Training resources from the State Library of Oregon are supported in whole by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act administered by the State Library of Oregon.
The following resources are available to staff, volunteers, and board members from all Oregon academic, public, school, and tribal libraries.
View upcoming training events related to services and programs offered by the State Library of Oregon and free online training events as compiled by the State Library of Wyoming in the new training calendar. New events are added weekly and online conferences are listed below the calendar.
Basic Library Skills Academy
The State Library is pleased to announce the new Basic Library Skills academy -- open and free to everyone. This new academy covers introductory level tutorials and webinars on collection development, technical services, public programming and services, and more. Directors can use this resource to help onboard new staff and volunteers; staff can learn more about the overall operations of a library. No registration or user account necessary; however with a user account, Niche Academy will help you pick up where you left off.
New in the Oregon Library Staff Academy (Niche Academy):
Each week, the latest tutorials and recorded webinars are collected in their own category, New Tutorials and Webinars. Highlights include:
And many more can be found in the New Webinars and Tutorials section.
Need access to Oregon’s Library Staff Academy? Just fill out this form (available to Oregon library staff, volunteers, and board members). Then you can get started here: https://my.nicheacademy.com/oregonstaff.
Trainings by Ryan Dowd
LYRASIS
People Connect Institute (PCI) Webinars
Each Wednesday from 11:00a - 12:00p PT, explore new, relevant topics during a live webinar from People Connect Institute. These webinars will also be recorded and available about one week later in the Oregon Library Staff Academy / PCI Webinars category. For titles and registration information, please visit the PCI Webinars section. This resource is available to Oregon library staff, volunteers, and board members.
Statewide Databases
EBSCO LearningExpress Library is the statewide subscription for practice tests, skills-building for math, reading, and writing, computer skills tutorials, e-books and career development tools; for training resources and more, visit this resource page on EBSCO LearningExpress Library.
Tech-Talk Newsletter (electronic)
Provides how-to technology, communications, and leadership tips. While not written specifically for library staff, the State Library regularly receives positive feedback about this service.
The following calendar shows free online training events as compiled by the Maine State Library and training events related to services and programs offered by the State Library of Oregon. To see a text version this month's free events listed by category, please visit the WebJunction page on Free Training or download the PDF version. Online conferences are listed below the calendar.
Use the drop down arrow next to the Agenda tab to select one or both calendars to view: "State Library of Oregon" and/or the "Continuing Education Calendar".
Thursday, November 14 (7:00a - 5:00p PT): LibraryCon Live (Library Journal and School Library Journal)
Join Library Journal and School Library Journal for our eighth annual LibraryCon Live! We're excited to present a day-long celebration of fandom, spotlighting genre fiction for adults and teens with panels devoted to comics and graphic novels, horror, sf/fantasy, and more. In addition to panels and keynotes, we're also offering fast-track learning sessions hosted by librarians and studio spotlights focusing on visual artists. Plus, network online while exploring the virtual exhibit hall, where you'll hear from publishers about their newest books, download galleys and resources, and engage in live chats with featured authors and illustrators. Whether you're a public or school librarian, an educator, or a superfan, don't miss this chance to meet with some of your favorite creators! For more information and to register, visit: https://www.libraryjournal.com/event/libraryconlive2024
Tuesday, December 10: Penguin Random House Winter 2024 Virtual Book and Author Festival (Library Journal and School Library Journal)
A free day-long event celebrating reading, authors, and librarians everywhere! Enjoy a day packed with author panels and interviews, book buzzes, virtual shelf browsing, and adding to your TBR pile. You’ll hear from many of your favorite authors, whose work runs the gamut from Picture Books to Young Adult titles to the best new Fiction and Nonfiction for adults. There is something of interest for every reader. Attendees will also have the opportunity to check out the virtual exhibit hall, access eGalleys, and enter to win prizes and giveaways.
Have a topic you'd like to suggest for a presentation and/or discussion? Please let us know! Looking for recordings from previous Topic Talks? See below the upcoming schedule.
Check back soon for new topics in 2022!
October 27, 2021 - Oregon Job Seekers: Who They Are and How Libraries Can Help
As extended unemployment benefits come to an end this summer, libraries anticipate an increase in the number of job seekers in their communities. This session will provide an overview of Oregon job seekers, focusing on trends and emerging areas of employment as the Oregon economy recovers. It will also present information about the characteristics of current job seekers and provide ideas for designing services to better support this important group of library users.
Presenters: Liza Morehead, Research & Data Analyst, Worksystems, Inc. (A 501(c)3 non-profit organization that pursues and invests resources to improve the quality of the workforce in the City of Portland, Multnomah and Washington Counties.) Michele Martin, Director of Technical Assistance, Director of New Start Career Network & NJ Career Network Online Job Seeker Community. John J. Heldrich, Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Video recording: Video recording: Niche Academy (with slides, resources, etc.) or YouTube.
October 13, 2021 - Virtual Meet-up with Library Support & Development Services
Meet the Staff! Join your friendly library support staff this hour to hear about who we are and what we're up to. Bring your questions, all are welcome! Hosted by the Library Support staff: Greta Bergquist, Jennifer Cox, Ross Fuqua, Darci Hanning, Jennifer Mauer, Tamara Ottum, Arlene Weible, Ferol Weyand, and Program Manager, Buzzy Nielsen.
Video recording: YouTube
July 20, 2021 - Northwest Digital Heritage
Katie Henry (Oregon Heritage Commission), Evan Robb (Washington State Library), and Ross Fuqua (State Library of Oregon) hosted a session (including Q&A) about the new cross-state, interagency partnership, Northwest Digital Heritage. Learn about this new program which seeks to help public libraries and heritage organizations in Oregon build and share their historic and cultural collections broadly through a newly established, regional service hub of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).
Video recording: YouTube.
March 30, 2021 - Learn all about: Oregon Documents Depository
Jey Wann, Oregon Documents Coordinator, discusses the history of the Oregon Documents Depository Program, describes how to access State Library’s Oregon Documents Collection, and features some interesting, useful, fun, and even wacky, Oregon government publications.
Reference librarian Dave Hegeman covers the many ways Oregon documents can be used to reference, including laws and rules, statistics, and notable reference sources.
Video recording: Niche Academy (with slides, resources, etc.) or YouTube
March 16, 2021 - County Law Libraries and YOU
Oregon’s county law libraries provide invaluable services to the general public and legal community. They provide specialized legal resources and staff guidance to assist with legal matters and research.
In this session, join Amy Gregory from the Washington County Law Library and Jenny Pedersen from Deschutes Public Library to learn more about Oregon’s law libraries. Amy and Jenny will share examples of services offered by county law libraries, the types of resources available, and how the public can access those services and resources.
Video recording: Niche Academy (with slides, resources, etc.) or YouTube.
January 13, 2021 - Shared Learning: Providing Trauma-Informed Services in Small and Rural Libraries
How can staff in small and rural libraries adopt a trauma-informed approach without access to the resources that a larger library or a library in an urban community may have? That's just what several Oregon librarians set out to learn by participating in a recent Infopeople course, "Providing Trauma-Informed Services in Small and Rural Libraries." Come listen to their take-aways and hopefully leave with some of your own!
Video recording: Niche Academy (with additional resources) or YouTube.
December 9, 2020 - Winning Library Grants: An In-Depth Approach
Ready to learn the best method for writing grant proposals to give you the competitive edge? Discover how to plan and write grant proposals, including the nitty-gritty essentials of needs assessments, project development, and outcome measurement. Find out who gives funding best suited for your library and how to find grant applications (including five free resources for finding grant library funders and a funder’s wish list). Join Stephanie Gerding as she shares common grant proposal components and the top five tips for writing winning proposals. Your grant work will become easier and more effective! Access to the recording is limited to Oregon library staff, volunteers, board members, Friends and foundation members, please request access here.
December 2 - Winning Library Grants: Beginner Tips in 30 Minutes
Are you new to grant writing? Stephanie Gerding’s webinars are known for being practical and easy to understand. Learn the basic process of grant work and the shortcuts that will enable you to start winning grants now. Discover the most important thing to keep in mind when doing library grant work, easy planning steps, grant sources for beginners, and the top ten tips for success. You CAN win grants for your library! Access to the recording is limited to Oregon library staff, volunteers, board members, Friends and foundation members, please request access here.
November 18, 2020 - Library Innovation in COVID Times
Oregon libraries of all types are responding to the challenge of service during COVID times with a wide array of innovative programs and services. Innovation may include new services, but can also mean offering traditional services in different ways.
State Library staff have been collecting stories and want to celebrate the great work happening in the Oregon library community. In this session, Buzzy Nielsen and Arlene Weible will share examples and help participants connect with other library staff to learn more about how they may implement these ideas in their own community. Please come and share your own innovation stories or just listen and gain inspiration from your library colleagues across the state.
Video recording: YouTube or Niche Academy; download presentation (with embedded links)
October 20, 2021 - Virtual Programming Meetup
Have you been working to maintain connections to your community virtually? Would you like some ideas and strategies? This recorded session has your colleagues taking virtual programming in a variety of directions. From digital rooms to recorded demos, staff are working to help community members feel connected to the library in tangible ways. Each panelist briefly shared about a virtual strategy their library is using and there and at the end of the session, audience members were able to share their own endeavors and ask questions. Greta Bergquist moderated.
Panelists:
Video recording: YouTube or Niche Academy (with supporting resources)
September 29, 2020 - Virtual Meet-up with Library Support & Development Services
This is your chance to learn more about Library Support & Development Services and what we can do for your library. Hosted by the Library Support staff: Greta Bergquist, Ross Fuqua, Darci Hanning, Jennifer Mauer, Tamara Ottum, Arlene Weible, Ferol Weyand, and our new Program Manager, Buzzy Nielsen. Library Support provides services for all types of libraries in Oregon: academic, law, public, school, tribal, you name it! We will take a bit of time introducing you to our services and leave plenty of time for your questions. This session is useful to any library worker or supporter who’s interested in learning more about the State Library’s free services available to help make local libraries’ lives easier.
Video recording. Library Support and Development Services website. Contact Us web page.
August 7, 2020 - In partnership with OLA's Public Library Division: "Centering Race in Library Reopening: Opportunities for Systems Change".
Sonja Ervin, Equity and Inclusion Manager at Multnomah County Library, will talk about the work and progress Multnomah County Library has made with diversity, equity, and inclusion. She will also include things you can do at your library, no matter the size of your library. There will be time for questions and answers after her presentation. This presentation is free for all in the library community, and will be recorded for viewing at a later date.
Video recording (hosted in Niche Academy, no login in required) and the Presentation slides (PDF)
June 17, 2020: PL stats (COVID-specific) - an update
June 10, 2020: Check-In: How's It Going?
June 3, 2020: Unemployment and job-seeking services
May 27, 2020: Having difficult conversations with patrons
May 20, 2020: Reference during the pandemic: challenges and opportunities
May 13, 2020: Reopening Oregon (Governor’s Plan) and Libraries
May 6, 2020: Statistics - how to capture our work during the pandemic
April 29, 2020: Staging a return to library services: planning for a post-quarantine library
April 22, 2020: Services for Spanish speakers during COVID-19
Each Wednesday from 11:00a - 12:00p PT, explore new, relevant topics during a live webinar from People Connect Institute. These webinars will also be recorded and available a few days later in the Oregon Library Staff Academy / PCI Webinars category.
Request your registration links for these upcoming webinars. Note: all PCI Webinars (live and recorded) are limited to Oregon library staff, volunteers, board members, Friend and Foundation members.
October 30: Succeeding with Community Partnerships
The public library is often called on to be “all things to all people.” As the list of “all things” continues to grow it is getting harder to deliver on this expectation. Partnering with community can be the answer to solve this need. Identifying the needs of community and then partnering with the correct resource can be a win-win solution for patrons and others. There is no need to recreate the wheel and there are significant benefits involved for the library and the community partner. Attendees will learn how to:
Presenter: Nicolle Davies is a library leader, speaker, and consultant. Davies serves as the State Librarian for Colorado. She holds both a Master’s in Public Administration and a Master’s in Library and Information Sciences. Davies served as the Executive Director of the Charleston County Public Library in South Carolina, and the Arapahoe Library District in Colorado. She was named Library Journal’s 2016 Librarian on the Year. Before coming to libraries, Davies worked in broadcast journalism and public relations. She is considered an expert in policy design, advocacy, leadership, public relations, and communications.
November 6: Digital Navigators at the Library
Digital Navigator programs can help expand libraries' capacity to help your patrons access and use technology. Now is an especially opportune time to start or refresh a Digital Navigator program at your library. Increased interest in this model from potential community partners, paired with limited-time funding opportunities, can help libraries establish a sustainable service. In this webinar, you will learn:
Presenter: Audrey founded Co/Lab Capacity LLC because she believes that the most meaningful futures emerge from community collaboration. Audrey helps libraries authentically engage and center their communities through a variety of services, including strategic planning, leadership and Board development, team building, training, and executive coaching. Her consulting is informed by more than a decade of practical experience in public libraries and a doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership. Her dissertation research focused on increasing organizational capacity for equity, diversity, and inclusion through community-led programming. She also offer subject matter expertise in design thinking, digital equity, and economic development. Learn more at https://www.colabcapacity.com.
November 13: Decoding Body Language: Myths and Truths
For this workshop, we will unlock the secrets of non-verbal communication. We will spend time identifying the nuance and importance of non-verbals as well as examine some of the most widely held myths of body language. Finally, you will learn transferable communicative skills to accurately interpret and respond to the non-verbal communication we constantly send and receive. Attendees will:
Presenter: Dr. Stevie M. Munz, Ph.D. is an award-winning teacher and researcher with 10+ years of experience in the communication field. She has led hundreds of discussion forums, presentations, trainings, and workshops. As a communication expert, she is passionate about developing your communication power skills!
November 20: Evaluating Muslim Representation in Children's Literature: Insights from the Hijabi Librarians Toolkit
In this workshop, librarians Mahasin Aleem and Ariana Hussain will evaluate Muslim representation in youth literature through a critical lens, utilizing their Hijabi Librarians Toolkit for Evaluating Muslims in KidLit alongside Ed Trust's Tool for Representational Balance in Books. Participants will explore key themes, challenges, and best practices in assessing how Muslim characters and narratives are portrayed in literature for young readers. As a result of this program, attendees will gain:
Presenter: Mahasin Abuwi Aleem is a library services manager for Contra Costa County Library. Before working for Contra Costa County Library, she was employed by Oakland Public Library (OPL) and served as OPL's Collection Management Librarian for Children's Services. She is co-founder of Hijabilibrarians.com, a collective of Muslim librarians who evaluate books that feature Muslim protagonists and Islamic-themed content.
Presenter: Ariana Sani Hussain is a teacher librarian at the Blake School in Hopkins, Minnesota. Ariana reviews for Kirkus, Horn Book, and School Library Journal, has served on multiple book evaluation committees, and is currently chairing the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) Literature Awards: Young Adult Book Committee, contributing to the 2024 We Are Kid Lit Collective Summer Reading List, and is a co-founder of Hijabi Librarians.
November 27: The Thanks Giving Challenge
The Thanksgiving Holiday is about reflecting on our blessings and acknowledging our gratitude for the people and things in our lives that bring us feelings of joy and peace. It feels good to celebrate the holiday with family, friends and loved ones, so why not make the spirit of your Thanksgiving even bigger and better? Join Holly and Andrew as they challenge you to take the Thanks Giving Challenge! They will share their experiences of taking the Thanks Giving Challenge and the life-enriching benefits that they and you can experience. Andrew has been developing and conducting training programs for library organizations for more than twenty years. He has presented Web-based, On-line, and Face-to-Face sessions on Customer Service and Communication Skills in the U.S. and many countries around the world.
Presenter: Andrew’s programs are filled with proven techniques that attendees can immediately apply with their difficult and challenging customer behaviors. He is the past president of the Haywood County Library Board of Trustees in Western North Carolina.
Presenter: For over 13 years, Holly Klingler has been training people in a variety of career fields on how to maximize their communication, creativity, and critical thinking skills. She has presented at the Akron Women’s Bar Association, the Ohio Certified Public Accountants Annual Conference, the Hudson Job Corp., and has trained library staff for over twelve years, eight of which were as the Continuing Education trainer at the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System.
December 4: Interdepartmental and Intergenerational English Learning Programming
Even within the same library system, our understanding of our patrons’ needs varies immensely. As different as library departments may seem, combining our insights enriches our understanding of the community we serve and their interconnection throughout generations.
This webinar describes how to plan an interdepartmental and intergenerational program, taking a project-based English learning initiative as a parting point. Its goal is to delineate the steps to conduct this type of programming and to provide an example of interdepartmental planning engaging literacy and community services. Attendees will learn how to:
Presenter: Ana Villalpando is a doctoral student at University of California, SanDiego. Since her career in public libraries started in 2016, Ana has prioritized advocating for language justice, equal access to informationand addressing systemic inequities through conscious library programming. Ana's work has been presented at Reforma National Conference, California Library Association Conference, Seguimos Creando Enlaces Binational Conferences, and California Libraries Learn Academy.
December 11: Who’s On First: Cleaning Up Communication
Communication is essential to running a productive and effective workplace. We all have different communication styles and may unwittingly create confusion or discord. This program explores numerous ways we can improve how we communicate and decrease frustration while boosting cooperation. As a result of this program, attendees will:
Presenter: Laura Greco, RN, M.Ed. is a certified wellness coach and speaker who facilitates learning and changing habits. She helps professionals eliminate burnout, manage stress, create life balance, and rekindle their sense of purpose and joy. Self-care (body, mind, and spirit) is the basis for well-being and we all have the capacity to make positive lifestyle changes are two of her foundational beliefs. She is the author of Wellness Made Simple. For more information, please visit her website: https://www.YouBloomWellness.com.
December 18: How to Be More Mindful in 2025
With the approach of winter solstice, we find ourselves on the threshold of a new transition. This can be a wonderful time to start winding down, to reflect and celebrate the year that we are leaving behind, and to connect with the yearnings that we would like to see in the year ahead. Join us for a special mindfulness hour as we gather to pause, reflect, and set our intentions for the upcoming year. This session will guide you through gentle mindfulness practices that help you reconnect with yourself, honor your journey, and envision the path forward with clarity and purpose. What to expect in this program:
This is more than just a webinar; it's an opportunity to create space for yourself amid the holiday bustle. Allow this next hour to be a nurturing pause that replenishes your spirit and aligns your actions with your deepest aspirations. Let mindfulness be the bridge that carries you gracefully into the new year!
Presenter: Aiko is certified by Mindful Schools and trained in Nonviolent Communication through BayNVC. Her background in Biology, Pedagogy and Buddhist philosophy allow for a unique secular mindfulness offering where participants can investigate how to bring more awareness into their work, personal and relational lives. For more information on Aiko’s work, please visit https://www.rememberingtruenature.com or contact aiko@rememberingtruenature.com.
PCI (People Connect Institute) Webinars - Archived
Recorded webinars are available to staff, volunteers, board members, and Friends and Foundation members of Oregon libraries through the Oregon Library Staff Academy. Need access? Please use this request form and select "I would like access to: The Oregon Library Staff Academy".
From the OLA EDI and Antiracism Special Committee:
EDI Antiracism Toolkit Now Available:
PLD Director's Training Session on the EDI Antiracism Toolkit, recorded on 1/29/21 (YouTube, approximately 2 1/4 hours).
Be sure to visit the OLA EDI Antiracism Committee web page.