Public service

(An Infopeople Online Learning Course)
December 2, 2008- January 12, 2009

This class will take a Christmas break from December 22, 2008 to January 5, 2009. During that period students are free to work on the class but the Instructor will not be available.

(An Infopeople Online Learning Course)
April 8, 2008 - May 5, 2008

Graphic novels are here to stay. In the past decade, they have become increasingly popular in both public and school library collections. Nevertheless, many library workers are not sure whether graphic novels are appropriate for their own libraries, and are unfamiliar with the practical aspects of offering this format. In this course we’ll explore all the fundamental questions:

• Do you find yourself repeating the same steps over and over again with your users (placing holds, renewing items, checking records)?
• Do you need to teach your staff a new skill (ILS/ALS change, new policy, Office '07)?
• How many times have you explained in person or on the phone how to search your catalog and online databases?

While explaining/showing people personally is important you can also create an instructional screencast that they can access any time that they're on a computer (especially at their point of ne

You will find programming for babies and their parents "Simply Irresistible!" Babies are your "captive audience," and parents are often at their most hopeful and receptive. Your library can establish itself as a literacy leader in the community by teaching parents how to share baby songs, lullabies, nursery rhymes, fingerplays, age-appropriate picture books, board books, and gentle stretching. You can forge strong relationships with parents as you demonstrate how to explore language with their child in a lively and entertaining way.

It's a self-service world. ATMs, airline check-in machines, and self-serve gas stations are all part of everyday life. And survey data show that many customers like the sense of control that self-service brings. That means that the time is right for libraries to explore new ways to provide effective assistance to the independent user.

In this class we'll look at a variety of ways to help the public serve themselves using different media, including written materials, audio, and video. Did you know that

A reference interview creates a partnership between you, as a reference provider, and library patrons seeking information. You work together towards a clear understanding of what they want to know, in order to efficiently and effectively link them to the resources needed.

Your skills in doing a reference interview can lead to this successful partnership. Building a toolkit of these skills is important if:

Yeah, I know. They are always congregating around the computers looking at that MySpace site again. Oh, no--this time they are all making a tremendous amount of noise laughing while they are watching those YouTube videos. What is it about all of this? We could go on and on, couldn’t we? It is a different world. Come to this workshop to learn about this new world and how to connect with those who live in it:

Modern libraries serve a far broader mix of people and personalities then almost any other public service organization. And by far, the majority of library patrons are pleasant, cooperative, and appreciative of our services.

A certain percentage, however, range from difficult, to demanding, to angry, to irrational, to downright scary. These patrons require special attention, special skills, and special strategies if we are to interact with them effectively and make our libraries safe and sane places for us to work in, and feel good about.

Spanish is the "second language" in California but the primary language spoken in many first generation immigrant homes. Libraries need to work towards making all library users feel comfortable and welcome when using library services.

Do you ever have difficult or unsatisfying interactions with library users from other cultures? Do your customers ask for services in languages you don’t understand? Do your excellent customer service skills seem to fall short with diverse library users? Would you like to be able to communicate effectively with any customer who comes through the door?