Workshops

For information about presenter fees or to schedule a workshop, contact
Belinda Boon at (614) 626-0619 or bboon@wowway.com.

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

Collection development is an essential part of library administration and management. This complex task requires thorough knowledge of the library’s community of users, selection aids and tools, and a variety of resources and formats. This one- to three-day workshop covering all aspects of collection development, including principles of Intellectual Freedom, conducting a community needs assessment, selection, acquisition, maintenance, weeding and policy development. Emphasis is placed on the needs of the small community library.

Workshop Objectives - Participants will:

	Understand the components of a community needs assessment
	Have a written library mission statement
	Be comfortable using a variety of selection aids
	Be familiar with the essential components of a CD policy
	Be familiar with intellectual freedom issues and materials selection

Click HERE for Collection Analysis documents.

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT: THE NEW BALANCING ACT

New technologies have changed the face of collection development in all types of libraries. What is the best way to balance print materials with downloadable music and book files? How do we deal with rapidly changing formats and how do we know when to downsize or eliminate parts of the collection? This full-day (5-hour) workshop will focus on these and other collection development issues that affect libraries in the Internet Age.

Workshop Objectives - Participants will:

	Understand the issues involved in integrating electronic media with physical materials
	Be familiar with techniques like floating collections and using marketing segments to develop collections
	Be familiar with several kinds of downloadable media, including efilms, streaming media and ebooks
	Be familiar with methods of demographic and psychographic evaluation

REFERENCE SKILLS

Providing reference service in today’s libraries requires skill, knowledge, good humor and a strong dedication to service. Good customer service must be balanced with efficiency and speed while still getting to the heart of the user’s information needs. But limited resources and the huge number of online choices can make selecting and using print or online materials confusing at best. This one- to three-day workshop includes an overview of reference services, the reference interview, and techniques for evaluating and using print and online resources.

Workshop Objectives - Participants will:

Become familiar with basic print and electronic
resources that will help answer general reference
questions

Understand the steps involved in conducting an
effective reference interview

Learn to evaluate print and electronic resources

Practice their reference skills through hands-on
exercises

Click here to view Selecting and Using a Core Reference Collection, 4th Edition by Margaret Irby Nichols.

STORYTELLING - TALES AND TECHNIQUES

Storytelling is an ancient art that can tap into the very heart of what it means to be human. It's also a heck of a lot of fun! We never outgrow the joy of listening to and telling stories. But it can be intimidating to put down the storybook and face an audience--even if they're only preschoolers! This workshop exposes the participants to a wide variety of stories, running the gamut from frivolous to profound.

Workshop Objectives - Participants will:

Learn timing and presentation techniques for telling
stories in the library

Become familiar with story genres and sources

Begin to perceive themselves as storytellers

WEEDING WITH THE CREW METHOD

Is weeding really necessary? Will anyone really notice the difference if it isn’t done? Isn’t it just a subjective process without any rhyme or reason? Yes, yes, and NO! This workshop explores the straightforward guidelines recommended in The CREW Method, a nationally recognized tool for intelligent deselection. Through hands-on weeding in an actual library collection, participants will discover for themselves that these methods really work!

Workshop Objectives - Participants will:

Identify reasons for and against weeding, and
discover how to overcome obstacles

Learn how to weed using the CREW Method

Practice techniques for weeding nonprint and
children’s materials

View a PowerPoint of this workshop here.

To order a print copy of The CREW Method, contact Anne Ramos in the Library Science Collection of the Texas State Library at 512-463-5494.

WEEDING REFERENCE MATERIALS

Reference materials are among the hardest to evaluate and weed. They are expensive to replace and weeded titles often won't sell in the Friends' book sale. Some titles need to be updated frequently while others can be supplemented or even replaced by online resources. Many of us aren't even sure what is in our collections! How do you know what to keep and what to get rid of? This full-day workshop will cover the basic types of reference materials and teach participants how to evaluate and weed the reference collection.

Workshop Objectives - Participants will:

Be familiar with different types of reference materials and their replacement schedules

Be familiar with the criteria for weeding reference materials

Feel more confident about weeding reference materials

Be familiar with online resources that supplement or replace print reference materials

WRITING A COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY

A full day workshop that walks participants step-by-step through the process of writing a basic, "bare bones" collection development policy. This workshops explores each policy element, and the reasons for their inclusion. Emphasis is on writing a flexible policy that will guide the library's collection development efforts.

Workshop Objectives - Participants will:

Learn why it is important for the library to have a collection development policy

Learn the essential components of a collection development policy

Examine demographic information for their individual communities and learn how to use this information when developing their collections

Leave the workshop with at least the draft of a policy already written