Michael Stephens

users think of us as books
technology is just a tool

let’s expand the brand (from the “OCLC Perceptions” report):
– need to market ourselves, our profession, ourselves (be a sponge!)
– need to tell the stories of what happens in our libraries
– need to be transparent (experiences users have, not just numbers)
– break down barriers; think about the stories that your library is telling, especially in terms of signage
– go where the users are (Karen Schneider’s “The User Is Not Broken”) via things like instant messaging, adding user comments to the catalog,
– adopt a 2.0 philosophy; plan for physical and online experience
– learn from the gamers
– create a culture of trust, with patrons and with staff
– 5 phrases he never wants to hear in libraries again
 – we’ve always done it this way
 – he or she is a roadblock to anything new
 – the IT department won’t let us
 – I don’t have time for _________________
 – our director doesn’t like technology

plan, dream, & innovate
– emerging technologies committee
– have good meetings
– don’t be afraid to try

Helene Blowers

thought of herself as a “scout” at Computers in Libraries last year
found Michael Stephens and Michael Casey at the conference and for the cost of two staff coming to a conference, she brought them to her library for the whole staff to hear

loves “e’s” – empowering, expanding, evolving

Why L2?
life comes out you fast; showed Fabio with gray hair :-p

does training automatically mean learning? no!
getting out of your box

wanted to:
– encourage staff to take responsibility for their own learning
– reward staff for taking the initiative to complete 23 self-discovery exercises

how many in the room are at libraries with summer reading program? (all the hands went up)
this staff training program was the “summer reading program” for staff
– spread out over weeks
– self-paced
– reward the readers

have to do all of these things with your staff, too

“it’s not a training program – it’s a learning program”
they did no workshops, no tutorial sessions, no handouts or cheat sheets
just dangled the carrot, made suggestions via the exercises, and encouraged them to jump in the pool and play

gave MP3 players to everyone who completed the “23 things”
are having an additional drawing for a laptop
program was based on Stephen Abrams’ article about “43 things” you could to for self-learning about new tools

have 352 of 500+ staff signed up
24–branch library system, program was open to all levels of staff
has already given out 141 MP3 players

resulting in changing

blogging, photos & images, RSS & newsreaders, play week, tagging & folksonomies, wikis, online applications & tools, podcasts videos & downloadable audio; plus a month of extra exploration time
believes less than 2% were comfortable with downloadable audio, and yet they’re investing thousands of dollars in it each year; needed to put tools in their staffs’ hands that
each participant blogs their experiences to share with each other

staff are having a lot of fun creating their own images, etc.; created their own avatars, which wasn’t part of the program
built the program on completely free sites – didn’t have to pay for any of it
her library’s web services team didn’t have to set up a single thing

Three most important exercises in her mind:
1. review/self-reflection – using blogging to review habits of lifelong learning; it’s in their mission statement, it should apply to the staff, too
2. looked at OCLC NextSpace report – 5 perspectives on Library 2.0 – had participants pick one and reflect on it; our communities are changing, not just physical spaces – we need to be out there
3.

staff relied on each other & gained self-confidence in their own skills

Yarra Plenty Library across the country has started its own “ Web 2.0Bullent Train” Learning 2.0 program

lessons learned:
– build a program for late bloomers
– allow participants to blog anonymously
– communicate weekly using 1.0 methods
– focus on discovery & encourage challenges
– encourage staff to use each other & work together
– remember that it’s not about acceptance or *doing it right* – it’s about exposure & getting outside of our boxes
– & continually encourage staff to play!!!

audience question: did most of the staff use personal or staff time to do this?
Helene: it varied from branch to branch, although administration encouraged them to do it on staff time; some staff had so much fun and enjoyed it so much that it spilled over into their own time

il2006