Category Archives: Continuing Education

Putting OverDrive eBooks onto eReaders: A Guide for public service staff

by Jessica Posted on July 25, 2011

We had such a great turnout for our first class that we are opening 2 more sessions! This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about OverDrive and how you can assist patrons with the eReader process. Al Carlson will be instructing both classes. Please check the links below for registration information.

DATE: September 15th & 20th

TIME: 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

LOCATION: Online Classroom

OverDrive eBooks are popular with library patrons. But many of them have a hard time putting it all together: finding available eBooks on the digital download site, transferring them to their PC, and sideloading them to their Nook or other eReader. This webinar equips public service staff with the skills they need to assist patrons at any stage of the process.

Topics include:

  • Finding immediately available eBooks on an OverDrive site, installing Adobe Digital Editions and creating an Adobe identity
  • Downloading eBooks to a PC, and transferring (sideloading) them to an eReader.
  • The class also covers direct downloads to smart phones, iPads, and other web enabled devices.

Register Here for the September 15th Class

Register Here for the September 20th class

Posted in Continuing Education, News, OverDrive, TBLC news | Leave a comment

TBLC brings Joan Frye Williams and George Needham to town

by smithm Posted on February 18, 2010

Join Joan and George for a half-day workshop at the Fruitville Library on Monday, May 17th from 1pm to 4pm.

Times, technologies, and funding levels change, and even the best laid plans could probably use a tune-up.  Join library futurist Joan Frye Williams and library strategist George Needham for a no-holds-barred discussion of where library services are headed and how to leverage scarce resources to get there.  You’ll learn practical, time-sensitive techniques for assessing your current situation, identifying opportunities, refocusing priorities, letting go where necessary, and getting staff reenergized.

Living proof that recruitment can’t start too young, George and Joan both started their careers as public library pages, and have now spent a combined 70+ years tackling a wide variety of library jobs, doing everything from testifying at Senate hearings to emptying the book drop.  (Ask them which one of those was more fun!)

Register here.

Biographical Information:

Joan has worked as a successful librarian, consultant, vendor, planner, trainer, and evaluator of library services.  She is an internationally recognized library futurist and the president of her own library consulting firm, with a special emphasis on innovation and emerging library trends.

George’s credits include a number of high profile management posts, including State Librarian of Michigan, Executive Director of the Public Library Association, Director of Member Services of the Ohio Library Association, and Library Director of Fairfield County District Library in Lancaster, Ohio. He divides his time between OCLC, where he is Vice President for Global and Regional Councils, and his practice as an independent library strategist and consultant.

Since 2005, George and Joan have been co-presenting—often humorously—about library trends and topics. (For a sample, tune into their podcast series – George and Joan: Thinking Out Loud.) Their primary focus is on what non-library “civilians” really want, what libraries can do to meet their communities’ changing needs and expectations, and how we can all hang onto our perspective and our principles so that moving forward doesn’t get us down.

Posted in Conferences/events, Continuing Education, General interest | Leave a comment

Call for Presenters– 2010 Very Important Paraprofessional (VIP) Workshop

by smithm Posted on November 19, 2009

The Very Important Paraprofessional Workshop will be back in 2010 stronger than ever before!  We are soliciting applications for presenters for the 2010 VIP Workshop that will be held on Friday, May 14th at St. Petersburg College EpiCenter.

If you have presented before or if you haven’t before but want to now, please apply!  Share your talents with the State’s paraprofessional workforce.

The Session Proposal Form is available on the TBLC website at www.tblc.org/vipworkshop.shtml.  Proposals are due by December 14, 2009.

Contact Beth Farmer at farmerb@tblc.org for more information.

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What can TBLC do for you?

by smithm Posted on June 4, 2009

Florida libraries are going through a time of transition, and many of you are taking on more responsibilities in your job, or even taking on completely new roles that may require targeted training. Or perhaps budget restraints in your library have caused high tension among coworkers.

This is where TBLC comes in. Over the past several months, we’ve offered various workshops to help train our members in new areas, to learn how to keep cool during this demanding time and to deal with change. But we know we can do more for you.

So tell us how we can help you. What other workshops can TBLC offer to get you and your coworkers through this rough transition? Do you need training in certain areas? Do you have a topic that you – or someone you know – can teach? We offer in-person and online workshops, so feel free to make suggestions for either or both.

Additionally, TBLC staff members can come to your library to speak on a sundry of topics, including virtual reference, customer service, resource sharing, advocacy and word-of-mouth marketing.

We look forward to hearing from you. Please email your ideas to Beth Farmer at farmerb@tblc.org.

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New DVD available for TBLC members

by smithm Posted on November 20, 2008

We’ve just added a new DVD to our video lending library.

“Accent on Attitude: The way to win customers and keep them coming back” shows employees interacting with customers in a variety of real-life everyday situations. Viewers will gain valuable insight into the impact their attitude has on customers, as well as practical suggestions for improving the quality of each customer experience.

Click here to request this DVD or to see our entire list of available videos.

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Discover the Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

by smithm Posted on September 29, 2008

November 13 & 14, 2008

Word-of-mouth marketing is the best and most powerful way for you to get your message to potential customers. Customer relations is important, but having a clear, concise and consistent message to share with your customers is even better. Create a buzz and get people talking!

The Tampa Bay Library Consortium offers “Discover the Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing,” two interactive workshops that will reveal what makes word-of-mouth marketing so important and will walk you through the steps of developing a plan to implement in your library.

In the first workshop, we will learn about the wonders of word-of-mouth marketing. In the second workshop, our skilled trainer will help you plan your own marketing project, and then in the months to come, we will help your library implement it. If you only want to learn about word-of-mouth marketing, just attend day one.  If you want to develop your own plan and have us help you along the way, attend both sessions (and be sure to register for both).

DAY ONE (November 13)
On day one, we will:

  • Learn what word-of-mouth marketing is and why it’s important for your library
  • Learn how to get people talking about your library
  • Discover how to turn customers into “champions” for your library

Click here to sign up for Day One of this workshop.

DAY TWO (November 14)
On day two, we will:

  • Help you plan a marketing communication project and then over the following months we will help you implement it
  • Establish communication goals and develop creative key messages
  • Build a marketing communication plan that all staff members will be involved in implementing
  • Discuss follow-up evaluation methods

After you develop your marketing communication plan during the workshop, TBLC will work with you over the following months to help implement it.

Click here to sign up for Day Two of this workshop.

About the instructor
Peggy Barber was formerly associate executive director for communication for the American Library Association (ALA), where she managed and implemented marketing and communication programs. She established the ALA Public Information Office, Public Programs Office and the ALA Graphics program, including the widely known “Celebrity Read” poster series. She helped to launch the universal library logo that appears on streets and roads across the country. She also coauthored Getting Your Grant: A How-to-Do-It Manual for Librarians.

Barber received the Lippincott Award for distinguished service to the library profession in 1999, and was honored as Alumni of the Year in 2001 by the Rutgers University School of Library and Information Science, where she earned her master’s degree in library science. She served as coordinator for the Orange County Cooperative Library System and as a reference librarian for the Bay Area Reference Center, San Francisco Public Library before joining ALA.

Posted in Continuing Education | 1 Comment

Dr. Christie Koontz presents marketing program at TBLC

by smithm Posted on May 14, 2008

After Dr. Christie Koontz presented a popular marketing workshop at this year’s FLA, we’ve invited her to present Marketing: The Missing Manual at TBLC on Wed., July 16, 2008.  This class is designed to introduce participants to marketing practices and principles in libraries, and a new decision making tool, the Internet-accessible Public Library Geographic Database.

Bring experience and common sense, and a readiness to learn!

Click here for more information or to register for this workshop. Hope to see you there!

Posted in Continuing Education, Marketing | Leave a comment

Continuing Education survey

by smithm Posted on January 18, 2008

The Tampa Bay Library Consortium greatly values our members’ feedback.

We have compiled a short survey to find out what more we can do for you through our Continuing Education program. We ask that you take just a few minutes to fill out the survey so that we may enhance our service to better fit our members’ needs.

Please click here to complete the Continuing Education survey.

Contact Ellen Cannon at (813) 622-8252 (ext. 231) with any questions.

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