LS589 – Week 4 blog post: Better Library Leaders and T is for Training

This week I’m going to share one of my new favorite library-related websites and podcasts, Better Library Leaders, by Dr. Sarah Clark. I learned about it a couple of months ago during a summer class at Clarion University and since then I’ve joined the Facebook group (and others related to library leadership, such as ALA Think Tank) as a way to become more engaged with librarians and library professionals outside my library district.

By subscribing to Dr. Clark’s newsletter, you get access to a free weekly podcast that is short and simple. From collaboration to mastering difficult conversations, she dives into topics that you need to know about without wasting your time.  BLL is a podcast, blog and Facebook community designed to explore the elements of great libraries and great library leaders and it doesn’t matter if you’re with a public, academic, school, or special library – if you’re a librarian, then Better Library Leaders is for you.

Through the blog and Facebook community I have seen what other librarians and library professionals are struggling with, along with sharing in their successes, and ideas that can be duplicated and modified. It’s a wonderful resource that doesn’t require any more time than my regular Facebook check ins and status updates.

I believe it was through a classmate who either posted this to Diigo or mentioned it in their blog that I learned about T is for Training. T is for Training is an informal podcast dedicated but not obsessed with training in libraries. Started in 2008 by baldgeekinmd, this program seeks to deepen the conversation about training, share resources, connect, socially network and to laugh a lot. This podcast has been especially helpful as I learn more about safety and security and leadership development. Who doesn’t love a podcast? You can listen while you multitask at work, at home or exercising.

This week our readings focused heavily on social media for libraries, blogs and podcasts. I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a regular podcast or video update, similar to Book Riot, since my library installed a One-Button Studio. I have access to the technology, I’ve been trained to use it and I have the support of my leadership … so now I just have to decide on a message!

I will say that I agreed with a lot of what our readings mentioned, even if they were several years old. When libraries decide to participate on social media, they need to have a plan in place. The goal is not to promote library resources and services, but also to engage users and build a community of library users and supporters. After all, if no one believes the library matters in the community – it won’t. So it’s important to keep the conversation going online on social media. That’s one of the reasons I love the American Library Association’s recent “Libraries Transform” campaign!

If you’re interested in my library’s social media networks – and even though I’m biased, I think we do a great job in reaching our community – visit our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr pages. See you online!