Maryland library staff in Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties can earn 1 CEU per archived presentation viewed so long as you write a blog post about them.
If you're on Twitter you can see tweets about the event at #BTSL.
The Nebraska Library Commission organized and hosted a free, all-day online conference yesterday, Big Talk From Small Libraries. Each of the seven presentations focused on topics familiar to libraries of all shapes and sizes but the presenters brought a small library point of view to each issue. Rather than commenting on each presentation specifically, I'm going to reflect on the one I found most poignant.
It's might not come as a surprise that I found Jessamyn West's presentation the best organized and most interesting; Jessamyn is a veteran librarian, writer, and presenter. Her presentation, Magic Tricks and Maintenance: Helping the Public Learn Technology, didn't blow my mind but she did bring awareness to some habits I am guilty of from time to time like:
- Don't grab the mouse away from whomever you're helping no matter how much he or she is struggling to maneuver; use reassuring, non-condescending language and tone to help them ease into whatever it is they're trying to accomplish.
- Translate technical mumbo-jumbo into language everyone can appreciate or leave it out completely (does the individual really need to know that the computer is running OSX? Or that it has an Intel Celeron Processor? What does that even mean?)
- Avoid the soapboxes - even if a person asks you your preference on which browser or piece of software to use. Sure, tell them your opinion but leave it at that.
- Avoid expressing your disgust when someone tells you they prefer IE9. Be accepting of what works for each individual and work with it the best you can without expressing bias. Unless they ask for your opinion, it is best not to encourage them to you a superior browser like FireFox.
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