Professional Development Opportunities

By developing a better understanding of neurodiversity, library staff can create more inclusive library environments through interactions, spaces, services, and programs that welcome and respect neurodiverse patrons. Discover innovative design and service approaches that accommodate a wide range of needs, making your library a more inclusive and accessible resource for your community.

Join experts across various fields as they delve into how AI is enhancing research processes, improving efficiency, and raising new questions about ethics, transparency, and the future of knowledge creation. Join us for the conclusion of our AI & the Research Cycle series with Phase IV.

This presentation will introduce concepts and principles of open pedagogy and their benefits to students and instructors. We’ll explore the application of open pedagogy through a case study of a Wikipedia article creation assignment. Within the educational context, Wikipedia-based assignments can be powerful learner-centered open pedagogy experiences for students. When done well, students learn how to research, write, and publish content that becomes part of the worldwide knowledge commons. They also develop digital literacy skills and grapple with how history, truth, and knowledge are created for public consumption. Participants will gain practical tips for engaging in open pedagogy and collaborating with faculty and students to develop impactful, meaningful learning experiences and address challenges related to assignment design/instruction for Wikipedia assignments.

This practical webinar moves beyond theory to provide actionable strategies specifically for the LibGuides platform, starting with the basics. We will explore key principles of web accessibility (WCAG) and demonstrate how to apply them directly within the LibGuides editor. Discover common pitfalls in guide creation – from heading structure and image descriptions to link text and color contrast – and learn straightforward techniques to build more inclusive, user-friendly guides from the ground up or remediate existing ones. We'll cover leveraging built-in features and simple content adjustments that make a significant difference, no prior expertise required.

Effective interlibrary loan (ILL) policies adhere to national guidelines, while communicating clear procedures for staff and patrons with some flexibility to accommodate diverse user needs. Whether authoring a first formal interlibrary loan policy or updating existing procedures, this informative session will survey common challenges, present strategies for balancing access with resource protection, and introduce best practices for regular policy review and updates. Considerations will also include handling print, digital, and multimedia materials, along with best practices for packaging and transmitting items securely and efficiently.

This webinar is based on research examining how library guides at R1 universities address the evaluation of government websites and the potential misinterpretation of their reliability based solely on a .gov domain. Library education traditionally emphasizes the authority of government sources; this research reveals that many universities go beyond authority to imply that .gov resources are inherently trustworthy.

As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms how knowledge is created, shared, and reused, leaders and members of the open movement are at a crossroad that will define the future of access to knowledge and shared creativity. The application of copyright law to AI training is complex. Around the world, there are exceptions and limitations to copyright that give latitude to AI training, but laws vary significantly. Since Creative Commons (CC) licenses are copyright licenses, it follows that the application of CC licenses to AI training is similarly complicated. Hear the latest thoughts about the relationship between AI, copyright, and the existing CC licenses and legal tools, both in the US and also globally. Then, learn about the latest developments on a project we are currently calling CC signals: a proposed framework to help content stewards express how they want their works used in AI training—emphasizing reciprocity, recognition, and sustainability in machine reuse. There will also be time for discussion and Q&A.

Effective communication can create the difference between a good workplace and a great one. Learn about the importance of non-verbal communication, active listening techniques, how to influence others, and how to have difficult conversations with your staff and coworkers. Participants will gain practical insights on fostering a positive work culture and improving team dynamics.

There’s more to government information than just the Government Publishing Office (GPO) and the Federal Depository Library Program. With more and more government information easily available from government websites, students, the public, and information professionals can easily find valuable resources if they just know where to look. Learn to find bills and statutes from GovInfo.gov, filings from the Supreme Court, great vacation ideas from the National Park Service, and even more.

In order to protect patrons’ right to information and essential resources, librarians serve as advocates for the communities they serve. Drawing from their advocacy research on behalf of the Association for Library Services (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), Jessica Grider, Kirbie Sondreal, and Samantha Streeter will share advocacy practices and strategies they utilize in their own work as school, public, and academic librarians, respectively. Librarians and administrators will learn how to get their communities involved and how best to support ongoing advocacy efforts.

This session will highlight a case study from a large, urban university library. Discussing our OER faculty grant initiative, this session focuses on the development of a series of self-paced online training modules delivered via Canvas, aimed at building faculty competencies around open education, open licensing, and open pedagogy. Considerations for creating learning objectives and module content will be highlighted, in addition to strategies for advancing a community of practice among faculty. We will also describe how we designed learning objects and assessments. Qualitative and quantitative data from the past three training cohorts will be included. Finally, change opportunities for future faculty trainings will be considered, and an open curriculum will be offered.

Are you responsible for acquisitions at your library, but feeling like you don't know where to start? Or just looking to learn more about this area of library work? Acquisitions work, which involves ordering, receiving, and paying for library materials, is a very important factor in getting library patrons access to the resources they need. Topics covered include goals and methods of acquisitions, budget management, and relationship building with vendors and publishers.

Documentation is critical to the continuity and sustainability of processes in library work. But it often seems too daunting to tackle or keep track of. Borrowing lessons from the field of technical writing, learn to break down the task of recording library work and keep staff on track to create accurate and useful documents for years to come.

Being a middle manager comes with unique challenges! You’re expected to carry out leadership directives while also advocating for and supporting your staff. In this webinar, we will talk about the real-life situations that come with being in the middle. This webinar explores practical strategies for handling the pressure while setting healthy boundaries and making a real impact right where you are.

Great library service starts with great teams! This webinar will explore strategies for creating a collaborative and motivated library team. You will discover how to tap into individual strengths to create a team that is adaptable and committed to excellence. Learn how to navigate challenges with confidence and discuss how to create an environment where staff can perform at their best.

Celebrate the success stories! This feel-good session will highlight the remarkable breakthroughs and innovations made possible through collaborations between libraries, researchers, publishers, and technology vendors. Discover how these partnerships have advanced knowledge, facilitated access, and driven discoveries that will open our minds and shape our future

Interested in doing more with your MARC records? Looking for an easy way to add or delete fields, split a batch of records into several groups, or extract particular fields to create a report? This introductory course will take on these tasks and more, starting with the basics of how to download and install the free MarcEdit software.