Collaborating to Add Value for the Customer

The Library Services Administrative team members, here at CNM, were all relatively new to their positions but they quickly began forming as a group. 

To accelerate the team development process they collaborated to establish their mission and vision. They also began reviewing their policies and procedures in order to update them where necessary.  In the process they identified that they were all here to work with students, faculty and staff to promote effective research and instruction.  And they wanted to ensure that they were reaching all of their customers.  They recognized that there was such a broad range of experiences library users possessed.  Some had little to no knowledge of technology and computers while others were very savvy when it came to utilizing technology.  And it didn’t stop there. They noticed there were generational differences in the methods of research customers employed.

The librarian team knew they had a need to learn more about the differences in how adults learn so they could better support the customer.  They then took the initiative to seek out the professional development they needed.  The administrative team designed a team development retreat for all library staff.  They invited a guest speaker, Richard Wayne, to come and share his knowledge and experiences around Information Darwinianism, a systems thinking approach to the evolution of libraries services and information.  They also brought in a faculty member, Bill Meador of CHSS, who delivered a class on the different learning styles and generational learning.

The librarians keenly identified the need to develop their organizational capability.  They did this by increasing the knowledge and skills of the individuals, looking at their business processes and working on their team development.  The librarians are now focused on taking the information they’ve learned and incorporating it into how they help customers learn how to use the library resources effectively.

Their vision is to be integrated into the curriculum across the college and provide the proper education on copyright, understanding issues of plagiarism and information literacy.  They are willing to bring the education to the customer.  If you would like to invite them to present in your classroom or in a CNM meeting, please contact:

• Aimee Quinn 224-5729 (Montoya/Westside)

• Susan Moore 224-3297(Main/South Valley)

• Barbara Lovato-Gassman 224-3286 (Director of Library Services).

This week we'd like you to spend your "learning at your desk" time to think about your own professional development.  Is there something you've been meaning to learn or do for a while?  Take some time, a strategic pause, to figure out what knowledge, skills and/or abilities you'd like to develop and outline the measurable steps you can take to develop the specific ability.

Professional development will be something different for each person.  For some it may be: attending a conference, presenting at a conference, taking a learnshop, finding a mentor, becoming a mentor, joining a learning community or partaking in a rich exchange of innovative ideas with your professional peers.  Whichever the case, if you don't plan for it... who will?

If you're just getting started and you'd like to know more about the process of creating an individual development plan, we have a document from Educause that can help you get started.  They've created worksheets to walk you through the process.

Professional Development Plan

Quotation

Productivity Primer

Knowing and Leveraging your Strengths

Learn how to:

• reach the reluctant learner
• increase learner participation
• get productive results from learners
• the art of timing learning activities
• utilize music in an adult learning environment
• include energizers and ice breakers that work
• give flawless directions that learners understand

Register for the above classes on the OL webpage.

Register on the OL webpage