MLA Thursday cont.
Other sessions I attended on Thursday included Ding Dong Reference Is Dead, or Is It?; a program on using wikis within your organization; and a discussion group on growing new librarians from within our own staff.
Ding Dong Reference is Dead... was led by BCPL's own Information Relevance workgroup but also included presenters from Cecil and Washington Counties. Some good points: make sure all circ staff know how to show customers how to use the catalog and access their patron records through your website; allow customers to rate your titles and add reviews to the catalog; post training modules on your website; and make unique local content available on your website. Book Mate is an interesting service offered by Cecil County. Patrons fill out a survey with their reading interests and give it to staff. Within a week, staff contact the patron with reading suggestions. Washington County will begin a similar service soon, but the survey will be on their website, and they plan on getting back to the patron within 3 days.
The wiki program was the primary reason I attended MLA. I'm very interested in how BCPL can use wikis for documents that need frequent revision and/or collaboration. First the presenters went over the differences between blogs and wikis and how you would choose which is the more appropriate format for your task. Blogs are best for static informational posts on which people are allowed to comment, but the content is not changed. Wikis, on the other hand, are meant to be interactive, living documents that metamorphose as people collaborate on them.
Workplace benefits of using wikis are a growth in collaborative work, simplified document management, it establishes an institutional memory, increases staff feedback "voice", and improves customer service. And it only requires Internet access--no special software is needed by users, although your organization does need the software to create and maintain a wiki. However, there are free software options as well as fee-based ones.
The presenters went through the process they used for setting up the wiki from setting the goals for the wiki, considerations in choosing wiki software options, to issues that came up once the wiki was created and went live.
Some of the possible uses for wikis in BCPL are: iPOF, the training checklists for new staff, the staff directory, the staff handbook, the CARL Circulation Manual, and any other manual that gets revised by a group of staff. I think wikis offer great opportunities for staff to more efficiently collaborate on document revisions.
The last session I went to was a discussion forum about growing our own staff. The intent was to share helpful information with current or prospective MLS students and ask them what kind of support they'd find most useful from their organization. Students indicated that the most helpful support would be time to do assignments at work, money to help offset school expenses, and mentoring. Helpful information shared by former MLS students included points to keep in mind when comparing various schools' programs, don't overextend yourself if you work full-time and have a young family, and know your learning style and decide if a particular program is a good fit for your style. Some attendees pointed out that discounts and scholarships available to MLA members need to better marketed as do opportunities for internships. The presenters are trying to develop a mentoring program within MLA and have created a website for this purpose http://www.mdlib.org/MLS_Mentor
Ding Dong Reference is Dead... was led by BCPL's own Information Relevance workgroup but also included presenters from Cecil and Washington Counties. Some good points: make sure all circ staff know how to show customers how to use the catalog and access their patron records through your website; allow customers to rate your titles and add reviews to the catalog; post training modules on your website; and make unique local content available on your website. Book Mate is an interesting service offered by Cecil County. Patrons fill out a survey with their reading interests and give it to staff. Within a week, staff contact the patron with reading suggestions. Washington County will begin a similar service soon, but the survey will be on their website, and they plan on getting back to the patron within 3 days.
The wiki program was the primary reason I attended MLA. I'm very interested in how BCPL can use wikis for documents that need frequent revision and/or collaboration. First the presenters went over the differences between blogs and wikis and how you would choose which is the more appropriate format for your task. Blogs are best for static informational posts on which people are allowed to comment, but the content is not changed. Wikis, on the other hand, are meant to be interactive, living documents that metamorphose as people collaborate on them.
Workplace benefits of using wikis are a growth in collaborative work, simplified document management, it establishes an institutional memory, increases staff feedback "voice", and improves customer service. And it only requires Internet access--no special software is needed by users, although your organization does need the software to create and maintain a wiki. However, there are free software options as well as fee-based ones.
The presenters went through the process they used for setting up the wiki from setting the goals for the wiki, considerations in choosing wiki software options, to issues that came up once the wiki was created and went live.
Some of the possible uses for wikis in BCPL are: iPOF, the training checklists for new staff, the staff directory, the staff handbook, the CARL Circulation Manual, and any other manual that gets revised by a group of staff. I think wikis offer great opportunities for staff to more efficiently collaborate on document revisions.
The last session I went to was a discussion forum about growing our own staff. The intent was to share helpful information with current or prospective MLS students and ask them what kind of support they'd find most useful from their organization. Students indicated that the most helpful support would be time to do assignments at work, money to help offset school expenses, and mentoring. Helpful information shared by former MLS students included points to keep in mind when comparing various schools' programs, don't overextend yourself if you work full-time and have a young family, and know your learning style and decide if a particular program is a good fit for your style. Some attendees pointed out that discounts and scholarships available to MLA members need to better marketed as do opportunities for internships. The presenters are trying to develop a mentoring program within MLA and have created a website for this purpose http://www.mdlib.org/MLS_Mentor
posted by Rose Frase | 3:53 PM
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