Category Archives: Training

Training

Free Webinar: Institutional Library Politics

Blue computer icon

“If you don’t think you’ll be able to make the live webcast, we encourage you to sign up so we can send you the link to the recorded version after the webinar. Of course, the live version is more fun!

Although the target audience members are those who work in academic and special libraries, the material applies to anyone interested in improving workplace and career influence.

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Free Webinar: Institutional Politics: Be more influential in terms of your career, your library, and the organization your library serves
Monday, May 7, 2018, 11 am Pacific Time

Hosted by the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the Special Libraries Association
http://sierranevada.sla.org

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1475082100032329731

Providing your customers with the expertise of great information
professionals is not enough to garner support for you and your special library. What works within institutions: universities, hospitals, law firms, corporations, government agencies, trade and professional associations, nonprofits and NGOs? Success is as much or more about connecting with stakeholders inside and outside the library and earning trust and respect professionally and personally, aka ethical politics.

Learn how to build rapport, adapt communication strategies to the
preferences of the recipient, assess political risks, build your personal “think tank”, and identify and address common career mistakes. Hear what successful colleagues have to say about what worked for them.

Takeaways

• Improve your influence regarding institutional decision-making.
• Build a team of mentors and champions to support your career and library success.
• Know who makes what decisions regarding your library.
• Use information to advocate for the library’s budget and services.

Pat Wagner has been a trainer and consultant for special libraries since 1978. She is a frequent speaker at regional and national library
conferences, focusing on the skills that support successful libraries,
including project management, leadership, marketing, and supervision. She is known for her good-humored and practical programs.”

Advocacy, Training

Training Tips: Everyday Advocacy Has Lots to Offer

If you have been around CMLE at all, you know we love to talk about libraries, and to tell EVERYONE how lovely our libraries are!! For the uninitiated, that is advocacy.

We like to talk about that a lot here, because sometimes people get nervous or intimidated by the idea of advocacy. It sounds like only something that people with super-special skills could do. But advocacy is for everyone! Do you like your library? Do you have cool stuff? Tell someone about it. And presto! You are a library advocate!

You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t need a degree. You don’t need a fancy, big library with tons of funding. You just need to care about libraries.

And then you can build on that, and get some skills to help yourself to feel more comfortable in advocating for your library and for the library profession. Check out this material from the ALSC Blog about Everyday Advocacy, by  Laura Schulte-Cooper for some ideas.

“With National Library Legislative Day (May 7-8) just about a month away, this seems an appropriate time to remind everyone about Everyday Advocacy (EA)! Are you familiar with EA? According to ALSC’s EA website, Everyday Advocacy is “a grassroots effort that starts with you and the incredible things you’re already doing for the youth and families you serve.” Consider Everyday Advocacy an antidote to the advocacy intimidation factor!

Need more convincing? Just take another (or first) look at the site. It truly is filled with resources compiled to help you get comfortable in the role of advocate or to get inspired to do more in the way of advocacy. Here’s just a small sampling of what you will find at the Everyday Advocacy site:

Be Informed | The Power of Stories

Human beings learn through stories. A well-told story is an extremely compelling way to convey your message, which will linger longer in the mind of the listener than a fact. Use these strategies to help your audience cement your message through images.

Be Informed | Using Statistics Effectively

Totals, percentages, averages, ratios. We’re guessing you’ve got no shortage of numbers to share! Statistics are compelling when used strategically to tell your library’s story.  Keep these points in mind as you incorporate numbers and figures into your message.

Engage with Your Community | Identify Key Stakeholders

Who directly benefits from your library’s programs and services? Who’s in the background, supporting your efforts and cheering you on? Take first steps toward advocacy by identifying these key stakeholders in your library community.

Speak Out | Crafting Your Message

Advocating for the most compelling issue or worthy cause is a losing battle if nobody hears what you are championing or knows why they should join you! Getting your message out is essential, so prepare yourself for success with these tips.

Get Inspired | Your Advocacy Stories

Get inspired by these Everyday Advocacy stories from our very own ALSC members. Cheer your colleagues—and maybe even snap up a few new ideas in the process.

Great stuff, right?! And, there’s so much more to dive into on the website. Check it out.

Still looking for more? The April Everyday Advocacy Matters newsletter came out this week. In this issue, find: interviews with several of the newly-deemed Library Journal Movers & Shakers; library-related articles from outside the library world for you to read and share; and quick acts of advocacy for when you really only have five minutes.

Spring is a time for new beginnings. Become an Everyday Advocate!”

Programs, Training

Spotlight Program: Money Smart Week®, April 21 – 28, 2018

At CMLE, we so enjoy all our different types of libraries, archives, and other members! Seeing all the work you are doing is so inspiring; and we want to return the favor by helping you to find some of the great programming going on around the profession.

Each week we will share an interesting program we find. It may inspire you to do exactly the same thing; or to try something related; or just to try out some different programming ideas.

Financial planning programs are always popular in libraries – all of us would like to be better with handling  money! Try out some of the suggestions given in this press release from ALA, or adapt other ideas to your own community’s interests!

Libraries offer a wealth of personal finance programs during Money Smart Week®, April 21 – 28, 2018

Earning a living can be hard. But knowing how to spend, save and invest your money wisely can be even more of a challenge. And with the recent changes in the tax code, being financially savvy is imperative.

Libraries help by providing the resources that can help you make the right choices. Our nation’s librarians and library workers are trained in offering unbiased sources of information that guide us in making sound fiscal choices.

From April 21-28, 2018, more than 1,000 of our nation’s libraries will be participating in Money Smart Week®. Library events will focus on such diverse financial issues as first-time home buying, obtaining renovation loans, preparing a personal spending plan, the property tax appeal process, evaluating financial aid packages, choosing the proper Medicare plan and the basics of wills and trusts. Libraries are also offering programs that week on options for tax-free savings and charitable tax strategies.

In addition, libraries in Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin will be offering Money Smart Week® Kids Read programs aimed at children aged 5-8 and their parents and/or guardians. Children will be choosing from two free books, “Those Shoes” and “Planet Zeee and the Money Tree,” and then participating in adult-led presentations on key money management messages in the book.

Created by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 2002, Money Smart Week® is a public awareness campaign designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances. The American Library Association (ALA) is among several partnering organizations.

For more information, visit www.moneysmartweek.org, which contains an interactive map that will guide you to events across the nation.

Training

Training Tips: Quick and Easy Video Creation Tools for Making Tutorials

Prime Video

We like to watch videos – but they need to be GOOD videos to actually hold our attention.

Browse through the tips in this article from the Journal of the American Association of School Librarians, and get some ideas for your own video creation – as well as making videos with your students.

“Today, I don’t bother with a fancy studio to create and share videos. Here are some of the ways that I create and post videos. These are straightforward videos… nothing fancy, no animation. (If I want to be fancy, I use other tools for special occasions.) Most of the time, I keep it simple and limit the tools because I need to work fast.

Screencast-O-Matic: This website will allow you to document anything on your screen. I use Screencast-O-Matic when I need to illustrate steps. The free version provides 15 minutes of recording with a watermark.

  • Tip: If you are serious about making videos, you might consider paying for the premium version. It is inexpensive. The features are priceless. For example, the premium features will allow you to record just the computer audio with a PC. You can also edit videos and make longer recordings.

PowerPoint: When I want to make a quick video of my presentations, I use PowerPoint. I don’t use this option to show in-depth steps.

  • Tip: The video can be shared using Office 365. Any teacher or student can get Office 365 Education for free by signing up with their school email address.

YouTube Live Streaming: I like this option because, after set up, it is a matter of clicking on a button to record. You can capture yourself talking to other people and show your faces and screens. Use this Google support site to get started: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2474026?hl=en.

  • Tip: Live-streaming video goes directly to the user’s YouTube channel and is public. Change the settings after uploading the video.

iMovie: This is for IOS operating systems. I like the way my videos look professional when I finish. The only problem is that I spend too much time playing around with it.

  • Tip: If you don’t have a MAC, iMovie is also available for the iPhone and iPad. Windows had a similar program called Windows Movie Maker. Shotcut (https://shotcut.org/) is an alternative to Windows Movie Maker. As always, use due diligence before downloading programs to your computer. Moreover, Microsoft has updated Microsoft Photo to create videos.”

Read the rest of this article here, for more ideas on hosting and other good ideas!

Training

Training Tips: Disaster Planning

US-NationalWeatherService-LogoAt our last Board meeting, we were chatting about disasters in libraries, and the assorted issues that can arise. It’s a pretty shockingly long list of things! Of course, there are high-profile disasters in the news that may happen in your library; but there are all kinds of disasters that you should also be considering and preparing to happen.

Have you looked at your library’s disaster plan lately? Does your library even have a disaster plan? You can not assume your parent organization (school, college, city, corporation, or whoever) will include you, or that they will understand enough about what you are doing to include meaningful information. When disasters strike your library, you want to be ready with procedures that will quickly help you to cope.

Think realistically about the kinds of disasters that might strike your library. In Minnesota, we do not need to worry about hurricanes; but tornadoes, power outages, and fires are all pretty likely. I have seen library policies dealing with bears in the parking lot and rattlesnakes in the stacks; if these are likely to occur in your library – set up a plan! Are you ready in case your library’s website falls victim to a ransomware demand for Bitcoin? (see Radiolab podcast: Darkrode) It is starting to be an issue for hospitals – libraries could be vulnerable without protection and backup. (Wired: Hospitals as targets).

As with so many things, we can just follow the procedures other libraries have created. If you look at your disaster plan (or the blank space where a plan should be), and see that it could use some updating, you have a few basic options:

  • call other libraries in your area to see what they are doing (we are great resources for each other!),
  • check in with your system to see what suggestions they have (see: this entry!),
  • look online at other libraries and their plans,
  • browse through plans for other types of organizations,
  • talk to your parent organization about their suggestions for updates, and ideas on how you will fit into their plans.

Here are a few resources you might look to as you prepare your own disaster planning:

This is definitely something we can work on together as a system. If you want some organized training, or a writing session where we all work together, or just someone to be a sounding board as you start your disaster plan work – let us know!