Looking for new ways to approach good customer service? Mike's philosophy is if you feel good about yourself, feel good about what you are doing, and feel good about where you are doing it - positive customer service is a by-product. You go out of your way to help people because it makes YOU feel good.
See his web site at http://www.michaelmeines.com.
Jennifer is a founding member of the ALA Library Support Staff Interests Round Table and has been active in the Colorado Library Association for many years. She has found her niche in both organizations and will share with us some tips on finding ours. Visit Jennifer's website for more info about her.
A lot of research and publication has explored the traits of good leaders, but what about those that follow? Is there such a thing as a good follower? We will explore the qualities of a good follower and how great followers can make great leaders.
Speaker: Kent Slade, Electronic Services Librarian at Logan Library, Logan, UT. Also former President of the Council on Library & Media Technicians (COLT), and ALA LSSIRT Board Member.
From Aggravation to Appreciation: Turning Difficult Situations AroundWe've all experienced an encounter like this: someone approaches us at work with a question or comment that puts us on edge. We respond a bit sharply, the other becomes a bit more pushy, and the situation spins out of control. "Aggravation to Appreciation" will explore the dynamics in place during such a time. What triggers our negative responses? How can we better understand the behavior of others? What techniques might we try to head off such nonproductive exchanges? How might we even turn those aggravating moments into productive conversations?
Speaker: Amory Peck, Chair of the Whatcom County Library System Board of Trustees and owner of the consulting business The Next Step, brings years of experience and an understanding of library issues to her presentations.
Opportunities for Continuing Education in Washington Library Technician ProgramsThis session will give an overview of the educational opportunities available at the two library technician programs in the state. Several options are available, from full-time, to part-time, to distance education. Find out what is available to help you upgrade or expand your skills.
Speakers: Sue Bradley, Spokane Falls Community College, Library Technician Program, and Tony Wilson, Highline Community College, Library Technician Program
Career TransitionsAs the number of jobs continues to shrink--particular white collar jobs--people become less courageous in seeking out the perfect position. It seems enough to simply have a job and try and make it work. But sometimes it pays off to take some risks and leap back into the job market or to do your research and try to find the perfect position. How do you go about that; how do you assess your skill set and how do you position yourself for your next job--inside or outside your current organization or institution? This program will give you some pointers and some encouragement and remind everyone that they know more than they think, and that finding work happiness is possible; you just need to treat your work life like a constant learning experience.
Speaker: Cindy Cunningham has worked as a maid, waitress, paralegal and newspaper reporter and editor, not to mention worked in libraries from Stanford, to the Library of Congress, to University of Washington, to Kitsap Regional Library. She spent 6 years at Amazon.com, and is currently Director of Cataloging at Corbis, an online digital imaging company in downtown Seattle.
Communicating Effectively via E-mailWriting a message and clicking on SEND is easy. The challenging part is to create the correct tone, make the right impression, and understand the limitations of communicating via email. This session will cover the importance of email etiquette and how to get your message across.
Speaker: Mary Stillwell
Sing With the ChildrenInterested in expanding you children's services skills? Nancy Stewart is a national award-winning musician who has been writing and performing for young children and their families for twenty years. Her music workshops for teachers, parents and librarians have been highly praised for their relevant, useful, and easy to use songs and ideas.
Speaker: Nancy Stewart http://www.nancymusic.com
Interviewing for a new position is one of life's most stressful moments - it's also a time when the stakes are high. In this workshop we'll examine techniques for turning the interview to our advantage: how to determine the questions most likely to be asked and how to turn our current experiences into the currency needed for the new position.
Speaker: Amory Peck, Chair of the Whatcom County Library System Board of Trustees and owner of the consulting business The Next Step, brings years of experience and an understanding of library issues to her presentations.
Using the LC Subject Cataloging Manual to Stay Ahead of the WaveIn this session you will learn why the LC Subject Cataloging Manual is important, and learn about its structure and how to use it. The program will also highlight the most important sections of the Manual.
Speaker: Rick Newell, OCLC
Ten Tips for Better Web SearchingOK, so you've installed the Google toolbar and it's your Swiss Army knife for searching the Web. With its deceptively simple interface, Google is actually a complex search engine. And understanding its relevancy algorithm is the key to using it effectively. Come and explore some tips (and a few tricks) for using the more advanced features of Google, learn when not to use Google, and take a look at some other ways to search the Web.
Speaker: Mary Ross, Seattle Public Library
Treasures on the Web - The State Library Comes to You!Learn about new ways to identify and access historical materials at the Washington State Library. The State Library's Northwest Collection is rich in research materials for local history, family history, and genealogy. These materials date from 1853 to present. This is a great opportunity to find out what material is available online now and what is planned for the future. This could be especially helpful for anyone working with teachers, students, genealogists, or local history buffs. Marlys Rudeen and Andrea Watts will lead you through resources on the web site and demonstrate how to search the online Historical Records and the digital book projects. Hope to see you there!
Speakers: Andrea Watts and Marlys Rudeen, Washington State Library
Intellectual Freedom: Responding to Challenges with a "LIGHT" TouchCatherine Lord will share strategies to help you deal with intellectual freedom challenges. Learn how to keep from being emotionally involved in the situation and help resolve challenges positively. LIGHT Strategy
Speaker: Catherine Lord, King County Library System
Beyond Lists and Outlines: Graphical Approaches to InformationExplore graphical approaches to presenting information for different and effective ways of getting a message across, as well as using them as planning tools. From simple bubble graphs, to interactive and hypertext linked web displays, discover new ways to approach information.
Speaker: Tony Wilson, Highline Community College, Library Technician Program
As a librarian, Cindy will bring her experience in working for dot coms to examine how e-commerce has raised the bar in terms of customer expectations. These same patrons who use our libraries are also surfing online and buying from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other on-line sites. What can libraries do to stay relevant to these patrons, and what can libraries learn to make them more effective at serving web-savvy customers?
Virtual Reference 101 offers face to face discussion, interactive exercises and demonstrations of virtual reference services.
Speakers: Buff Hirko, Washington State Library & Mary Ross, Seattle Public Library
Tried & True Training TechniquesA collection of training techniques that apply in many situationsóone-on-one training, a classroom setting, working with special populations, teaching computer skills to beginners, etc. This is a great overview for anyone who finds themselves working as a trainer! You'll be encouraged to share your favorite training technique, or feel free to just learn from the group if you are a novice trainer!
Speaker: Mary Stillwell
Intellectual Freedom: Responding to Challenges with a "LIGHT" TouchCatherine Lord will share strategies to help you deal with intellectual freedom challenges. Learn how to keep from being emotionally involved in the situation and help resolve challenges positively. LIGHT Strategy
Speaker: Catherine Lord, King County Library System
Collection Development ToolsExplore the tools public library Collection Development staff use to determine appropriate materials for books, videos, music, and electronic resources. We'll explore the role of Library Journal, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and other publications.
Speaker: Kent Slade, Electronic Services Librarian, Logan Library, Logan, UT
Valuing Diversity: Using an Ancient Method to Look at Modern IssuesStorm Reyes will present a program to assist people in avoiding 'culture wars.' Often what occurs is that one doesn't recognize a situation as a cultural perception problem, rather than a 'personal' problem. Cultural differences are not always visible to the eye. Storm is a Puyallup Indian, and occasionally uses the medicine wheel to introduce people to the concept of valuing that which is unique in all of us, and the core sameness of us all.
Speaker: Storm Reyes, Pierce County Library System
A Conversation about CopyrightAlmost everyone working in a library is conscious of the need for copyright and how it applies in their library. But some may not be aware that copyright issues manifest themselves differently in different types of libraries ñ sometimes very differently. Ginny Rabago is not a lawyer, nor does she have legal training, but she has worked in a variety of libraries and has seen this phenomenon. She is interested in copyright issues and has been doing some research on it. Join Ginny in a ìconversation about copyrightî to consider what compliance means in a public library, an academic library, a special library.
Speaker: Ginny Rabago, Boeing Technical Libraries, and an iSchool MLIS program student
We've all experienced an encounter like this: someone approaches us at work with a question or comment that puts us on edge. We respond a bit sharply, the other becomes a bit more pushy, and the situation spins out of control. "Aggravation to Appreciation" will explore the dynamics in place during such a time. What triggers our negative responses? How can we better understand the behavior of others? What techniques might we try to head off such nonproductive exchanges? How might we even turn those aggravating moments into productive conversations?
Speaker: Amory Peck, Chair of the Whatcom County Library System Board of Trustees and owner of the consulting business The Next Step, brings years of experience and an understanding of library issues to her presentations.
Outreach: What It Was, What It Is, and What It Could BeAdeline Gomez has been a library technician in ten library systems over thirty years. For the last 19 years, in two library systems, Outreach has been her focus. Enjoy a short history of Outreach, what the current status is, and join in a discussion of what the future will be for Outreach Services.
Speaker: Adeline Gomez, Pierce County Library System
Waves of Change in OCLC Interlibrary LoanThis program will highlight the recent and upcoming changes in OCLC ILL, including its integration into FirstSearch and the upcoming retirement of the Passport, ILL Web, and ILL ME interfaces. Other upcoming enhancements that will be discussed include the use of OCLC ILL Policies Directory information to deflect unfillable requests, and the provision of local call number and shelf status via Z39.50 for lending requests. The session will also briefly explore what ILLiad can do for your library.
Speaker: Rick Newell, OCLC
Birds of a Feather Networking Opportunities:Author and explorer, Helen Thayer says, if you have a goal without a plan, it's only a dream. Once you set a goal, you have to keep going. There have been a lot of times where I was determined to just take the next step. Those who can take that next step are the successful people in the world. Helen will also be selling and signing her books. For more information about Helen and her adventures, see her web site at http://www.helenthayer.com.
In May 2003, the American Library Association (ALA) sponsored the 3rd Congress on Professional Education: Focus on Support Staff. The outcome was an extensive list of implementation recommendations. Jennifer Kutzik will give us an update on what has been happening with these recommendations. http://www.ala.org/ala/hrdrbucket/3rdcongressonpro/3rdcongressprofessional.htm. Visit Jennifer's website for more information about her.
Author Leslie Rule's fascination with the paranormal began when she was young. She grew up in a haunted house! Leslie's fiction writing has delved into such subjects as astral projection and reincarnation, and more recently has turned to non-fiction in Coast to Coast Ghosts: True Stories of Hauntings Across America. Check out her web site - http://www.ghostygirl.com - for more details.
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