In all that we have covered so far, it has become evident that in almost every area of library and information science, lifelong learning is a must. Technology and practice are always being researched and systems are constantly being upgraded in an effort to better services. In light of this, it is up to a Librarian to stay abreast of the current trends, if not in front of them. So how do we accomplish this? We start off earning our degree which works more as a springboard then an end. From there, we attend meetings, trainings, conferences, staff development days, and even learn from each other as well as with hands-on activities. Whatever the source of learning, their is no questioning the need for perpetual training. As with everything, and every part of the library, their are experts within each section. And at some point during every librarian's career they may and will be called upon to teach or train their fellow employees, volunteers, or even library patrons.
The basic theory of learning that states all minds have different modes or ways of learning (i.e. tactile, kinesthetic, audio, visual, etc.) can (and should) be applied every time one trains or teaches. Have you ever sat in a conference or a training and had trouble following a presentation that was a lecture but had no visuals, movement, or other form of interactive learning component? I think we all have had an experience where we were either lost, bored, or walked away learning nothing. This was probably not due to a lack of interest or care about one's job. What generally happens in these scenarios are presenters tend to teach the way they feel most comfortable learning while, during their presentation, many of their colleagues may not be able follow or may even walk away bored and unenlightened. Though librarians may not have the time and background to formulate complex trainings that accomplish all angles of learning styles, having a background on basic teaching ideas and techniques can greatly increase the success rate and is a skill librarians should definitely have.
Knowledge of ways to present information is also a key component in efficient presentations or staff trainings. Knowledge of how to use Powerpoint other basic training tools are crucial in order to present to a medium to large group. Furthermore, when staff are unable to convene together for a staff presentation it can also be helpful to know how to work within virtual realms and to be able to upload trainings to the web via photo sharing tools, Google Groups or Google Docs, Youtube and Blogger are just a few examples. This way, one can post training documents for viewing when staff (or anyone interested in the topic-depending on privacy controls and sharing capabilities) are available.
Demonstrative Works
In Artifact 1, I present a multi-demensional training that is presented in bulk as a Powerpoint presentation in two parts. It was designed as a mock training (though is ready to be used in a real setting), as a team with Megan DeTour (who has allowed me to use her name here), to be presented in a live setting at a Staff Development Day. It is an introduction to Teens and Teen Patrons as well as Services and programming to Teens. It includes, in conjunction with the Powerpoint, a script and paper about the training, annotated bibliographies and further reading for both Librarians and recommendation ideas for Teens. The kit is colorful and high-interest that gives librarians an introduction to both today's trends and today's Teens.
In Artifact 2, demonstrates how resources for patrons can also be helpful for librarian's looking to add range and knowledge to a specified topic or genre. In this blog, I created a specialized topic on Canadian Children's Literature. I started off with little knowledge on the topic and not only had to research and train myself on the topic but after finishing found that many librarian's expressed an interested in looking at the blog in hopes of enriching their knowledge on Canadian authors and their works. It demonstrates my ability to create informational databases that serve both librarians as a training and reference tool as well as a toll for patrons.
In Artifact 3, I present a special project I worked on with a group of 4 students. We were required to present a genre introduction, and in our case, we chose Manga. Manga is often confused with Graphic Novels and is even mis-shelved as such in many libraries. Manga differs from graphic novels in many ways and was originally created in Japan just after World War II as a mode of political dissent in a climate that political dissent was outlawed. The way we presented our Genre was by video. While everyone created their own portion of the video via Powerpoint (much like a traditional trainings), I took each part and strung them together to create a cohesive product that could be viewed anywhere and present "together" even though we all lived in different cities or states! This artifact demonstrates both my ability to overcome physical boundaries in trainings, but it also illustrates my ability to use technology to my advantage while training colleagues.
Artifact 1: Teen Services - Training Kit for "Mock Staff Development Day"
Kit Includes Five Documents:
- Training Kit General Overview + PPT Script
- Powerpoint Presentation Part 1: Meet Today's Teens
- Powerpoint Presentation Part 2: Services & Programming for Teens (because of the size of this particular file, note that it must be downloaded to view)
- Staff: Further Reading Bibliography + Annotations
- A Handful of Great Teen Titles (Techno-Geek Genre) + Annotations
Artifact 2: Background and Materials: Canadian Literature for Children (Librarian Training and Resources) - Canadian Illustrator Introduction (Powerpoint) & Database of Canadian Materials for Children
Artifact 3: Genre Training - Introducing Manga!
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