Tech Staff 2.0

How to Lose Your New Tech Librarian & Tech Training
Jenny Benevento, Associated Press
Sarah Houghton-Jan, Senior Librarian for Digital Futures, San Jose Public Library
Michael Stevens, Assistant Professor, Dominican University, GSLIS

Jenny's presentation was flip and fun. She made good points about how some institutions and administrators treat their tech staff like second-hand citizens--ignoring "tech culture," mocking what they don't understand, not allowing enough time for experimentation and innovation. She pointed out that they are often the people with the most transferable skills to other (more lucrative) positions, so treat them well! (Or you really will be rehiring the same position every 1.5 years! A lot of the librarians she interviewed had left libraries not because of libraries, but of how they were treated by the library administration!)

Michael and Sarah used E.X.P.E.R.I.M.E.N.T. to provide tips for successful training:

Engage--use real world examples, stay relevant, provide tips and tricks
Xenagogue--to guide through a strange land, be available, encourage independence
Play--encourage exploration
Explain--provide context, repeat, offer support materials
Reward--right answers, participation, completion
Imagine--send trainees away with a to-do list
Mentor--treat people like adults, be available for questions, expect success
Empower--use the tool in the class, highlight transferability of skills
New--always have something new to share
Time--practice, questions, adapt before implement

And Michael's closing mantra:

Learn to Learn
Adapt to Change
Scan the Horizon