Customized Workshops & Services for Libraries
Library Roving Service
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I will be hitting the road (well…actually – the air!) bringing 2-3 weeks of our workshops to New Zealand – and I couldn’t be more excited. Thanks to the Management at Palmerston N. City Library and the Auckland City Libraries, I will be providing our “Pro-active Service and Roving” concepts and skills to many Library Managers and Staff in New Zealand in August and September. Both Library Systems have many progressive services and an admirable approach to service excellence. I’ll post some of their best ideas on this website in late September. And – of course – I’ll be sure to find time to tour a bit of this wonderful and scenic country while I am there.
Recently I was looking into “non-Dewey” systems of Library material classification, and there are many laudable efforts being tried at various Library Systems. Word based or category based classification systems encourage and support browsing and self service for Library patrons, and represent a truly pro-active approach to guided self-service.
The following description of WordThinkTM , as designed and implemented at the Rangeview Library District comes from Wikipedia, and describes it as a word-based materials classification system developed by Rangeview Library District’s collection development department to replace the Dewey Decimal Classification. Patterned after BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) and the word-based system used by Maricopa County Library District, WordThink organizes materials according to 45 different categories with additional subcategories. Materials are then arranged alphabetically by title.
Note: In September 2009, Rangeview Library District launched its new brand, AnythinkTM . The district changed the names of its community libraries to Anythink libraries as part of the district’s branding efforts. The Bennett and Perl Mack branch libraries were the first in the district to use WordThink. By the end of 2009, all Anythink libraries will use the new word-based system
On Wed. March 10 I was fortunate enough to provide a presentation at the ExLibris Association I-Tea, at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Information, The title of the presentation was, “The Journey From I to We: How to apply insight into others to achieve greater success through teamwork.”
Persuasive, clear communication is a topic that has been of keen interest to thousands of the Managers and Staff I have served over the years. In fact, this model of communication effectiveness is of great use to anyone who has to live or work in collaboration with other human beings. (and who doesn’t? - unless your career is “Professional Hermit”!). The “Me-first” approach we have all learned in our youth and, perhaps even embraced as we struggled to succeed in our careers, is not conducive to success in the workplace and even gets in the way of building strong business and personal relationships. But how does one make the shift in thinking from “I to WE” that is needed to communicate more effectively? How can we get out of our own heads to understand others? Using the simple but profound model of Behaviour Styles which I have developed, everyone had fun getting a “quick read” on their own Behaviour Style and laughed in recognition of the predominant style of some other key people in their lives. I then demonstrated how we can all communicate more effectively by adapting to other Styles – changing the language we use to better suit the other person’s perspective, based upon our insights into their predominant Behaviour Style. This does not mean we lose ourselves, but is akin to adapting to speak a slightly different language. This simple, but profound shift has the power to transform individual lives and team performance.
On Wednesday Feb. 24th I will be presenting a Pre-Conference Workshop at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference.
Workshop Title: Best Foot Forward: Pro-active Service and Roving 2.0
Date/Time: Wed. Feb. 24th, 2010, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St. West, Toronto Ontario
Fee: OLA members $125, Non-Members $165
Register via the Ontario Library Association at http://www.accessola.com/ola/bins/content_page.asp?cid=5
Workshop description:
Best Foot Forward: Pro-active Service and Roving 2.0
The use of roving reference has been in practice in libraries for several years and much has been learned. As one of the pioneers, Joan has travelled to the United States, Australia, and throughout Canada, leading libraries in their implementation of the concept.
In this new 2010 version of her practical and entertaining workshop, Joan reveals what libraries have shared with her about the most common challenges they face when trying to implement roving. More importantly, she will share updates on the latest and best tips, practical approaches, tools, and solutions she has seen libraries use to overcome their challenges.
You will walk away with
1. Current, practical approaches, tips and techniques
2. Common obstacles and pitfalls, and how to avoid them
3. Answers to your own specific questions about roving reference in your library
4. A comprehensive list of URL’s of pertinent articles, presentations, white papers, and more
Having trouble getting your Roving program moving? Need everyone to start thinking “out of the box”? Wondering what you can do to boost Roving results in 2009?
Now You Can Can Deliver Effective Roving Training Yourself …wherever you need it, …whenever you need it, …using your own in-house facilitator, …for a fraction of the cost with Mentor Group Training’s “Do It Yourself” Workshop Kit and Train the Trainer Program.
Simply put: this is the workshop that has been setting the pace for Roving Training for almost 6 years. Our company pioneered the concept of customized Proactive Service and Roving training for Libraries back when the idea was limited to just a few bold Library systems, and some conference discussions – and we have been constantly refining and improving the process ever since. Over the years, thousands of participants in The U.S., Canada and Australia have gained new confidence to engage comfortably in roving and other pro-active service activities as a result of what they have learned in one of our workshops.
And now, you can “Do It Yourself” – presenting your own in-house Roving Training with professional materials and a practical “Train the Trainer” seminar from Mentor Group Training Inc.
To learn more, please see a description in the 2-page DIY-Roving (PDF) flyer.
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