Drexel University Special Libraries Association (DUSLA)

I just attended the SirsiDynix Institute on 25 Technologies in 50 Minutes and I have to say that Stephen Abram is a man after my own heart. Learning Learning Learning - make time for learning - that was the theme of this event!

Stephen suggests:

• going crazy with images and adding them to our library sites to give us personality (Flickr, Picassa)
  
• using social bookmarking sites to keep track of reference bookmarks (del.icio.us)
  
• recording story hours or events in the library and sharing them with the world (YouTube)
  
• bridging the digital divide by introducing our users to Google Office
  
• searching with a guide (ChaCha)
  
• communicating with our users where they are (Meebo,Trillian,MySpace,Facebook)
  

Most importantly spend 15 minutes a day playing and learning these new technologies. Stephen suggests setting up a blog - not sharing it with others - but using it as your learning tool. Through your blog you can learn how to use Flickr, tags, Technorati, and so much more. Thinking your too busy? Think about your work day - how much time to you spend checking personal email? Participating is chit chat with colleagues? Talking to family on the phone? Bet it adds up to more than 15 minutes - so why not spend 15 minutes - which is practically nothing - learning something new today? You don't have to become perfect at it - you just have to get a feel for it.

He also mentioned the Learning 2.0 program at PLMC (Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County) which was inspired by an article Stephen wrote in Information Outlook titled 43 Things I (or you) might want to do this year. In this program the staff was encouraged to learn 23 things in 9 weeks - and it was successful! Putting the staff at this library ahead of the curve when it comes to web technologies.

Stephen ended by saying (I'm paraphrasing) We need to share, be supportive, and we need to learn! If you are too busy maybe you and a colleague can support each other and learn for 15 minutes every other day - taking turns. The thing I love about working in a library is that it's like a family - and families support each other - so why not carry that mentality over to learning?

See all of the links discussed by Stephen on his blog and get learning!

Posted by Nicole Engard on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 at 7:50 AM | Permalink