This year the BC Library Conference’s theme was disrupt and transform. I attended two days of the conference and took away a lot from the experience. My three favourite sessions were:
- Under the Hood: Honest Stories about Disruptive Change in a Public Library
The North Vancouver District Public Library is in the midst of wholesale organizational change. Hear what happens when, over a two year period, the world of a traditional public library is rocked by: a mandate for bold innovative change, new leadership, a new organizational structure, and an intentional approach to nurturing a culture of learning and compassion. We believe every person in the organization is an active and necessary agent of change. This staff-centered approach has begun to transform the way we work together, and in turn, the way we work with our community. Using a lively “lightning round” format, nine speakers will share stories about what they’ve learned (so far).
This session was filled with great advice from a library director who made it a top priority to improve the library’s work culture/morale, and achieved this by engaging the previously “dismissed” Circ staff in more decision making/reference work etc.; collaborating on a website re-design project and playing on staff strengths, and helping staff through the transition process. Applying William Bridges Transition Model is invaluable in helping staff through the process of change. -
What’s Really Going on When it Looks like We Are Just Singing?Join this panel of passionate and engaged children’s librarians as we shed some light on what is really going on while it looks like we are “just” singing songs and playing with puppets. *Spoiler Alert* it includes brain development, relationship building, empowering parents, improving EDI results, building life-long learners, and making libraries essential and welcoming community destinations, not to mention convincing board members that libraries are still worth the investment. And yes, we are also playing and having some fun!
I learned a great deal from this session, mainly because I didn’t take any children services courses in grad school. I didn’t have the framework for creating an effective children’s program until I attended this session, so thank you to the presenters! -
Help – I Want to be Open!
Open Textbooks, Open Education, Open Access, Open Pedagogy, Open Data, Open Research – Open is a hot topic in Universities currently. But how can librarians participate in the movement? Or better yet, how can they drive it? Find out what is happening at trendsetting institutions and their libraries within the Open movement – locally and internationally. Librarians often get mentioned in the same breath as the open education movement, yet some might not know where they actually fit in. Learn some quick methods you can start using almost immediately after the session. Come away with open strategies that you can use to kick start the movement at your institution, or to enhance the open movement that is already growing in your workplace!
At first I thought that I didn’t get much from this session because it was geared toward academic librarians and focused heavily on open textbooks- something I never deal with in my job at a public library. However, it rekindled my interest in open access, specifically open education. I rediscovered Alison.com and Coursera.org, and as a result I have started a diploma in human anatomy and physiology; next will be a course in systematic reviews and meta-analysis from Johns Hopkins University. #LifeLongLearning
Check out my notes here: BCLC2016