Powerpoint Presentation for the MLA 2016 presentation: Inspire Staff to Tech Greatness.

1. INSPIRE STAFF TO
TECH GREATNESS
S P O N S O R E D B Y
L E A D E R S H I P D E V E L O P M E N T D I V I S I O N

2. C A R R O L L C O U N T Y P U B L I C L I B R A R Y
J E N B I S H O P
N A O M I K E P P L E R
H E A T H E R O W I N G S
K I M S M I T H S O N

3. TECH
COMPETENCIES
MATTER
• Libraries are often the first line
of tech help for the community.
• Technology is increasingly
present in our services and
workflow.
• Technology Competencies
ensure core skills to meet
community expectations and
beyond.
We live in a
wired,
connected
world.

4. FORM A SYSTEM-WIDE TEAM
• Recruit tech enthusiasts from among your staff.
• Include various positions, departments, and branches.
– Information Technology
– Human Resources
– Branch Manager
– Adult Services Supervisor
– Online Services
– Library Associate, Children’s
– Circulation

5. GOALS FOR TECH COMP TEAM
• Develop the core technology competencies that all staff should be able to understand
and use.
• Develop the core technology competencies that all information and circulation staff
should be able to train the public to use.
• Assist HR in developing interview questions to be asked of all new applicants that will
help determine the candidate's understanding of basic technology.
• Develop a training plan to ensure that staff are exposed to the latest technologies that
may have an impact on our services, customers, and staff.

6. BRAINSTORM
Things ALL STAFF should know:
• Basic Computing/Software
• Hardware/Equipment
• General Web/Internet
• CCPL Intranet
Things PUBLIC SERVICE staff should know and
teach:
• Software
• Hardware
• Web
• Digital Collections

7. DETERMINE FORMAT
GENERAL TOPICS
DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY
DETAILED CHECKLIST
CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG LIBRARY

8. CARROLL COUNTY
PUBLIC LIBRARY
Outcomes need
to be measurable
and observable.

9. TECH COMPETENCIES FOR
CIRCULATION STAFF
• Determine what specialized skills are important for circulation staff to know
• Determine the skills circulation-trained pages should know
• Explain the role technology competencies serve in staff development
• Assess currently held skill sets and find common training needs among support staff
• Develop group and one-on-one trainings to ensure that staff meet competencies
• Encourage and enable staff to grow in other departmental technology competency
areas

10. C OMP ETENCI ES
A L S O I NC L UDE:Circulation Tech Comp Areas
• Photo management
• TV
• Point of Sale
• Windows Accessories
• ILS Functions (Polaris)
• All competencies
included under
All Staff
• All competencies
included under
Public Service Staff
-

11. TECH COMPETENCIES FOR
INFORMATION STAFF
• Determine what specialized skills are important for Information staff to know
• Determine what skills the Information staff should be able to teach the public
• Explain the role technology competencies serve in staff development
• Assess currently held skill sets and find common training needs among staff
• Develop group and one-on-one trainings to ensure that staff meet competencies
• Encourage and enable staff to grow in other departmental technology competency areas

12. C OMP ETENCI ES
A L S O I NC L UDE:
Information Staff Tech Comp
Areas
• Airplay
• Troubleshooting WiFi Issues
• Library App
• Tech Instruction to the public
• Creating new library cards
• All competencies
included under
All Staff
• All competencies
included under
Public Service Staff

13. SHARED DESK
Everyone should…
• Know what is expected of them from their
supervisor and coworkers
• Feel empowered to make decisions that may
be outside of their comfort zones
• Be comfortable passing specialized questions
off to a staff member in another department
• Be prepared to answer questions the public
will have concerning the shared desk
customer service model

14. SURVEY
STAFF
The expectation is not for staff to
be 100% compliant for every item
listed at this time.
Participation by staff in Tech
Competencies checklist is simply to
assess technology training needs
that exist for each staff member.
Supervisors will then use this
information to form a development
plan during annual evaluation.
Will also help to
identify larger
areas of
knowledge
gaps among
staff.

15. STAFF DEVELOPMENT
• System-wide trainings
• Departmental training plans
• Individual development plans

16. EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY
• Encourage staff to treat
technology questions in the
same manner as any other
reference question.
• It’s impossible to master
every aspect of technology,
but we must be willing to
learn alongside our
customers.

17. QUA RTERLY T E C H
C OMP ETENCY S E R I ES
• Technology Competency
requires constant learning and
skill development.
• Challenge staff to continue
learning.
Past Topics:
• 3D Printing
• Hour of Code/
Learn to Code
• Online Privacy

18. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
All Staff:
• Tell us about the technology you use on a regular basis. On a scale of one to ten how
comfortable are you with learning and using new technology? What is your experience
teaching technology to others?
Supervisors:
• How do you manage staff who are reluctant to adopt new technologies?
• How do you stay current with library technology trends? How would you make sure
your staff stays current with emerging trends in technology?

19. QUESTIONS?
• Jen Bishop jbishop@carr.org
• Naomi Keppler nkeppler@carr.org
• Heather Owings howings@carr.org
• Kim Smithson ksmithson@carr.org
Slides and Carroll County Public Library Tech Competency Checklists and Resources are available on
Lanyrd.