1.   Can you give me a little background on the Maryland Learning Libraries project?

The Maryland State Department of Education/Division of Library Development & Services has promoted the concept of Learning Organizations as a vehicle to create a common vocabulary, and a means for organizational dialogue among public libraries since 2001. Through a Maryland Association of Public Library Administrators retreat and several sessions of Leading from any Position, we have begun to explore our organizations. The Learning Libraries project is designed to continue the discussion and promote positive change within our organizations. Learning Libraries 3.0 is a continuation of the Learning Libraries I (2001--02) and Learning Libraries II (2003--04) workshops, with some modifications based on the feedback from previous Learning Libraries Teams.

 

2.    What will participants learn and do in this workshop? 

They'll learn how to help their libraries become more adaptive and nimble in handling change.  They'll work as a team over the course of a year to develop, 'sell', implement, and evaluate a project that results in improved service to the library's customers.  And they'll learn the skills they need to keep their team working effectively.  All of this will be done in the context of the Principles of Learning Libraries:  Shared Vision, Personal Mastery, Team Learning, Systems Thinking, and Mental Models.   

 

3.    Who is eligible to attend, and how many people should attend from each library? 

Any staff member who is interested in developing teamwork and change management skills is eligible.  Ideally, each library will send a cross-functional team that will work together on its project over the course of a year.  How many to send is up to you--we recommend that each team include from 2 to 6 people.  Of course, a library may send more than one team.

 

 4.    How can library administrators make sure our participants are prepared for the workshops?

Two things would be most helpful:

• Talk with them about the kinds of project areas that you think would be meaningful for your library.  If possible, let them come up with their own project idea that fits in with your goals and those of your library's strategic plan, and with the opportunities they see.  Developing the idea and negotiating with their supervisors and administrators is a rich learning process.  And be sure to let them know how you plan to support them!
• Help them connect with others from your system who have attended, if possible, so that they can learn from a prior team's experience in initiating and managing change.

 

5.    When and where will the workshops be held?  

There will be five two-day workshops held in all regions of the state in Fall 2007.  A half-day follow-up session will be scheduled for Spring 2008.  And a full-day culminating event will be held in Fall 2008.  Teams may register for any workshop that is convenient for them, regardless of the location or dates.  Here is the schedule. 

 

6.    How and when can we register?

Registration information will be available this summer.  Announcements and registration links will be posted to the MAPLA listserv and the Staff Development Coordinators' listserv, and information will be available on the shared Statewide Training Calendar as it becomes available.