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The Fall 1997 Northeast Regional COLT Conference
September 19, 1997
Sponsored by:
Council on Library Media Technicians
Central New York Library Resource Council, New York Library Assistants' Association
Library Support Staff of Central New York
Report by
Conference Convenor: Dorothy Morgan, Northeast Region Director
Internet: dot@mailbox.lpl.org
The overall impression of the day was excellent. The speakers all ranked the highest from knowledge of material to relevance of material. Since I put on the conference with help, of course, from others, I would perhaps be bias if I did the reporting. I would like to share some of the comments that I received after the conference and also written on the evaluations from others.
1)"I have been attending workshops for over 14 years and this ranks with the best",
2)"Wonderful presentations that I could relate to", the entertainment quotient of the presenters was absolutely outstanding-very dynamic. I was very impressed, informed and left with a great deal to take home and think over. And most of all-rarely was I bored/distracted (a very uncommon experience for me"),
3)"This was excellent! Let's do more of these 1 day learning conferences for support staff...",
4)"Thank you, thank you for your large part in the conference! It was great! Just the "shot in the arm" I needed. Speakers and topics were so timely and the opportunity to "network" was valuable. I look forward to the next conference with anticipation.
5)"It became an international conference with attendance from 4 members of the Executive Board of the Ontario Association of Library Assistants in Ontario, Canada. The conference was attended by support staff from Maine, Washington, Michigan, Pennsylvania, probably from other states that I'm not aware of yet. There were library directors and librarians also in attendance. The education and networking opportunities were great and I hope that those who attended feel the same way and will share some of their stories with the rest of us."
- Pam Casey, Ontario
6)"It was one of the best conferences I ever attended. The speakers were excellent; particularly I liked Paul Goggi, the social worker, who spoke on communication. Let's hope that we do sometime have standardized certification across the country, for all who wish to be certified. -Mary from Massachusetts
REPORT SUBMITTED BY SALLY SESSLER, CHAIR OF LISSCNY (THE LOCAL SUPPORT STAFF GROUP OF CENTRAL NEW YORK)
The keynote speaker was Margaret Barron, COLT Central Region Director. Her talk, "Focus 2000: the future impact of certification on Library/Media support staff and libraries," was, as the title implies, about the movement towards certification for all library support staff. Some points she touched on were:
- Skills that we have that have been utilized, but have not been recognized.
- Praise of support staff organizations: local, regional, state, national, international.
- Support staff at Reference Desks.
- Importance of work experience, attending workshops and staff development programs.
She passed out a survey to all present as part of the study on certification. She also referred to the NYS Certificate of Achievement Program which recognizes education and experience.
The second morning presentation was given by Paul Goggi Jr., MSW entitled "Communication in the workplace." Paul is a dynamic speaker and interacts a great deal with the audience. Points he made:
- We should feel as sense of appreciation.
- Recommended the book: "7 habits of highly effective people" by Stephen Covey.
- Recommended each person develop a mission statement for themselves: "why are we doing this?"
- You are the common denominator in all your relationships.
- Communication STARTS with ME.
- Life is difficult; sign of our humanity.
- Look at truth about self: for example, passive, hate conflict, sensitive, etc.
- FHB: I am a fallible human being with worth and dignity and so are you.
- Seek first to understand before seeking to be understood; don't get defensive.
- Value the difference.
The first afternoon presentation was given by Betsy Elkins, Director of Moon Library at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She spoke about "working together we get the job done". The role of the employer is to provide direction and a supportive work environment. Yearly performance review should include mutual goal setting followed by a continual review of these goals. Job expectations should be made known and coaching given. Employer should effectively delegate. Betsy referred to years working with student workers: guidance, direction, counseling. She emphasized how important communication and listening are. She referred to the article "Bridging the Gap" in Library Mosaics. At her library she explained how regularly she holds staff meetings and round robins where all library staff share ideas. Individual meetings are held with a focus on mission; what like and dislike, obstacles, workspace, personal goals/vision. She suggested having a blueprint for the future using an outside facilitator if necessary.
The conference ended with a panel of representatives from different types of libraries talking about how technology is affecting all library staff. It was emphasized that in all libraries training is essential with so many changes in the area of technology. Politics enters the compensation issue in public libraries. In the Academic library user assessment helps to identify skills necessary. The speaker stressed being a part of the solution. She also discussed Voyager implementation and training as an example. In the Special Library the need to be patient is essential especially working with engineers as the speaker working in an Engineering Firm pointed out. Her patrons seem to want everything right now (that sounds familiar in all libraries). Technology and information is overwhelming. The speaker for school libraries talked about distance learning and that many school libraries are behind in technology due to funding issues (that also sounds familiar doesn't it).
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