Professional Development Opportunities

At the end of the session, participants should be able to:

Differentiate the special qualities of webinars from in-person presentations that require presenters to prepare their content and delivery for the virtual environment
Incorporate a set of new skills and techniques into their existing presentation repertoire that will enable them to be a more effective and high-impact webinar presenter
Achieve a higher level of comfort with online presentation platforms, use of video, having a presentation recorded, and other web-presentation technologies that are crucial to a successful webinar. Identify a variety of engagement practices that are useful for designing more interactive webinars and virtual presentations.

Zotero is a free, open source program for saving and sharing citations and creating bibliographies. It’s easy enough for undergrads to learn quickly, but powerful enough for faculty research needs. In this session, learn how to use Zotero and discuss best practices for supporting and teaching it in libraries.

The combination of digital collections management systems and the internet has presented galleries, libraries, archives, and museums with an unprecedented opportunity to make their collections information more discoverable and connected than ever; however, a lack of proper data management and governance can limit the usefulness of the information we share.

This class will provide an overview of several core data management frameworks, adapted for use in a cultural heritage collections environment, including the Data Management Body of Knowledge and the emerging Datapractices.org project. Attendees will gain an understanding of what good data management is, learn how to evaluate current data management practices within their own organizations, and take the first steps toward creating a data management plan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a large shift in how our library spaces are constructed to serve our communities. Not only are we faced with trying to ensure the safety of our users, we now are trying to create environments that are comfortable and inviting despite the stress the pandemic has caused. Experts are recommending that outdoor spaces be created for users because air circulation is a strategy to mitigate COVID-19.

From the Higher Learning Commission

Do you want to learn how to implement Web technologies in your reference desk? This course explores a variety of online tools, from social media platforms, to virtual chat spaces, to apps and search engines you can use to engage and help your users at the reference desk. Come learn how to utilize several free online tools in your reference activities and help your patrons at the point of need.

By the end of this class, students will be able to:

Identify common photographic processes.
Discuss proper care and handling of a variety of photographic materials.
List appropriate storage materials and quality vendors of those materials.
Employ sound preservation planning for photographic collections.

What makes an image a "good" image? How can image quality be measured in a standards-compliant, repeatable fashion? Digitization consumes resources, and there only may be a single opportunity to convert certain collections; how can we make sure that it is done in accordance with the relevant guidelines and that the digital assets created will endure over the long term? This series of five webinars will examine the Federal Agency Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) as it applies to still imaging for cultural heritage institutions. After an overview of FADGI, we will spend time reviewing each of its core metrics in detail, and share hands-on and practical applications of these metrics in real digitization projects.

This session will teach participants the fundamentals of project management, how to apply the theories, and tools that can be applied in GLAM institutions. The instructor will cover the basic stages of a project’s lifecycle and considerations for the beginning a project, project management styles, applying documentation, and project communication. She will provide some examples of tools that can assist with managing single or multiple projects and discuss the application of these tools at an institution. She will conclude by discussing the application of documentation, tools, and other considerations for a few examples of projects including digitization, service development, and archival description. Participants will have opportunities to ask questions at the end of the course and can come with specific cases in mind.

From the Higher Learning Commission

Join this session to learn about the perceived challenges in the field and some surprising results around the potential for growth and public access. LYRASIS consultants will share their discoveries, including information about facilities and infrastructure; staffing concerns and succession planning; advocacy issues and digitization challenges. The project began as COVID-19 Pandemic stay-at home orders were being issued in many states, with focus groups were in early summer 2020, so the results incorporate much of the changing landscape.

When it comes to e-books with various DRM restrictions, open educational resources, and other popular information sources, there are many reasons why your library patrons might want to know what they are allowed to do with the resources in your library collection. Including information about access, use, and rights in your catalog records can be a great help in promoting the ethically and legally proper sharing of information and intellectual property. This session will cover the MARC fields used for this type of information and best practices for using these fields.

Web design, in the form of creating online research guides, has become a big part of many librarians’ jobs, but we’re rarely taught how to do it well. Most of us learn the nuts and bolts of how to make guides, without learning the principles of how to make them usable — the simple techniques of visual and textual design that can help us create guides that users will understand more easily, and stick around to use.

Ransomware (software that blocks access to systems until money is paid to the attacker) can be disruptive and expensive. For some libraries it can be catastrophic, though it doesn’t have to be. Planning and preparation are key to surviving a ransomware attack.

This presentation will focus on cybersecurity steps that can help libraries protect their systems from ransomware. The instructor will walk participants through steps to take at their institutions to ensure that the organization can survive a ransomware attack. The class will cover plans, tools, and techniques that can help lower the risk of a ransomware attack, regardless of your budget.

This workshop will introduce the most powerful features of OpenRefine using a sample bibliographic dataset. Participants will be encouraged to install the tool on their own computer prior to the workshop, and follow along. We will conclude with a short discussion of use cases: participants are welcome to share examples of datasets from their own work practice that need to be cleaned up and discuss how OpenRefine can help with this process. There are no particular prerequisites for this session. Familiarity with Regular Expressions can be useful in applying more advanced text matching functions, but is not required. This workshop will draw inspiration from the Library Carpentry OpenRefine lesson.

This 90-minute session will introduce the Library of Congress’s BibFrame project, the “bibliographic framework” that is intended to replace MARC format as a way to encode cataloging information. It will introduce the concept, characteristics, and features of BibFrame, explain its relationship to current standards and practices, and discuss the possible timeline and process for implementation by bibliographic utilities, Integrated Library Systems, and libraries.

What makes an image a "good" image? How can image quality be measured in a standards-compliant, repeatable fashion? Digitization consumes resources, and there only may be a single opportunity to convert certain collections; how can we make sure that it is done in accordance with the relevant guidelines and that the digital assets created will endure over the long term? This series of five webinars will examine the Federal Agency Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) as it applies to still imaging for cultural heritage institutions. After an overview of FADGI, we will spend time reviewing each of its core metrics in detail, and share hands-on and practical applications of these metrics in real digitization projects.

This webinar series is most suitable for attendees with medium to advanced photographic knowledge, preferably those who have already been through several digitization projects. Previous hands-on experience with digital cameras / scanners and software such as Adobe Photoshop and Capture One Pro will be very helpful.

From the Higher Learning Commission

During this session attendees will receive a basic introduction to virtual reality (VR), its use in galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) organizations, and learn about some of the things they need to consider when deciding whether or not VR is an appropriate investment for their institutions. Topics covered will include considerations around metadata, hosting, access, budget, ethical concerns, and other logistical realities. The presenters will use their own work with VR as a tool for primary source literacy and archival education for Philadelphia high school students as a case study.

Learn how to use Bitmoji and Flipgrid for your library site and virtual services. Boost patron interactions with Bitmoji library displays. Utilize Flipgrid for sharing library resources and encouraging interaction from library users.

This class will introduce participants to the basics of digital asset management systems (DAMS) for digital collections. DAMS will be defined, and criteria for choosing a DAMS will be outlined and discussed. Related systems, such as content management systems, will also be briefly covered, to clarify differences between DAMS and other systems. The session will include general overview case studies of DAMS in library and archival settings, so participants can learn from real life examples of digital asset management. Participants will gain skills for navigating the varied options for facilitating online access to their digital collections. Participants will also gain the knowledge needed to establish their own criteria or requirements for selecting a DAMS for their institution.

What makes an image a "good" image? How can image quality be measured in a standards-compliant, repeatable fashion? Digitization consumes resources, and there only may be a single opportunity to convert certain collections; how can we make sure that it is done in accordance with the relevant guidelines and that the digital assets created will endure over the long term? This series of five webinars will examine the Federal Agency Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) as it applies to still imaging for cultural heritage institutions. After an overview of FADGI, we will spend time reviewing each of its core metrics in detail, and share hands-on and practical applications of these metrics in real digitization projects.

This webinar series is most suitable for attendees with medium to advanced photographic knowledge, preferably those who have already been through several digitization projects. Previous hands-on experience with digital cameras / scanners and software such as Adobe Photoshop and Capture One Pro will be very helpful.

This class is designed to provide librarians with a foundational understanding of instructional design concepts that can put them on a path for creating effective online instructional experiences. The session will include an introduction to the instructional design process, followed by a sample workflow for creating an online learning object. Attendees are encouraged to come with a specific instruction need in mind that they can use to practice with the process. Although this topic is particularly salient for academic librarians who teach online, the content can be applicable to any librarian who develops online materials to help patrons effectively and independently navigate library resources.

Many library technologists believe that Linked Data can empower the next generation of library metadata services, both by exposing library structured data more widely to applications and users across our networked world, and by providing library systems with access to richer repositories of descriptive data from other sources. This one-hour presentation will explore the technical underpinnings of linked data, the richer user experience afforded by deeper contextual metadata, and some examples and case studies of library applications already underway.

"This link worked yesterday – why doesn't it work now?" "Will all of our local MARC fields migrate when we change catalogs?" When it comes to integrated library systems and electronic resources platforms, the one constant is change. Whether it's migrating all your MARC records to a new catalog system or updating URLs when an e-book vendor changes their platform, most library staff members encounter a migration at least once in their career. These processes can be daunting, but they don’t have to be scary.

Join us February 11, 2021, for Moving On: Migrating Library Content and Data. This Amigos Library Services online conference will explore ways to lessen the pain of migrations between library systems and platforms.

From the Higher Learning Commission

Participants will learn about starting a digitization program. The first session covers the basics of project planning, equipment selection, digitization preparation, care and during digitization. The second session covers technical information relevant to getting started with digitization, such as metadata, file format selection, compression, and more. The class also covers quality control, access, and touches upon basic concepts of digital preservation as relevant to small institutions planning digital projects.

In this webinar participants will learn about various aspects of starting a social media archiving project or program. We will explore community resources and discuss a variety of topics like technology and types of social media archiving, collection development and policy considerations, and description. The instructor will cover specific tools such as Archive-It, twarc, and webrecorder. Some prior knowledge of web archiving may be helpful, but is not required.

While management of collections environments for offsite- and infrequently accessed storage facilities has long been a challenge for preservation and facilities staff, the onset of COVID-19 and the subsequent ongoing occupancy and staffing challenges have introduced similar management issues for normally monitored and accessed collections spaces. This webinar will discuss options for distance monitoring and environmental management while key staff are offsite.

Information seekers interact daily with library staff to meet their information needs. Do you have the necessary customer skills to engage in successful interactions with your patrons? This one hour webinar helps public services staff identify necessary skill sets needed for any interaction with a patron, whether it would be in-person, on the phone, or virtually.

“Plain language” is a term from the legal field: federal law requires that government agencies are required to use clear communication that the public can understand and use. As online teachers, we can take advantage of the set of clear guidelines and best practices that has grown up around this requirement. The federal plain language guidelines are fully in line with web usability recommendations, and can help streamline and clarify our online teaching. Whether you’re writing for a library website, a tutorial, a research guide or some other format, you’ll learn how to make your materials more accessible to the widest possible audience without dumbing them down.

What makes an image a "good" image? How can image quality be measured in a standards-compliant, repeatable fashion? Digitization consumes resources, and there only may be a single opportunity to convert certain collections; how can we make sure that it is done in accordance with the relevant guidelines and that the digital assets created will endure over the long term? This series of five webinars will examine the Federal Agency Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) as it applies to still imaging for cultural heritage institutions. After an overview of FADGI, we will spend time reviewing each of its core metrics in detail, and share hands-on and practical applications of these metrics in real digitization projects.

This webinar series is most suitable for attendees with medium to advanced photographic knowledge, preferably those who have already been through several digitization projects. Previous hands-on experience with digital cameras / scanners and software such as Adobe Photoshop and Capture One Pro will be very helpful.

In 2019, the RDA 3R Project was complete, and at the end of 2020, the new version of the RDA Toolkit became official. We've heard about the changes and we knew it was coming but now it’s time to get some answers to common questions we’re all thinking – such as: What does this mean for catalogers? What comes next? Attend this session to find out the current lay of the land when it comes to RDA and to get a sense of the roadmap for the future.

What makes an image a "good" image? How can image quality be measured in a standards-compliant, repeatable fashion? Digitization consumes resources, and there only may be a single opportunity to convert certain collections; how can we make sure that it is done in accordance with the relevant guidelines and that the digital assets created will endure over the long term? This series of five webinars will examine the Federal Agency Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) as it applies to still imaging for cultural heritage institutions. After an overview of FADGI, we will spend time reviewing each of its core metrics in detail, and share hands-on and practical applications of these metrics in real digitization projects.

This webinar series is most suitable for attendees with medium to advanced photographic knowledge, preferably those who have already been through several digitization projects. Previous hands-on experience with digital cameras / scanners and software such as Adobe Photoshop and Capture One Pro will be very helpful.

Gifts and Donations to libraries require care and feeding. It's important to look these "gift horses" in the mouth. The acceptance, retention and use of gifts and donations require monitoring and management. We will look at best practices in gift and donation policies for libraries. We will look at ways that libraries can showcase specific needs and increase donations and gifts.

Synchronous online library instruction -- classes delivered live via Zoom, Webex, or other conferencing platforms -- have become much more common in the past year, but most of us never learned in library school how to approach this teaching format. This session will help your live online classes become a little less nerve-wracking: learn how to take advantage of the live online classroom environment, discuss some advantages and limitations compared to the in-person classroom, and how to make the most of your time with students.

Infographics are great tools for expressing data and information visually and effectively. Librarians can use infographics in information literacy instruction, to advocate for library services, and to express information to their patrons in a clear and concise manner.

In this course, we will explain why infographics are effective modes of communication. We will analyze different kinds of infographics used by libraries and other fields. Lastly we will examine easy to use resources to create your own infographic.

Over 90% of library funding is politically motivates. That means that almost all of the funding for libraries is dependent on the amount of political influence and power held by the library in the local political ecosystem. There is wide range of tactics that can be used to influence this power, but what are the underlying theories that can be applied to all of the activities performed by a library? From digital tactics like social media, websites, and email to building relationships in the community through partnerships and coalitions, these theories can be applied to every aspect of the library services. In this session we will explore many of these theories used by some of the best community organizers, political action committees, and politicians and discuss how we can apply them to librarianship.

These days, multi-material kits are found in many library collections. From educational activities to test prep, circulating these kits can be a great way for libraries to serve their patrons. Because of the variety of materials found in kits, these non-traditional library items can be particularly challenging to properly catalog. This session will cover many common challenges relating to cataloging kits and offer solutions to these problems.

Cultural heritage institutions enjoy a very special status in the U.S. Copyright Law. Copyright is meant to further the “Progress of Science and the useful Arts,” and Congress has built in specific limitations and exceptions that provide additional flexibility to libraries, archives, museums and other cultural heritage institutions. These limitations and exceptions are what allow us to confidently engage in interlibrary loans, digitization, making copies for blind or print disabled users, teaching with copyrighted materials, displaying objects from our collections, such as artworks, and even lending items from our collections to other institutions. While critical for our work, these specific limitations and exceptions are based on complex statutory language that can be difficult to decipher and apply. This program aims to help participants understand the landscape of copyright limitations and exceptions, and gain the necessary skills to apply those limitations and exceptions for the benefit of their users.

Asynchronous teaching -- delivering instruction via guides, pre-recorded video, message boards and other self-guided on-demand methods -- can be a great way to reach busy students and integrate the librarian into an existing online class. Join us for this session that examines the best ways to take advantage of the asynchronous instructional format, what you need to know about how asynchronous online learning differs from in-person, classroom-based instruction, and tools to help make the most of asynchronous teaching.

It seems there is never enough time to get all the work done. If only there was only one more hour in each day. However, by better managing your time, you can increase your productivity.

In this session, you'll learn how you can use time management principles to increase your productivity and assess the value of your tasks. You'll learn the benefits of setting goals and how productivity is tied to your ability to assess time and set priorities.

Developed as a non-coder’s guide to exhibit best practices, presentation, and promotion, this course will provide students with an introduction to exhibit building using Omeka; one of the more popular platforms for digital exhibits. We’ll discuss how to craft objective and interpretive text with DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) in mind; how to make your audio/visuals engaging; common rights and reproductions issues; and adding elements that draw your patrons in and create a good user experience, like ADA compliant downloadable materials, crowdsourcing applications, and more.

This class will not cover digital collections and exhibits workflows and procedures; a basic understanding of these is required for full participation in this class. People who work at museums, academic libraries, historical societies, and archives, and have a need to create fresh and meaningful digital content for their organizations, will benefit from this class.

This session will demonstrate, through three case studies, how IIIF tools can be used to create engaging online learning experiences. The case studies will demonstrate using collaborative annotating and comparing image-based resources such as maps, manuscripts, artworks, photographs, and more. The tools covered in this session will be especially useful to teachers, librarians, or other people engaged with learning to create engaging online learning experiences.

Instructional videos are a versatile staple of online library learning. In this non-technical session by an experienced instruction librarian, learn the best approaches for designing and creating clear, useful videos for your library learners. We’ll discuss how to apply teaching principles to the video medium, easy techniques for making videos look good without being an expert editor, and how to approach accessibility in video tutorials.

As a librarian you already know that there are numerous tasks that you perform that require professional graphic design skills. You are proud of your work and do a good job but you would like a bit more guidance. In this class, you will learn what the professionals know about creating graphic designs.

This two-hour webinar introduces participants to design thinking through the exploration of a process that begins with an empathic approach to problem finding that leads to a thoughtful solution. Attendees will gain familiarity with the different phases of the design thinking process through examples of how they are applied in a library environment. While there are other methods leading to decisions for making libraries better, design thinking lends itself to staff engagement opportunities for collaborative problem finding and solving.

This course is designed to work with copyright concepts introduced in the previous four copyright courses offered by LYRASIS and the Virtual Copyright Education Center in Spring 2021, so that students can take a strategic approach when integrating copyright practices into the operations and policies of their respective museums, libraries, and archives. In particular, students will learn to devise and implement rights data management and copyright assessment protocols to better mitigate risks and identify opportunities when working with collections in the online environment; develop or integrate copyright policies in collections management and preservation activities; and find potential access solutions to the digital dissemination of collections materials based on their expertise in collections management, preservation, and their newly developed copyright literacy skills.

This class will provide a broad overview of quantitative methods and the focus will be on understanding terminology and concepts used by quantitative researchers. We’ll discuss some of the most commonly used statistical tests, outlining the types of research questions they address and the basic mechanics of the tests. T-test, correlation, chi-square test of independence and regression will be briefly explained. Along the way we’ll touch upon variables, level of analysis and the role of theory in quantitative methodology. This course is accessible to those without a math background as it focuses on providing a broad overview of quantitative methods concepts.