Imagine the Possibilities

Concurrent Program Session

Public Libraries 101: Fundamentals for Support Staff

Thursday, March 22, 2018, 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM

Pennsylvania Convention Center, 105 AB

Public libraries are guided by a clear, long-established set of core values, yet many public-facing staff have limited opportunities to explore these values and understand their application to daily service. The DC Public Library developed an interactive “Public Libraries 101” course to introduce support staff to these concepts, and incorporated the course into staff performance plans. This session will introduce the course content and workshop how participants can bring this approach to their own libraries.

At the end of this session, participants will:

1: Understand how DCPL's leveraged the city's required performance management process to systematize the training of library support staff in public library core values 2: Know the learning objectives of the course, the main content of the course, and how those focus areas were determined 3: Gain a framework for replicating this process in their own locations, including access to DCPL's training materials

The session organizer(s) identified this session as appropriate for:
Level 1: People with no previous knowledge of the topic.

This session will have: Medium interaction (example: single speaker/panel with questions or discussion throughout)

Handouts: Download 1   Download 2   Download 3   Download 4   Download 5  

Track: Lead

Tags: Staffing, Continuing Education and Professional Development, Organizational Change, Support Staff, Training, Transforming Libraries


Presenters

Kim Zablud, Assistant Director of Public Services, MLK
District of Columbia Public Library , Washington, D.C , DC

Kim Zablud is the Director of Public Services at DC Public Library. She oversees the Central Library and the 25 neighborhood libraries. Prior to joining DCPL eight years ago, she worked at the New York Public Library and in management consulting. Kim has a passion for library project management and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Meaghan O'Connor, Assistant Director
District of Columbia Public Library , Washington , DC

Meaghan provides strategic oversight for library programming and partnerships across all 26 DCPL locations. This ranges from launching library service inside the DC Jail to implementing Books from Birth, an initiative to provide all District children under 5 a free book a month. Prior to joining DCPL, Meaghan was a Senior Program Officer at IREX, where she was responsible for program strategy and management for Gates Foundation-funded Global Libraries programs in Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine.

Melinda MacCall, Manager, Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library
DC Public Library , Washington , DC

Melinda MacCall is the manager of the Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library at the DC Public Library. Melinda started with DCPL in 2012, and has worked as a librarian, Assistant Manager for Adult Services at MLK, and Interim Manager for Center for Accessibility. Melinda earned her MLS from Indiana University and has worked in libraries in Indiana, New Mexico, and Kentucky - a mix of public and academic - before joining DCPL.

For questions about…

Cancellation Policy

The PLA 2018 Conference is offered on a cost-recovery basis. PLA reserves the right to cancel all or any part of this event if there is insufficient registration or for other reasons. Neither ALA nor PLA is responsible for cancellation charges assessed by the airlines or travel agencies, or other losses incurred due to the cancellation of the workshops. All information listed on this website is subject to change.

Attendee Cancellation Policy

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Thank You PLA 2018 Conference Sponsors!

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PLA 2016 Archive

Looking for handouts and other information from the PLA 2016 Conference, which took place April 5–9, 2016 in Denver, CO? The PLA 2016 Conference website has been archived at http://2016.placonference.org.

View the list of past PLA Conferences from 1983 to present.