's) for using Google Calendar, but Download Squad has found a few interesting uses floating around already. For example, some people are using Google Calendar to record ongoing observations about their medical ailments. If one of these patients shares his calendar with his physician, the doctor can then monitor his condition remotely. There's also a server monitoring company that is marketing a service that will automatically record server events in a Google Calendar for easy customer access.

Anybody found examples of libraries using Google Calendar on their websites yet?

[Download Squad] Google Calendar: Not just for medicinal use

A few days ago Josh posted about the introduction of Google Calendar, suggesting some possible uses for libraries. Well, doing exactly that just got a lot easier, thanks to the quick release of the Google Calendar Data API:

Google Calendar allows client applications to view and update calendar events in the form of Google data API ("GData") feeds. Your client application can use the Google Calendar data API to create new events, edit or delete existing events, and query for events that match particular criteria.

In addition to Josh's idea for placing a button into the OPAC for patrons to add item due dates to their own calendars, the API also provides functionality for libraries to easily create and publish calendars of upcoming library events on their websites. Rather than manually adding new events to a static html page (or maintaining a more complex database powered solution on library servers), just use Google Calendar to maintain the calendar. Then, use that calendar's feed to populate the events calendar on the library's public website. Then, of course, place a button next to each entry for patrons to quickly add that event to their personal calendar.

Want another application? Why not maintain a calendar of your library's hours of business. Create repeating events for your regular hours, and edit a specific day whenever an exception arises. Then, on your library's website, add a quick bit of code to the top of the front page that queries the current day's event on Google Calendar and displays what it finds. Voila! The top of your site now automatically displays today's hours.

Google Data APIs (Beta) Developer's Guide (via Download Squad)

The release of Google Calendar into public beta brings some powerful new ideas for website operators and the creators of web-based or desktop calendaring tools. Google has published a specification for adding a single event to your calendar. The spec uses an easy to create web tag to create a link that will add an event to your calendar. By design it is an easy way to allow website publishers to put a badge on the page that will add the event on one's Google Calendar. However it would be simple to create a small tool or modification to existing interfaces to allow patrons to easily add book due dates, appointments with librarians and library events to their calendars. It also seems certain that where Google leads in this area the other providers of online calendars are sure to follow.