Looking for Library Training and CE Opportunities

Here are some great places to start looking - and most are free (or very cheap):

Library 2.0 Ning Post:

-This is a great list put together by Marianne Lenox. 

The Accidental Technology Trainer:

-This is a VERY comprehensive list put together by Stephanie Gerding - This is a must.  You are bound to find what you are looking for here.

The South Carolina State Library/CE Page:

-I have been keeping a list of resources for training, professional conferences and anything related to South Carolina Library related information.

LibraryTrax Page on this Blog:

-Click on the top tab named “TechTrax” and you will find links to web 2.0 tutorials and more.

The South Carolina State Library/ Calendar of upcoming events:

-You can either check this out on our homepage (http://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/home/) or click the link above.  You can also subscribe via RSS feed from our homepage.

 

Making a SPLASH for Spanish speakers in 2008!

This month, the State Library is launching SPLASH! workshops to encourage libraries to reach out to Spanish speakers. The issue of immigration has been in the local headlines for more than a year now and is a big topic in the presidential debates. Legislation pending in the S.C. State House may have implications for how we serve Spanish speakers. In the meantime, however, Latinos are coming to the library to use the computer, learn English, discover how to become Americans. Can we do more to welcome them? Yes, of course! Check out the SPLASH workshop schedule at http://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/ , and join us in getting to know our Latino customers. I’ll be posting some facts, figures and thoughts about Latinos/Hispanics in South Carolina libraries over the next few months, as the SPLASH program moves forward. SPLASH is sponsored by WebJunction and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

It’s all about customer service and continious improvement!!

While browsing my Bloglines account I read a great post about customer service. In one outline, it lists all of the qualities of customer service that libraries need to examine and honestly look at where they are. When was the last time you looked around to see what your customers are doing and how we can better serve their needs? With the competition by bookstores, the Internet, NetFlix, etc., we need to continue to be more user centered. Take a look at the post called “The customer-centered library: how to stop tweaking and start doing it with new steps for 2007.”

 

Updated PowerPoints, FAQs and Articles Posted!

I’ve posted updated PowerPoint slides from the podcasting/vodcasting classes. These slides now include many screenshots from Libsyn and Feedburner. We had some technical difficulties at one site and were not able to get to all of the sites so I wanted to make sure you had a nice overview of what these sites can do for you. I have also posted FAQs from the classes and a few recent articles that relate. If you have further questions, please contact me at stetterton@statelibrary.sc.gov. I’d be happy to help. Have a great afternoon!

 

What does YOUR community need?

The Community Needs Assessment workshop is coming soon!  Mark your calendar for April 11, and make sure to register by the deadline, April 1.    

If you have done a community needs analysis project in the past, you already know…it’s a lot of work!  But it’s a great way to understand library users (and non-users.)  We need to know all we can about our communities.  Up-to-date statistics – and the “people” stories that back up the numbers –  are our best advocacy tools. 

Here’s some good information on community assessment for small rural libraries, from the Arizona State Library: (http://www.lib.az.us/cdt/commneeds.htm)

        

Steven M. Cohen, on the Libraries Build Communities blog, suggests that we…       

          “Get out from behind that desk! How can one effectively ascertain what the community needs and what types of populations to serve if the librarian stays in the library all day. Get out into the community and take part in meetings, serve on civic boards, and be a community citizen and leader. Waiting for patrons to come into the library and ascertaining their needs is only half the picture. There may be an entire piece of the population that never uses the library. It’s easier to reach patrons that walk in the door, but they already know about the library, right? There’s probably a reason why non-library users are non-library users. Figure out why.”