Things are a little crazy here in Charlotte. In case you haven’t heard we’ve had a gas shortage for over a week now. The pipeline that supplies this area was partially shut down, word got out, and chaos ensued as anyone with a vehicle (and gas cans) went to fill up.

What would have been a mild shortage has turned into a major headache as some people hoard gas while others cannot find gas to get to work, school, etc.

I was lucky enough to find gas this weekend but had to wait in line for an hour and watched as tempers flared.

Then today came word that one of the largest employers in our area, Wachovia, was bought by Citigroup. Charlotte is the headquarters for Wachovia and it is estimated that thousands of Wachovia employees will be laid off within the next year. I’m hearing from my online friends that the ripple effect is already being felt. Businesses who did contract work for Wachovia will be effected along with the people who provided services for those families–landscaping, house cleaning, retail, restaurants, and eventually the government will feel the affect from the huge loss of tax revenue.

Although the situation I’ve outlined is close to home for me, it is far from unique. Across the country there are similar stories of businesses and people in crisis. So what does this mean for libraries?

First and foremost people are unsure, scared, angry–stressed. Be empathetic. Be courteous. Be respectful. You have no idea what someone is going through.

If your library has a policy that prevents access to materials for customers who owe more than a certain amount in fines and fees, see what you can do to change this. In these tough financial times people need access to library materials and resources more than ever. The more people we can help find employment, the less people we will have on government assistance programs.

Realize that the economic challenges our country is facing effects your coworkers too. It is entirely possible that someone you work with is experiencing or has gone through bankruptcy or foreclosure on his or her home. Be extra kind to the colleague who is having a bad day.

In sum be kind to everyone. Be kind to yourself. That small act of kindness you show someone could make all the difference in a person’s day.

Another free webinar from the MaintainIT Project this one is for trainers!

What: Train-the-Trainer: The Power of Stories in Technology Training
When: Wednesday, October 8, 2008 2-3 pm EST / 11 am - 12 pm Pacific
Where: Register on MaintainIT’s webinar space, and come prepared to share your training tips, too.

Library trainers from around the country are finding this popular webinar series a great opportunity to discuss training tips, techniques, and resources. This month we will focus on how storytelling can enhance your participants’ learning and retention.

Another free webinar from the MaintainIT Project.

How much troubleshooting assistance do you provide to patrons using their own laptops and the library’s wireless connection? Do you require users to obtain and enter a “key” before they can use the wireless connection? Do you allow people to sit in your parking lot after hours and surf the Web? What sort of furniture do you provide for laptop users?

Please join us to discuss “Meal Plan3 - How Much Help Should You Provide Laptop Patrons?” from the MaintainIT Cookbook Recipes for a 5-Star Library.

Read the chapter, register for the webinar, and join the conversation on Tuesday, September 30th, at 12 PM (Noon) Eastern Time.

DATE: Tuesday, September 30, 2008

TIME: 12-1 PM EST

AUDIENCE: Library staff who work with the public

Register HERE.

*Note: Please make sure you perform the system test in advance. You will need to disable pop-up blockers to access the webinar. A computer, Internet, and telephone are required to participate.

I am super excited about a 30-minute webinar that I’m moderating next month for the MaintainIT Project about gaming in libraries where I’ll interview library gaming goddess Beth Gallaway.

If you have a gaming program in your library please send me your tips for best practices to share. Likewise if you have questions that you’d like answered send those to me as well.

From the MaintainIT Project site:

Get Your Game On: Quick tips to start a gaming program

When: Thursday, October 16, 2008, 11:00 AM Pacific/2 PM Eastern

Where: WebJunction’s Wimba space

Who: Presented by Lori Reed, Employee Learning Coordinator at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg, and Beth Gallaway, Independent Library Trainer/Consultant.

What: 30-minute webinar where Cookbook contributors share their experiences.

Join Lori Reed, Employee Learning Coordinator at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg, as she interviews Beth Gallaway for “Get Your Game On: Quick Tips to Start a Gaming Program in Your Library.” This will be a fast-paced and interactive session introducing the idea of gaming programs in libraries. Hear what others have done, share your experiences, and think about what you might want to do in the future.

Take 30-minutes out of your day to learn from the experiences of others and get something started. This is a part of the MaintainIT Cookbook webinar series where contributors to the Cookbooks share their insights, their secrets, and what you can do to get started with projects like theirs.

Beth Gallaway was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2006 for her work in advocating for videogames in libraries. She is an independent library trainer/consultant specializing in gaming, technology, and youth services, and is a YALSA certified Serving the Underserved (SUS) trainer. Visit her website at http://informationgoddess.info.

Received this in an email this week from the State Librarian:

The State Library is pleased to announce the next class of North Carolina Master Trainers! Twenty-four applications were received this year, and there were so many qualified candidates that the task of making final selections was very difficult. This exciting program is a statewide effort to increase the ability of public and academic library staff in planning and presenting effective training. During the program participants will learn principles of training design, presentation skills, and how to serve as a trainer for their library.

2008-2009 Master Trainer Class

Davey Beauchamp, Davidson County Public Library
Amanda Bird, Hickory Public Library
Heidi Buchanan, Western Carolina University
Jacqueline Frye, Harnett County Public Library
Tiffany Hayes, Cumberland County Public Library
Grant LeFoe, South Piedmont Community College
Lynn McCormick, Pitt Community College
Sara McGough, Henderson County Public Library
Cindy Nanney, Polk County Public Library
Patricia Patterson, Stanly County Public Library
Melissa Raymer, Cape Fear Community College
Lori Reed, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County
Luba Sawczyn, Chapel Hill Public Library
Brandi Tuttle, Duke University
Linda VanSistine-Yost, H. Leslie Perry Memorial
Christina Williams, East Albemarle Regional

Yep that’s my name in the list. In November I will be attending Session 1, the four-day train-the-trainer bootcamp.

Here’s some info about the program from the Master Trainer site.

What is the Master Trainer Program?
The Master Trainer Program is a statewide initiative of the State Library of North Carolina that equips public and academic libraries to respond to the ongoing need for training through an intensive “train the trainer” program. Through an application process, a class of up to 16 participants is selected to form that year’s “class”. Program participants commit to three sessions.

• Session #1 is a four-day Train-the-Trainer workshop with a focus on core concepts of learner centered training design, training techniques, and giving and receiving effective feedback.
• Session #2 is a series of virtual coaching sessions that builds on the learning that occurred in Session #1 and prepares each participant to successfully deliver a 60-minute training in their own library.
• Session #3 is a three-day meeting that includes a Showcase Day where the class highlights their training designs for their directors.

I’m looking forward to tweeting and blogging about the experience.

A few weeks ago I announced a new communication tool to our staff for training and learning. PLCMC Learning where we will be posting information about our in-house staff learning and training opportunities as well as links to webinars, tutorials, and upcoming training from around the library community that may be of interest to our staff.

While this site is geared to PLCMC staff, the site is public and I hope that other libraries will find information to use here. So bookmark it, tag it, subscribe to it.

September 14-20 is career week over on the ASTD Career Center. Make sure you check out some of the free archived webinars available–Career Contentment, Interviewing Tips:Your Time to Shine, Make Your Contacts Count, Marketing Brand “You,” Take Charge of Your Career, and more. You’ll also find promotion codes for books and certifications.

There was a great article in the May 2008 issue of Training titled, “Teach Tomorrow’s Leaders.” In it author Jay Jacobson discusses the need to move beyond training to learning.

The next generation of future leaders has had access to the Internet for most of their lives. They are wired to be entertained–almost 24 hours a day. The text-messaging phenomenon feeds their “rapid-fire” mentality, and people now expect information in short, abbreviated doses. As a result, current training techniques often are misaligned with the way the next generation of leaders will learn new information and stay engaged.

In the article Jacobson goes on to give some tips for creating this entertaining environment of learning. I found this one point interesting, “Make sure trainers provide thought leadership and guidance, and are not the preeminent source of knowledge. If the trainer is speaking more than 25 percent of the time, consider it a red flag.”

That’s a really bold statement. We need to let our participants talk and lead the discussion 75% of the time during a training learning session. Aren’t those the people we normally want to kick out of the session? :)  In all seriousness I am lucky to get some of my learners to talk at all.

I agree with this in theory, and this is something for us to work towards in libraries. What ideas do you have to make learning more participatory for the learner? Especially for technology training…how can we get learners to take the floor? As we make this paradigm shift do you see your more traditional learners being confused or annoyed by this change in dynamics? What do you think your facilitator/learner talking ratio is?

The past month or so has been extremely difficult personally. In January we hired a full time nanny who watched our kids in her home with her own two kids. At first things were great, but after a while we started to have some concerns. About a month ago we decided it would be best for everyone involved to move our kids to a childcare facility. It was a very difficult decision and conversation to have with the person who had been caring for my children for years. (She was a teacher at their previous childcare center.)

Luckily since school is starting and kids move up to new classes spots were open in the center we desired for both kids. Had out little one, Cameron, been younger than a year we might not have been so lucky. Infant spots in a 4 or 5 star center have up to a year or more waiting list. In other words, you better get on the list before you conceive your baby.

Add to this the sticker shock. Full-time care in a 4-star center for two children…$420 per week (close to $22K a year). If you are tempted to calculate your wages after paying for childcare and taxes, trust me, don’t.

So after a grueling month it was time for vacation! We had a wonderful trip to my hometown of St. Augustine, Florida. We had a fabulous time spending lazy days at the beach with the kids building sand castles and playing in the waves (even though Florida was flanked by hurricanes this past week).

My family had a completely unplugged vacation without Internet, computers, PDAs, or even cell phones. I think we all need to do this more often. It was completely relaxing. I’m realizing more and more the effect technology can have on one’s attention span and ability to concentrate. Years ago I could read a novel in a day. Now I can only make it through a page or two before I start fidgeting and getting impatient.

We arrived home over the weekend and returned back to the routine of work and childcare. Monday was Ian and Cam’s first day at the new center. Ian being anxious to start kindergarten next fall was excited about going to “4-year-old kindergarten.” Cam on the other hand has not had the same exposure to being around other adults. She cried the entire day and around 2pm we received a phone call that she had a fever and we needed to pick her up. This is one of the reasons why we had switched initially from a childcare center to a nanny. A nanny can watch kids when they are sick. A childcare center cannot, and anyone who has been around kids knows that they are always sick! The dreaded thing about daycare fevers is that state policy says your kids must be fever-free for 24-hours before coming back. Which means if you get that call your child is out the rest of the day and all of the next day. So you are looking at missing two-days of work. Because my husband and I both teach classes it is often an interesting chess match of a phone call as we determine who has enough sick leave, whose class is more important, and can either of us get a substitute to fill in. We are both lucky to work in an organization with staff who understand and are flexible.

I’m also officially a soccer mom now, so watch out!