Outlining a self-driven professional development strategy for library staff, especially around emerging technologies.

1. Evolving Yourself
Renew, Reuse, Reinvent
August 17, 2015
Jennifer Koerber

2. Librarianship, as we know it, has shifted fundamentally.
I won’t say ‘changed’ because the core of our work -
providing professional & scholastic information, lifelong
learning resources, and recreational reading & activities -
hasn’t changed. But there has been a seismic shift in how
we provide those services….
The key is not resources, but attitude: making innovation,
adaptation, and change part of everyday work.
Internet Librarian 2006

3. Expect Change
The days of staying in the same job
/ role forever are long gone

4. Start Where You Are

5. My Career Journey
● 1998 = Children’s Librarian
● 2003 = Adult/Generalist Librarian
● 2005 = EXISTENTIAL CAREER PANIC
● 2006 = Internet Librarian Conference
● 2009 = Branch Manager
● 2010 = Web Services Librarian
● 2014 = Curriculum Coordinator for Public Training

6. Not a Geek
● Bachelors in Film and in English
● Library Science concentration in
Youth Services and Public Libraries
● For fun:
Beadwork
Live music / dancing
Writing
Photography
Technical theater
Collage / assemblage

7. Surrounded by Geeks
● My husband = sysadmin, network engineer,
enterprise architect, web performance
consultant, network architect
● My friends = every possible kind of geek,
from information security to programmers to
woodworkers and restaurateurs
Osmosis is awesome

8. How You Get There
● Need-to-know basis
● Build on what you know
● Play – push the buttons
● The occasional class & workshop
● Become comfortable with discomfort
(In other words, exactly what we tell patrons)

9. Be Realistic
Start with current strengths
& skills…
Do the job, push yourself…
Focus on your strongest,
most passionate interests…
… and find directions in which
to grow.
… and don’t force yourself to
be what you’re not.
… and stay aware of what else
is out there.

10. Be Realistic
● Sometimes, it’s a long slow slog
● Sometimes, you use controlled bursts
of energy
● Sometimes, you need to just jump

12. List!
1. What is your current role at work?
2. What do you enjoy most about it?
3. What are your current interests, inside
and outside of work?
4. What skills have you fostered, through
these interests? What insights?
5. List at least 5 things that you’ve learned
recently. (Ideas, technologies, job titles,
anything)

13. Interact!
1. Pair up and exchange notes.
2. Read the other person’s lists (to yourself).
3. Does anything jump out at you – possible future
roles, or themes / patterns?
4. Tell each other what you see. Any surprises?

14. Brainstorm!
1. Based on your lists and your partner’s feedback,
what possibilities do you see?
1. Pick one and list what you need to follow up on
it: training, research, money, time.
1. Is it doable – if not now, then in the next few
years?

16. Keeping Up
& Learning More
(The Tech Edition)

17. The Problem

18. Library trends & standards
Supporting library services…
…on users’ own devices & on library devices
Patron needs assessments
Emerging technology trends
General troubleshooting skills
Soft skills - presenting, public speaking,
customer service
What to Focus On?

19. Cast a Wide Net
● Social media – friends & colleagues
● Popular magazines & websites, pop culture sites
● Gizmodo, Engadget, CNet, Slashdot,
Lifehacker, ZDNet, Atlantic Cities, ThisIsColossal
● SXSW, TED / TEDx
● Major news sources: New York Times, BBC,
CNN, Time, The Economist Tech Quarterly

20. ALA & its Divisions
http://www.ala.org/groups/divs
MLS, MLA & NELA
http://www.masslibsystem.org/continuing-education/
http://masslib.org/committees
http://nelib.org/advance-your-career/
Library Journal
http://lj.libraryjournal.com
The Usual Starting Places

21. At a Tipping Point: Education, Learning, and Libraries. OCLC. Fall 2014
http://www.oclc.org/reports/tipping-point.en.html
Making Skills Everyone’s Business: A Call to Transform Adult Learning
in the United States. US Department of Education, Office of Career,
Technical, and Adult Education. February 2015
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/making-skills.pdf
Financial Literacy Education in Libraries: Guidelines and Best Practices
for Service. RUSA, BRASS, IMLS. Fall 2014.
http://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines
National Trends

22. http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/future/trends

23. http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/future/trends

24. Technology News
Library News Sources
ALA TechSource
(www.alatechsource.org/)
Publications from international,
national, state, and local library
organizations
Professional journals
Mainstream News Sources
New York Times
Washington Post
The Huffington Post
The Atlantic
The Economist Tech Quarterly
Geek News Sources
Gadgets & reviews - Gizmodo,
Engadget, CNet
News - Slashdot, ZDNet, TechCrunch,
ArsTechnica, Hacker News on
yCombinator.com
Conferences
Library conferences
Tech industry conferences
thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/
2014/01/04/10-must-attend-tech-
conferences-2014/

26. Emerging Technologies
Technical conferences – even if you don’t attend, skimming
the session topics will tell you what’s important / coming
● Tech: Consumer Electronics Show (CES) , Interop
(general IT), Macworld, Velocity (web optimization), Defcon
(security), NANOG (networks), LISA (sysadmin)
● Gaming conventions: E3, Gaming Developers
Convention (GDC)
● Manufacturer release events: Apple Worldwide
Developers Conference (WWDC), Google I/O,
Microsoft’s Tech Ed

27. Google I/O
Don’t be afraid to listen to these
online.
You know more than you think you
do.

28. Existing training classes on tech topics
Drop-in gadget or petting zoo sessions
“Bring a Thing” to meetings (show & tell)
Peer training by other staff
Attend public classes at your library or other
libraries
“Class trips” to local retailers
Working Together

29. Visit a store and play!

30. Online Training
Lynda.com
Gale Cengage Courses
Khan Academy
Goodwill Learn Free
(www.gcflearnfree.org)
General Assembly
Udemy
edX
Floqq (Spanish & Portuguese)
New Horizons

31. Library-Oriented Training
T is for Training
(tisfortraining.wordpress.co
m/) with Maurice Coleman of
the Harford County (MD)
Library System
TechSoup for Libraries
(www.techsoupforlibraries.or
g/events)
Idealware
(www.idealware.org/online-
training)
Former librarians like Crystal
Schimph and Kieran Hixon
at Kixal
(kixal.com/workshops)
Lead the Change from Library Journal
(http://lj.libraryjournal.com/lead-the-
change)
ALA Tech Source
(www.alatechsource.org/workshops)
“Advanced eCourse: Library
Technology for the Low-Tech
Librarian,” a 12-week course that
covers a broad spectrum of library-
related technology
(www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID
=11375)

32. Computers in Libraries 2015 had an entire track on
connecting to your community through technology.
(http://computersinlibraries.infotoday.com/2015/Wednesda
y.aspx#Track-B)
The Accidental Technology Trainer: A Guide for
Libraries, Stephanie Gerding, Information Today Inc.,
2007.
The Tech Set, #1-10 (2010) and #11-20 (2012), ALA
TechSource. From Set 1, Technology Training in
Libraries by Sarah Houghton and Library Camps and
Unconferences by Steve Lawson offer suggestions for
training structures outside the norm.
Library-Oriented
Resources

33. Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/diy-professional-
development-resources
Education Innovator
http://educatorinnovator.org/
Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/
Education-Oriented
Resources

34. Emerging Technologies: A Primer
for Librarians, Jennifer Koerber &
Michael P. Sauers, Rowman &
Littlefield, 2015.
“Manage the Device Deluge:
Professional Development,”
Jennifer Koerber, June 1, 2015 issue
of Library Journal.
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/06/pub
lic-services/manage-the-device-
deluge-professional-development/
From Me

35. 1. What resources do you already use to stay
informed?
1. Do you balance library-oriented and non-library
resources?
1. What sources of information have you never
considered relevant to your work before right
now?
Review!

36. Don’t be afraid of the tech

37. Even if you’re afraid of the tech

38. We are more than our fears

39. Teach What You Know

40. How it Happens
1. Have an idea / See a need
2. Do you have the skill to teach?
3. Choose the scope
4. Determine class format and duration
5. Choose visual presentation format
6. Flesh out the program: exercises, handouts, etc.
7. Present!
8. Evaluate, refine and specify

42. You need to know more about a topic
to teach it than to just do it
Can you answer the random questions?
Can you give additional details to the
advanced students?
Can you suggest next steps after your
workshop?
Do you have a goal for your students?
Yes, But Can You Teach It?

43. What you
know you
know.
What you
think you
know.
What you
know you
don’t know.

44. Overview or detailed?
Best practices?
Tips & tricks?
Specific project
Recent updates?
Comparing a variety of tools?
Choose the
Scope...Carefully

45. Draft a rough outline
Choose your class format
Set a skill level
Choose a location preference
Determine class length
Make a Plan

47. Research your topic for currency
Choose presentation format
Make the topic relevant – how is it useful?
Give examples or have samples
Plan and practice projects or exercises
Polish & Practice

49. Short and simple
Bulleted or numbered lists
Short memory jogs, not full descriptions
Use images whenever appropriate,
especially screenshots or step-by-step photos
Leave space for notes
Include your contact information
Presentations & Handouts

50. Longer sessions = more interactivity
Provide your own equipment when you can
Get every kind of adapter cable known to
humanity
Change the environment to suit you
Coffee and snacks (include protein or nuts)
Always have a backup plan
Presenting

52. Science & Education Center at Carlton College
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/leadership/
designing.html
How to Develop a Training Workshop
http://www.ehow.com/how_4965163_develop-training-
workshop.html
Planning a Workshop
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/PlanningAWorksho
p.htm
…and many more to be found by searching online for
“how to develop a workshop”
Workshop Resources

53. Thank you!
Jennifer Koerber
Librarian, Trainer, Presenter
jennifer.koerber@gmail.com
www.jenniferkoerber.com/about/