Continuing Education Resources for Library Staff

Introvert and leadership are two words that are rarely linked together. Yet, experts say that introverts often make some of the greatest leaders. They foster new ways of thinking and offer different ways of motivating and relating to employees. Enroll in this webinar and learn to leverage your quiet strengths and management styles which will help you excel as an introvert in leadership. As a result of this program, participants will learn:

• The difference between Introverts and Extroverts
• The unique advantages of introverted leadership
• How to make the most of your hidden strengths
• Tips and tricks to make sure your voice is heard

Presenter: Erin Warnick has been a Children’s Librarian at the American Fork Library for the past 10 years. She has a Master’s of Library Science from Emporia State University. Ever since she began her career in librarianship, Erin has been dedicated to providing support to fellow librarians and the communities they serve. She is the current President-Elect for the Utah Library Association and has also served on committees for the Association for Library Service to Children. When not in a library, Erin loves visiting national parks, spending time with family and friends, and finding new ways to express her creativity. She grew up in Orem and currently lives in Pleasant Grove with her husband, two daughters, a very furry Great Pyrenees, grumpy cat, and five chickens.

Learn how the San Diego County Library has worked with county jails to provide services to individuals who are incarcerated or re-entering. This presentation serves as a primer to begin this work in your own library system. It features our roadmap for initiating a partnership, and guidance on how to adjust traditional library services for successful outcomes. We'll also discuss SDCL's successful initiatives focused on serving individuals who are justice-involved, including our Re-entry Library Card initiative and our early literacy classes for incarcerated caregivers. Lastly, tips will be shared on how to advocate for this work in your library setting.

Presenter: Carolyn Kimmel (she/her/hers) is an Adult Services Librarian with the San Diego County Library. She holds a B.A. in Theatre from Wagner College (NY), and is currently pursuing an MLIS from San Jose State University.

Presenter: Liz Vagani is a Librarian III at the San Diego County Library. She received a MLIS degree from Wayne State University in 2008. Since then, she has worked at libraries in the Midwest and California. Her wry sense of humor, commitment to irrational optimism, and dedication to inclusive library services have served her well in her current role as Branch Manager/Chief Spinner of Plates in a bustling branch.

This program is part of PCI’s collaborative learning project with California Libraries. (CALL).
 

Homelessness is a recurrent topic of concern in public libraries. At times, staff at public libraries interact with almost as many patrons experiencing homelessness as staff at shelters do. This presentation will highlight best practices and give guidance that frontline staff can use to better understand and serve this diverse population of patrons experiencing homelessness. As a result of this program, participants will:

• Learn how to assess the needs of the transient communities they serve, identify defects, and develop ways to support them
• Learn how to create relevant and impactful programs for patrons experiencing homelessness
• Gain confidence in working with patrons experiencing homelessness
• Learn how to deescalate situations in library and increase compliance with patron’s experience homelessness 
• Acquire best practices tools and techniques to better understand and serve this population 

Presenter: Nicole Bryan is a Library Information Supervisor at Brooklyn Public Library, the fifth largest library system in the United States. She has spent her career within the social services arena, developing programs and meeting constituents' needs. Currently, Nicole assesses the delivery of library services, employing trauma-informed methods, to transitional populations in public library branches and homeless shelters in Brooklyn, New York. She received her MLS degree from Long Island University. 

Unexpected disruptions, understaffed days, and uncertainty impact you and your patrons. Change is an unexpected guest, but it doesn't have to be feared. Instead, discover how to "flip" every twist and turn of change into a catalyst for positive communication, fostering resilience and unstoppable momentum. You'll boost your Bounce-Ability to improve communication, energy, and mindset. You'll get a blend of inspirational examples, strategic tactics, and Mj's trademarked techniques. Embrace change, transform challenges, and accelerate success with the Bounce-Up™ philosophy—your ticket to thriving in an ever-evolving world.  You'll walk away with Mj's powerful Bounce-Up Framework™ so that you can Bounce-Up higher and stronger. Come to this program ready to:

• Identify what drains your energy and what you can do to replenish and recharge
• Accelerate proactive communication to uplift your workplace and patrons
• Gain actionable tactics you can apply immediately to thrive during transitional time

Presenter: Mj Callaway, CSP As a former corporate sales trainer and only award-winning woman sales executive to rank #1 nationally, Mj knows first-hand the disruptions professionals, managers, and executive teams handle daily. Yet, they still need to be positive and productive. She blends her experiences together, sales, speaking and journalism, to create interactive and impactful workshops. With more than 2,000 articles published in consumer magazines under her pen name, she's interviewed hundreds of people from youth entrepreneurs to CEOs to non-profit founders to professional athletes. She has a unique ability to make others feel like they're talking to a friend. Mj is a two-time cancer survivor, certified virtual presenter, and past-president of the National Speakers Association Pittsburgh Chapter.

Beginning in 2017, updates to and work on what is now "Original RDA" was halted for the 3R project: RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign. The result is now available for review as "Official RDA". It is based on the IFLA-LRM (Library Reference Model) and includes many new terms for old concepts such as Aggregates, Application Profiles, Nomens, and Representative Expressions, and new tools such as LC's Metadata Guidance Documentation (MGD). This educational session* will explain the reasoning behind the revisions, what IFLA-LRM is, and introduce many of the new concept terms.As a result of this program. participants will recognize and understand new concept terms (that is, aggregates, representative expressions, and so forth), define the IFLA-LRM and explain its significance, and recognize an application profile.

Presenter: Bobby Bothmann is a professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato where he serves as the catalog and metadata librarian. Bobby catalogs analog and digital resources of all kinds, including books, serials, moving images, objects, cartographic resources, musical and spoken word audio recordings, and music in between many meetings. He is a member of the editorial board for Cataloging & Classification Quarterly and an active member of OLAC (OnLine Audiovisual Catalogers) where he has served in various roles including treasurer, president, and the current archivist.  He holds an MLIS from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and an MS in Geography and English Technical Communication from MSU Mankato. Bobby moonlights as an adjunct instructor for the School of Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he teaches cataloging and classification courses and tries to covert one student per semester to the cataloging side of the Force.

Learn about how the Fresno County Public Library created a model that works within their current structure providing an opportunity for staff at all levels to learn library jargon together. Understand that having a librarian who speaks, writes, and reads Spanish fluently work alongside library staff who they would typically not interact with has been a part of the work groups success.  Discover how we established a safe, welcoming environment to gather information, learn skills, and edit library signage and written texts to further the mission of providing Spanish language users with the best possible experience regardless of the lack of Spanish-literate staff. The goals of this webinar are: 

• To persuade library systems to look at their current model and be intentional about language services practices
• To persuade library systems to think about how they are currently doing translations and what they should plan for in the future

This program is part of PCI’s collaborative learning project with California Libraries. (CALL)
 
Presenter: Deborah Bernal brings years of experience developing partnerships working with a variety of communities. Deborah has worked across sectors, including nonprofits, private business, and the public sector. In the private sector she managed day-to-day activities for a low-income telecommunications program that took her to 19 counties in Central California. Since October 2016 she has served as the Fresno County Public Library Literacy Coordinator. Deborah's secret power is being Bilingual.

Presenter: Clarisa Bernabe has experience as part of the collection development team as a selector helping to develop the Spanish collection in Fresno County the 6th largest library system in California. During that time, she also co-founded the translation team (SNACK) and helped structure and standardize the process. She grew up in the Central Valley and is currently serving as a supervisor over Collection Development and Special Collections. 

You’ve been in your job for some time now. Perhaps you’ve been promoted. Other exciting professional development opportunities have come your way. But recently—not so many. Your daily routine has become drudgery. You watch the clock, looking forward to your lunch break and the end of the working day. You know you’re good at your job. You earn the praise of your supervisors. But you’re bored and find few challenges to keep the spark you once had for your profession alive. Simply put, you feel stuck. You’re in a rut, and you’re at a loss as to how to escape it short of finding a new job (and that’s often easier said than done). But all is not lost. Many of us at one point or another in our careers find ourselves in similar circumstances. Fortunately, we have options for identifying and learning from them. We do so by applying time-tested strategies to reinvigorate our work and life. In other words, the passion and enthusiasm we once had can return if we take action. This webinar is designed to help show you how to escape your rut and resume a productive and engaging work life. By attending it, you’ll learn:

• The signs of being in a rut at work
• Strategies designed to spark your creativity in your job
• How to apply what you’ve done to reinvigorate your daily activities—and to escape your rut

Presenter: Mitchell Friedman, EdD, APR develops people. Known as an enthusiastic, energetic, and insightful educator and consultant, he relishes opportunities to help others to develop their skills and abilities on the path to achieving their full potential. Dr. Friedman teaches leadership, management communication, organizational behavior, and public relations at universities located throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Friedman also helps a range of organizations to develop the communications and leadership skills of their employees.

This hour-and-a-half webinar will guide attendees on how to develop and implement a virtual program designed to promote Spanish resources at your library. Engage in interactive exercises that will help you draft your future virtual drop-in hour in español... step by step. As a result of this program, attendees will learn how to:

• Address digital literacy from culturally competent frameworks
• Increase the use of Spanish library resources and programs 
• Amplify community building through virtual interactions

Presenter: Ana Villalpando is a doctoral student at University of California, San Diego. Since her career in public libraries started in 2016, Ana has prioritized advocating for language justice, equal access to information and 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. 

Helping leisure readers is a core service at all public libraries. It is something library staff do each and every day, often without changes in how they perform this service for years, if ever. But there is a lot more "new" in the tried-and-true world of Readers Advisory than you may realize. Join international Readers' Advisory expert, Becky Spratford, as she walks you through some of the biggest trends in publishing and shows you how to best serve your leisure readers in 2024, starting immediately.

Presenter: Becky Spratford [MLIS] is a Readers' Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist and a horror review column for Library Journal. Known for her work with horror readers, Becky is the author of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror, Third Edition [ALA Editions, 2021]. She is on the Shirley Jackson Award Advisory Board and is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association and currently serves as the Association’s Secretary and organizer of their annual Librarians’ Day. You can follow Becky on X @RAforAll.  

The future is here - learn how artificial intelligence is transforming libraries! Join our insightful webinar to discover how leading libraries leverage AI to improve programs, empower patrons, streamline operations, and offer cutting-edge services. We’ll explore real-world examples and demo the latest AI applications for tasks like research, readers’ advisory, marketing, data analysis and routine writing. Take advantage of this opportunity to prepare your library for an AI-enabled future. As a result of this program, participants will be able to: 

• Share actionable strategies to implement AI in ways that augment (rather than replace) human expertise
• Understand how libraries big and small can make the most of AI to create more valuable, personalized experiences for patrons and new efficiencies for staff

Presenter: Kira is a Virtual Reference Specialist for Florida's Ask A Librarian service and helps coordinate Florida's statewide delivery service. With Master’s Degrees in Library Science and Education, Kira brings a strong educational foundation to her work. She is passionate about helping people find the information they need. Additionally, she freelances as a research consultant for journalists. Her background includes experience as an elementary school teacher and childbirth educator. Kira's interests lie in teaching, technology, and travel. She is also an aspiring prompt engineer, and she is excited to see what the future holds for this emerging field.

Are you looking for new picture books to share in your classroom, curriculum, or collection? This presentation will feature the “best of the best” from the 2023 publishing crop. A variety of books will be featured, including quality read aloud books, distinguished illustrations, and picture books about diversity and inclusion. Log-in and enjoy this hour-long event. As a result of this program, attendees will:

• Develop a list of new picture books that connect to the preschool and kindergarten audience, both as read-aloud performance and one-to-one reading sessions
• Learn how to choose diverse books for collections and programming, with a wide variety of themes, tones, subjects, and illustration styles. Acquire simple techniques to analyze picture book art
• Identify books that align with kindergarten readiness skills and make connections to other books while discovering new authors and illustrators

Presenter: Katie Clausen is the Early Literacy Services Manager at Gail Borden Public Library. She completed her MLIS from Dominican University and holds an M.A. in Children’s Literature from Simmons College. She has presented at the Illinois Library Association’s Annual Conferences, ALSC Institute, Opening Minds Early Childhood Conference, and the National Network of Medical Libraries (NNLM). Check out Katie’s articles in the ILA Reporter and Children & Libraries: The Journal of ALSC. Katie’s specialties include: early literacy, children’s literature evaluation, play-based learning, and best storytime practices.

• eAccessibility Evaluating Your Library’s Success Indicators and Scalable Staff Training
• Podcasting and Your Library
• Grow and Strengthen Your Team
• Engaging Online Community Members