Since the start of the 21st Century, library services have changed dramatically. So has library training. Librarians have a wide array of continuing education offerings in a wide variety of formats. Librarians often pursue training or continuing education without leaving their workstations, interacting with librarians from across the state or across the country. It is a richness undreamed of just a few years ago.
The State Library staff believe that evolving library training shouldn’t stop with more offerings or more convenience. It should change the whole nature of education for librarians.
The goal is to incorporate library development directly into continuing education so that library training programs visibly contribute to excellent library services.
The State Library staff is planning to design program packages that have a broad theme, which will be developed through ELMeR video workshops, Horizon Wimba presentations, active workshop websites and lively discussion groups on WebJunction Kansas.
The librarians participating in these packages will not be passive receptors of the instructors’ ideas. They will be commenting, expanding, disagreeing and starting new threads on related topics. Since talking is one of the things librarians do best, it should be a lively discussion every time.
The participants will also be using the ideas presented to choose and build projects that will either become an active part of the library’s services or will be eliminated because they don’t meet the needs of the library’s community.
The first of these integrated administrative training programs will be sponsored in the spring of 2009 and it will be called Collection Marketing and Merchandising. On Thursday, May 7, and again on Friday, May 8, Michele Leininger will present a one-day workshop on ELMeR called Connecting Communities and Collections: Building and Merchandising Collections People Want.
Michele was formerly the Continuing Education Consultant at the State Library of Iowa. She is now the Information Experience Director at the Pierce County Library in Tacoma, Washington.
- Michele Leininger
On Thursday, May 27, Thad Hartman, the Technical Services and Collection Development Supervisor at the Topeka and Shawnee County Library, will make a presentation on Horizon Wimba called Developing Collection Neighborhoods. Thad has a background in both circulation and reference. One of his current projects is to improve the marketing and organization of the fiction and nonfiction books at his library.
On Wedneday, June 24, Leah Krotz, Director of the Belleville Public Library, will make a presentation on Horizon Wimba called Dazzling Displays and Rave Reviews.
Leah has been the director of the Belleville Public Library for 18 years. She was very pleased when Belleville was recently named a Library Journal American Star Library. Leah is an experienced presenter who has worked on many Central Kansas System and statewide projects.
Participants may attend either or both of the Wimba presentations. The Wimba programs will be archived and available for viewing if there are conflicts with the synchronous events.
To conclude their participation in the Collection Marketing and Merchandising Administrative Training Package, the participants will create a library project on Collection Management, Marketing or Merchandising and share it with the rest of the class. Some of these will be showcased, with permission, on WebJunction Kansas or on the SLK News Blog.
The registration flyer for this program may be found at:
http://www.kslib.info/ce/libadmin-spg09.html
If you have questions or concerns about this program, please call Shannon Roy at 785-296-2148 or send email to shanroy@kslib.info.