WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 1 00:00:00.859 --> 00:00:05.650 Good morning, everyone! 2 00:00:05.650 --> 00:00:10.170 We're going to shift our focus a little built to adult learning and workforce development 3 00:00:10.170 --> 00:00:13.759 now. 4 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:18.270 We do not have a PowerPoint. 5 00:00:18.270 --> 00:00:23.380 We discussed it and decided not to do that and part of reason for that is, we really 6 00:00:23.380 --> 00:00:28.650 wanted to have a discussion and that so much of workforce development is about helping 7 00:00:28.650 --> 00:00:34.840 people attain a better quality of life, whether that's helping them get the literacy skills 8 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:41.540 they need, the digital skills to get a job, to get a better job, all of those kinds of 9 00:00:41.540 --> 00:00:45.850 things and so much about that is connecting with people not just in the library and in 10 00:00:45.850 --> 00:00:52.130 the greater community and going out to them as opposed to them coming to us and beginning 11 00:00:52.130 --> 00:01:02.310 to address the challenges and barriers that so many people face like literacy, language, 12 00:01:02.310 --> 00:01:08.070 disability, like transportation and other practical kinds of things that keep people 13 00:01:08.070 --> 00:01:11.720 from taking advantage of opportunities. 14 00:01:11.720 --> 00:01:19.950 I think you'll hear from our three panelist, the great and innovative work they're doing 15 00:01:19.950 --> 00:01:27.670 and so much of the work they're doing is happening in collaborations and partnerships with agencies 16 00:01:27.670 --> 00:01:30.510 outside of the library which I think are exciting. 17 00:01:30.510 --> 00:01:46.890 Our three panelist today are Karisa, director of learning and literacy, and Cindy Gibb Bonn 18 00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:52.740 who is the access and information service director for Mecklenburg county library. 19 00:01:52.740 --> 00:02:09.640 So Karisa. 20 00:02:09.640 --> 00:02:15.060 >> So I'm so fortunate to be in this room like many of you feel being able to talk about 21 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:21.650 adult education and workforce development together as a priority for IMLS moving forward. 22 00:02:21.650 --> 00:02:26.530 I am the director of an adult education agency in Rhode Island and we serve immigrants and 23 00:02:26.530 --> 00:02:32.920 are a collaboration of different city libraries working together. 24 00:02:32.920 --> 00:02:38.220 So I'm often in rooms where adult education is discussed, where workforce development 25 00:02:38.220 --> 00:02:44.640 is discussed and where libraries are discussed but rarely, I find, they're discussed together. 26 00:02:44.640 --> 00:02:50.120 So about two years ago, we received national leadership grant from IMLS and it's come out 27 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:55.940 to be what we call all access, adult lifelong learning in the libraries. 28 00:02:55.940 --> 00:03:04.060 Our goal has been really about putting down barriers mainly for populations, people with 29 00:03:04.060 --> 00:03:09.170 low literacy, low educational attainment, people with disabilities and people with low 30 00:03:09.170 --> 00:03:11.260 digital literacy. 31 00:03:11.260 --> 00:03:13.950 It's really though, serving everyone. 32 00:03:13.950 --> 00:03:19.410 We're finding very quickly, unemployed, under employed people and what we're doing is we're 33 00:03:19.410 --> 00:03:25.090 creating new learning and funding models and how that's been implemented is we have learning 34 00:03:25.090 --> 00:03:31.310 lounges in library that are open access for adults to come in and improve their education 35 00:03:31.310 --> 00:03:32.810 and employment needs. 36 00:03:32.810 --> 00:03:38.500 We have an assistive technology exploration station through a partnership where people 37 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:44.280 can come in and find out how technology can help them with a prescribed disability or 38 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:45.950 not. 39 00:03:45.950 --> 00:03:52.959 We have iPad clubs, typing clubs, one on one technology appointments where adults can meet 40 00:03:52.959 --> 00:03:58.300 with librarians one on one for help and I have to tell you, the list keeps growing because 41 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:04.061 our main goal is what are the barriers for adults getting the education and employment 42 00:04:04.061 --> 00:04:08.659 they need and how can we adjust and make programs to help that. 43 00:04:08.659 --> 00:04:15.190 So it's really been about a continuum of care and really talking about no more silos and 44 00:04:15.190 --> 00:04:21.609 interestingly our partnership is really involved with workforce development and adult education 45 00:04:21.609 --> 00:04:26.990 and libraries and the more they get to know us, the more they want to do with us. 46 00:04:26.990 --> 00:04:31.979 That's one of the big lessons I'm learning but it takes a lot of time and effort and 47 00:04:31.979 --> 00:04:37.119 someone was saying earlier about, it's really about alphabet soups of acronyms. 48 00:04:37.119 --> 00:04:39.789 You really need a list when you go in. 49 00:04:39.789 --> 00:04:44.180 You know, as we all are driven by different outcomes, those systems have different outcomes 50 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:49.240 that we have to be aware of so that we can have really meaningful partnerships. 51 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:56.119 So I came into this work because I have been in so many rooms where I hear workforce development 52 00:04:56.119 --> 00:04:58.559 say, well, send that person to the library. 53 00:04:58.559 --> 00:05:02.059 They'll help with you with cover letter and then I hear in adult education, they'll HOPE 54 00:05:02.059 --> 00:05:08.589 you with your computer knowledge but from my stand point, we rarely receive the funding 55 00:05:08.589 --> 00:05:16.439 to do that and are we really doing the best for people in what those services are. 56 00:05:16.439 --> 00:05:22.949 So there are 36 million adults, just a recent survey that need basic skills in the country 57 00:05:22.949 --> 00:05:25.849 and I would argue that skills building is our business. 58 00:05:25.849 --> 00:05:32.619 And the adult education system is willfully under funded in the state, in the country. 59 00:05:32.619 --> 00:05:40.930 In my program alone, we constantly have waiting lists for services so I'm familiar with many 60 00:05:40.930 --> 00:05:48.599 of these worlds and I find that it's absolutely clear that public libraries can be a major 61 00:05:48.599 --> 00:05:50.439 solution to these challenges. 62 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:54.569 We're open access, adults have worked many jobs, juggling family. 63 00:05:54.569 --> 00:06:00.759 They can't often go to adult education classes or the workforce development system center 64 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:08.419 or they can come to the libraries if we personalize our services around their needs. 65 00:06:08.419 --> 00:06:12.169 It's very patron focused. 66 00:06:12.169 --> 00:06:22.960 I want to tell you one thing, in Rhode Island, we have 78 locations and we have three workforce 67 00:06:22.960 --> 00:06:25.699 development centers. 68 00:06:25.699 --> 00:06:31.490 Think of the capacities and the barriers over come just by doing things in the library. 69 00:06:31.490 --> 00:06:39.610 So I would have to say that one thing that's been really helpful is the depth of partnerships 70 00:06:39.610 --> 00:06:44.740 that we have developed because I can't be in all of those rooms but all of our partners 71 00:06:44.740 --> 00:06:48.110 are in those rooms and they're speaking up on our behalf. 72 00:06:48.110 --> 00:06:51.860 So I want to tell you about a really urgent need we have right now with a new workforce 73 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:54.399 innovation and opportunity act. 74 00:06:54.399 --> 00:07:00.679 This is the new legislation for the workforce development system in adult education in our 75 00:07:00.679 --> 00:07:01.679 country. 76 00:07:01.679 --> 00:07:07.009 Public libraries are noted as eligible partners as one stops and we're important providers 77 00:07:07.009 --> 00:07:09.669 but what does that really mean? 78 00:07:09.669 --> 00:07:15.679 Right now in your states they're required to develop unified plans on how they're going 79 00:07:15.679 --> 00:07:20.419 to work together for workforce development but I want to ask the question, how many libraries 80 00:07:20.419 --> 00:07:25.330 are in the rooms in the conversations and I've been knocking on the door and it's really 81 00:07:25.330 --> 00:07:26.330 hard. 82 00:07:26.330 --> 00:07:28.749 I am imagining the scene is true. 83 00:07:28.749 --> 00:07:37.409 For us to truly recognize that public libraries are in it, how can we take full advantage 84 00:07:37.409 --> 00:07:43.300 of that and I'm going to talking about my priorities for that in a little bit. 85 00:07:43.300 --> 00:07:48.379 I mean, for IMLS, the priorities moving forward but I think we need to come up with a system 86 00:07:48.379 --> 00:07:50.719 so it's not a matter of knocking on doors. 87 00:07:50.719 --> 00:07:55.889 I have heard many conversations or comments here that libraries are over looked. 88 00:07:55.889 --> 00:07:59.199 I see it, I definitely see it. 89 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:05.889 If we could do work in the future of how to meaningfully implement we're at the table, 90 00:08:05.889 --> 00:08:19.209 there's a lot of sources of funding that could really help us so thank you! 91 00:08:19.209 --> 00:08:20.209 >> Good morning! 92 00:08:20.209 --> 00:08:25.309 My name is Diosdado and I'm the director of learning literacy for Queens library and I 93 00:08:25.309 --> 00:08:29.749 want to conceptualize my comments. 94 00:08:29.749 --> 00:08:43.529 What we do in queens this is one of the biggest with the largest immigrant population so within 95 00:08:43.529 --> 00:08:48.240 that context, we have to respond to the demand. 96 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.120 So we have seven adult learning centers. 97 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:56.440 We have three sites for young adult literacy as well as ESL classes, about 100 a year at 98 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:02.600 the libraries so we're under pressure to always meet the challenges and most of our registration 99 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:04.740 where we do intake and assessment. 100 00:09:04.740 --> 00:09:14.140 This is fund by government and we typically turn away 40  percent because we don't have 101 00:09:14.140 --> 00:09:19.879 enough seats so that's a challenge to staff as well as program administration in how to 102 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.070 better meet the challenges. 103 00:09:22.070 --> 00:09:25.170 In particular, there's always a discussion about funding, right? 104 00:09:25.170 --> 00:09:30.360 So when we're looking at city operating budget as well as our government grants, we're always 105 00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:34.519 looking at how we can share resources. 106 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:39.670 One of the great things though, I think that a lot of the government agencies have recognized 107 00:09:39.670 --> 00:09:46.040 that with adult programming requires that there needs to be partnerships. 108 00:09:46.040 --> 00:09:53.920 So we run two literacy zones and it's really following the program model that adult education 109 00:09:53.920 --> 00:10:00.410 is the front and center of really bringing together all of the partnerships within a 110 00:10:00.410 --> 00:10:02.400 service area model. 111 00:10:02.400 --> 00:10:10.500 So we have guiding coalitions where we have at least 20 to 25 people who come to our sites 112 00:10:10.500 --> 00:10:15.550 and we talk about what is our strategic direction and what is our planning in terms of how we 113 00:10:15.550 --> 00:10:17.700 increase and enhance our programming. 114 00:10:17.700 --> 00:10:21.649 So that's something we always look at. 115 00:10:21.649 --> 00:10:31.970 We serve about 5,000 unduplicated students a year in all of our programs and that's why 116 00:10:31.970 --> 00:10:37.560 I think, our IMLS in particular posing a great opportunity. 117 00:10:37.560 --> 00:10:45.860 The IMLS grant we have was really to better train our librarians in immigrant services. 118 00:10:45.860 --> 00:10:50.230 The queen's library has about 65 locations so this is a great opportunity for our adult 119 00:10:50.230 --> 00:10:58.009 education folks to work with our 65 community libraries to figure out so the first year 120 00:10:58.009 --> 00:11:01.440 of the grant, we developed the curriculum and the second year, we developed the training. 121 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:07.410 We are having to train 400 plus librarians on immigrant services. 122 00:11:07.410 --> 00:11:13.160 So it's a great collaboration in Queens to how to better improve the services and one 123 00:11:13.160 --> 00:11:19.700 of the this things we have looked at is what model are we going to use? 124 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:23.300 Typically in adult programming, we utilize case management. 125 00:11:23.300 --> 00:11:31.689 We follow them because we pretest them, and then we look at attendance and retention and 126 00:11:31.689 --> 00:11:34.180 we post test them based on educational gain. 127 00:11:34.180 --> 00:11:37.290 That's how we can continue to get our funding. 128 00:11:37.290 --> 00:11:39.880 And then we have had discussions with our community libraries. 129 00:11:39.880 --> 00:11:45.240 Specifically, we look at head counts in our community libraries so the compromise we came 130 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:48.649 up with is really to be the facilitators for information. 131 00:11:48.649 --> 00:11:55.480 So this is really a new model that our IMLS grant has sort of kind of created this opportunity 132 00:11:55.480 --> 00:12:05.449 for collaboration within our community libraries and our librarians. 133 00:12:05.449 --> 00:12:10.529 There are challenges especially, as Karisa mentioned, a new legislation that is just 134 00:12:10.529 --> 00:12:16.120 being rolled out right now but also with common core state standards and a new task in New 135 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:23.649 York state in terms of the instructional shifts required by our programming to be able to 136 00:12:23.649 --> 00:12:32.110 really prepare our students so we have basic adult as well as preHSE. 137 00:12:32.110 --> 00:12:34.089 As a line to the core common standards. 138 00:12:34.089 --> 00:12:41.680 Last week was the second year we conducted a graduation where students came in with caps 139 00:12:41.680 --> 00:12:49.509 and gowns and they achieved, you know, they passed the exam, you know, in all five areas, 140 00:12:49.509 --> 00:12:53.139 writing reading, math and social studies. 141 00:12:53.139 --> 00:13:00.670 So it's the first cohort of students that predominantly had to pass all five sections 142 00:13:00.670 --> 00:13:07.220 according to the new task, the new GED exam, testing for secondary completion. 143 00:13:07.220 --> 00:13:14.139 And so those are the kind of things and the things we have looked at not just funding 144 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:18.850 but also what do we need to do in terms of professional development and training for 145 00:13:18.850 --> 00:13:19.930 our staff. 146 00:13:19.930 --> 00:13:25.149 Because one of the things that we're also developing within the department of labor 147 00:13:25.149 --> 00:13:31.399 is developing a curriculum on task transition and we actually campus then tire field in 148 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:40.430 terms of who out there can develop the curriculum and the common core is still trickling into 149 00:13:40.430 --> 00:13:45.100 the adult education world in terms of how you take the standards and apply it to the 150 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:46.100 class room. 151 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:52.410 What practices do we need to change to better prepare our students for the task exam because 152 00:13:52.410 --> 00:13:57.860 we it seems like the statistics have shown that for most of our students, the math and 153 00:13:57.860 --> 00:14:03.610 the writing seems to be the most challenging for all of them so that means that again, 154 00:14:03.610 --> 00:14:05.639 another opportunity for what kind of programming. 155 00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:10.320 So we have developed programming and classes that particularly look at the math and the 156 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:14.740 science in particular to help really prepare our students for the task exam. 157 00:14:14.740 --> 00:14:20.839 I think it's going to continue to do that so in terms of priorities for future funding, 158 00:14:20.839 --> 00:14:22.040 we're going to discuss it a little bit later. 159 00:14:22.040 --> 00:14:26.769 I think we're going to go through all of our recommendations but really, this is a lot 160 00:14:26.769 --> 00:14:29.160 of the things we need to be looking at. 161 00:14:29.160 --> 00:14:32.149 One of the things though in terms of opportunities that we have had to look at is really a mirror 162 00:14:32.149 --> 00:14:38.769 the changes that are happening with the program and the common core in that we really have 163 00:14:38.769 --> 00:14:40.939 looked at integrating all of our different departments. 164 00:14:40.939 --> 00:14:46.769 So we have integrated our adult program with workforce development and we have looked at 165 00:14:46.769 --> 00:14:51.769 it from a continuation of services in the perspective of student needs. 166 00:14:51.769 --> 00:14:57.600 We have also incorporated our new Americans learning under one umbrella so when we're 167 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:03.790 looking at students under intake and assessment and pretesting, we are cross referring not 168 00:15:03.790 --> 00:15:13.029 only to other programs but also within our own departments in terms of adult learning 169 00:15:13.029 --> 00:15:19.269 towards workforce development as well as legal services for a lot of our ESL students who 170 00:15:19.269 --> 00:15:21.970 might need those services. 171 00:15:21.970 --> 00:15:26.839 So that's something that I think both challenges as well as opportunities for really great 172 00:15:26.839 --> 00:15:32.120 program enhancements. 173 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:42.139 Thank you! 174 00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:52.350 >> Hi, I'm Cindy Gibb Bonn, the access and information services director from the Mecklenburg 175 00:15:52.350 --> 00:15:59.290 library in Portland Oregon and I want to start by telling you about a recent IMLS project. 176 00:15:59.290 --> 00:16:06.540 We're just getting off the ground but we think it has great promise to create some baseline 177 00:16:06.540 --> 00:16:13.190 data for us to start measuring the outcomes of what we are doing in libraries. 178 00:16:13.190 --> 00:16:16.649 This grant has a lengthy title. 179 00:16:16.649 --> 00:16:18.089 It's quite a mouthful. 180 00:16:18.089 --> 00:16:24.540 It's called advancing digital equity in public libraries, assessing library patrons problem 181 00:16:24.540 --> 00:16:27.579 solving in technology rich environments. 182 00:16:27.579 --> 00:16:31.139 Like I said, it's quite a mouthful. 183 00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:38.610 This is a partnership funded by IMLS between the Mecklenburg library and urban library 184 00:16:38.610 --> 00:16:41.240 and urban University, Portland state University. 185 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:43.910 Dr.  Jill is in the audience. 186 00:16:43.910 --> 00:16:50.619 She'll be on the research panel later today and Jill is with Portland state's literacy 187 00:16:50.619 --> 00:16:57.779 language and technology research group and we're going to be working together to do an 188 00:16:57.779 --> 00:17:07.299 assessment using a tool that has been validated on an international level to understand the 189 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:14.140 readiness of working age adults to be in the workforce and use the technology that is available 190 00:17:14.140 --> 00:17:19.600 today that you have to be proficient with as a worker. 191 00:17:19.600 --> 00:17:27.770 POK, the program for international assessment of adult competences comes out of the workforce 192 00:17:27.770 --> 00:17:35.830 development world, not a world where libraries are necessarily thought to have a place at 193 00:17:35.830 --> 00:17:37.270 the table. 194 00:17:37.270 --> 00:17:43.770 As we have been hearing from the other panelists. 195 00:17:43.770 --> 00:17:44.770 It has three assessment areas. 196 00:17:44.770 --> 00:17:48.080 Literacy numerous, and this new one, problem solving in technology rich environments. 197 00:17:48.080 --> 00:17:55.120 While the library, of course, is a technology rich environment, so this relates very well 198 00:17:55.120 --> 00:18:00.530 to what people do in libraries as well as to what people do in the workforce. 199 00:18:00.530 --> 00:18:08.620 The idea here is to measure the skills of workforce age adults in the U.S. and also 200 00:18:08.620 --> 00:18:09.620 internationally. 201 00:18:09.620 --> 00:18:16.860 And in the United States the assessment tools are validated in both English and Spanish. 202 00:18:16.860 --> 00:18:26.030 We will be administering the problem solving in technology rich environments online tool 203 00:18:26.030 --> 00:18:33.000 to library patrons and we will get some very interesting data, I think, as a result of 204 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:39.190 that to help us understand where our patrons are in terms of the baseline that we can use 205 00:18:39.190 --> 00:18:42.950 to work from to assess what we're doing. 206 00:18:42.950 --> 00:18:48.490 We'll be testing a small group of library staff to start with. 207 00:18:48.490 --> 00:18:58.230 This tool measures not basic online literacy skills, can I use the mouse, do I know how 208 00:18:58.230 --> 00:18:59.230 to navigate the screen and that kind of thing. 209 00:18:59.230 --> 00:19:00.250 This really measures a higher level of skill. 210 00:19:00.250 --> 00:19:02.149 Can I manage my files? 211 00:19:02.149 --> 00:19:08.670 Can I look at a site and understand what I'm seeing there and what the services are offered 212 00:19:08.670 --> 00:19:09.890 to me on that site? 213 00:19:09.890 --> 00:19:16.770 Can I do something practical like figure out how to return the lamp that I just bought 214 00:19:16.770 --> 00:19:17.850 online? 215 00:19:17.850 --> 00:19:23.700 Or can I figure out how to use the online resume site or determine that the job ad I'm 216 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:29.480 looking at actually is for a position that might fit my particular skill set into something 217 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:32.050 that I should be applying for. 218 00:19:32.050 --> 00:19:35.370 We're hoping to assess 700 library patrons. 219 00:19:35.370 --> 00:19:41.419 Some of these will be through our out reach services, some through the library and some 220 00:19:41.419 --> 00:19:47.260 will be people coming in online through our website and we'll be doing assessments in 221 00:19:47.260 --> 00:19:48.860 both English and Spanish. 222 00:19:48.860 --> 00:19:55.470 And of course, the goal here is to really reach out to people who are struggling and 223 00:19:55.470 --> 00:20:00.080 who may not be finding a place in the workforce. 224 00:20:00.080 --> 00:20:01.560 Why do we do this? 225 00:20:01.560 --> 00:20:07.000 Because we want to understand what our patrons need to learn to thrive in this technology 226 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:08.450 rich world that we live in. 227 00:20:08.450 --> 00:20:15.419 We want to create that body of baseline data that will help us measure outcomes, not just 228 00:20:15.419 --> 00:20:17.220 outputs of what we do. 229 00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:23.570 We want to understand the needs of our library workforce because we know our own workforce 230 00:20:23.570 --> 00:20:29.190 needs better technology skills to thrive and be able to get the service we need to give. 231 00:20:29.190 --> 00:20:36.090 And we also need to bring libraries to the workforce development and one of the ways 232 00:20:36.090 --> 00:20:42.610 we can do that is to make sure that we're making an impact through the outcomes. 233 00:20:42.610 --> 00:20:44.860 They have a task on performance measurement. 234 00:20:44.860 --> 00:20:52.380 We have just received a 2.5  million grant from the Bill gaits foundation and we have 235 00:20:52.380 --> 00:20:55.669 to be able to show what we have been saying for so long. 236 00:20:55.669 --> 00:21:00.100 We know that libraries change lives but we need to be able to prove it. 237 00:21:00.100 --> 00:21:06.170 That's what our funders are asking for so this idea of outcome measurement is very important. 238 00:21:06.170 --> 00:21:11.820 I also wanted to just mention something about the development of our own library workforce 239 00:21:11.820 --> 00:21:17.200 because I think this is something really important and as we talk about priorities, I'll say 240 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:18.250 more about that. 241 00:21:18.250 --> 00:21:26.970 Our library workforce needs to change and I particularly have noticed this in the Mecklenburg 242 00:21:26.970 --> 00:21:29.030 over the last few years. 243 00:21:29.030 --> 00:21:32.120 We have an initiative called, we speak your language. 244 00:21:32.120 --> 00:21:38.120 What that initiative is about, is making sure that people who work for the library look 245 00:21:38.120 --> 00:21:39.490 like people in the community. 246 00:21:39.490 --> 00:21:45.710 That's a really struggle for us in Portland Oregon, one of the whitest cities in the country. 247 00:21:45.710 --> 00:21:53.800 Where an increasing number speak languages other than English at home. 248 00:21:53.800 --> 00:22:07.030 Don't look like me. 249 00:22:07.030 --> 00:22:35.830 So as 250 00:22:35.830 --> 00:22:51.029 a white middle class institution has nothing for them and we need to over come that. 251 00:22:51.029 --> 00:22:57.480 >> Before we open it up for questions, I ask our panelist to think about strategic priorities 252 00:22:57.480 --> 00:22:58.480 for IMLS. 253 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:03.040 We have talked a little bit about challenges and opportunities and I think coming from 254 00:23:03.040 --> 00:23:07.269 that, they have been thinking about things they would recommend as strategic priorities 255 00:23:07.269 --> 00:23:08.879 for IMLS. 256 00:23:08.879 --> 00:23:27.740 >> The library is 257 00:23:27.740 --> 00:23:47.149 a place for 258 00:23:47.149 --> 00:23:49.190 that table. 259 00:23:49.190 --> 00:23:56.120 That would be very powerful. 260 00:23:56.120 --> 00:24:04.240 How can we co locate services of partners in the libraries and I'm not speaking of a 261 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:05.250 six week workshop. 262 00:24:05.250 --> 00:24:12.159 I'm speaking of something, a community resource that our patrons can count on week after week 263 00:24:12.159 --> 00:24:13.159 after week. 264 00:24:13.159 --> 00:24:21.360 I do see it as a win win situation. 265 00:24:21.360 --> 00:24:23.059 We do that in assistive technology. 266 00:24:23.059 --> 00:24:24.059 Let's explore more of that. 267 00:24:24.059 --> 00:24:30.130 I would really like to see the conversation continuing about credits and digital badges 268 00:24:30.130 --> 00:24:34.539 in the library that do validate skills. 269 00:24:34.539 --> 00:24:46.289 Speaking of the maker space, taking the next step forward so it can really result in jobs. 270 00:24:46.289 --> 00:24:51.289 I would like to continue the conversation on the WEOA funds, title one and title two 271 00:24:51.289 --> 00:24:54.529 funds, how libraries can access those funds. 272 00:24:54.529 --> 00:25:01.279 One example is in our all access IMLS funded program, that's two libraries. 273 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:07.370 We have a minimum of nine other libraries in our state just wanting to create learning 274 00:25:07.370 --> 00:25:14.539 lounges, one on one, an everything that we're doing and those can be a source of funds for 275 00:25:14.539 --> 00:25:16.260 making that happen. 276 00:25:16.260 --> 00:25:21.280 Lastly, I really love the conversation that's come up so many times about out reach. 277 00:25:21.280 --> 00:25:22.280 What I'm really interested in is the people who don't come in the library and why are 278 00:25:22.280 --> 00:25:23.280 they not coming in? 279 00:25:23.280 --> 00:25:27.640 How can we reach out to them and bring them? 280 00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:29.210 ? The barriers are much deeper than I ever realized. 281 00:25:29.210 --> 00:25:35.149 I have worked with immigrants many many years and through my IMLS project, I did focus groups 282 00:25:35.149 --> 00:25:43.919 and I found many more reasons why they don't come in than I ever realized. 283 00:25:43.919 --> 00:25:46.840 I'll give a little plug. 284 00:25:46.840 --> 00:25:49.769 Here's a win win situation. 285 00:25:49.769 --> 00:25:57.169 We have been hiring our adult literacy students to work in our children's library and they're 286 00:25:57.169 --> 00:26:02.570 getting workforce development skills and they're reaching out to their communities to bring 287 00:26:02.570 --> 00:26:08.470 people into the library and then they are also seeing like, we speak your language, 288 00:26:08.470 --> 00:26:09.470 it's that program. 289 00:26:09.470 --> 00:26:11.159 I didn't even realize, that's happening. 290 00:26:11.159 --> 00:26:14.519 So I think we could explore that much more. 291 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:21.320 >> Again, I think it's challenges as well as opportunities and I think largely based 292 00:26:21.320 --> 00:26:29.100 on new legislation at this time, there's some people who are already doing this within adult 293 00:26:29.100 --> 00:26:35.279 education programs but obviously additional program additional funding would allow us 294 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:37.299 to expand our services. 295 00:26:37.299 --> 00:26:42.210 One is capacity building, looking at this and immigrant services. 296 00:26:42.210 --> 00:26:49.419 I think that's really important is to develop that resource sharing and all of that. 297 00:26:49.419 --> 00:26:52.480 I used to be in K 12, I was a high school teacher and when it comes to new standards 298 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:59.830 that comes out, K 12 gets a mountain size of the funding and adult education gets a 299 00:26:59.830 --> 00:27:00.850 small part. 300 00:27:00.850 --> 00:27:04.330 So I think it's good and bad. 301 00:27:04.330 --> 00:27:19.040 I think the good part of it is it allows for a lot of innovation and a lot of partnerships 302 00:27:19.040 --> 00:27:31.399 because you have to in the field. 303 00:27:31.399 --> 00:27:47.460 Secondly, I think because of common core and the new GED exam, I think ongoing and in field 304 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:55.029 professional development is crucially important for instructional staff. 305 00:27:55.029 --> 00:28:02.860 Especially as they respond to instructional shift required by the new common core standards 306 00:28:02.860 --> 00:28:11.669 and that would result in more education for students and more students achieving their 307 00:28:11.669 --> 00:28:13.230 high school equivalence diploma. 308 00:28:13.230 --> 00:28:17.590 We have sent admin staff as well as others to have task centers and we also have the 309 00:28:17.590 --> 00:28:22.889 national external development program all of which are computer based. 310 00:28:22.889 --> 00:28:30.980 I think a lot of the testing of the moving, I think, by 2016, 60  percent of the testing 311 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:37.139 are going to happen on computer so really to prepare our students by infusing a lot 312 00:28:37.139 --> 00:28:41.730 more technology and it isn't really just sending them a computer literacy class, I think it 313 00:28:41.730 --> 00:28:50.020 needs to be in the class room and that's how you really cement the learning. 314 00:28:50.020 --> 00:28:57.520 So when you get to that, it's a natural evolution for them and they're not, you know, intimidated 315 00:28:57.520 --> 00:29:02.470 by the computer based part of it as well as the content they need to master for the task 316 00:29:02.470 --> 00:29:03.470 exam. 317 00:29:03.470 --> 00:29:08.049 For a lot of the students, thankfully, I think now that the bar for passing the new GED is 318 00:29:08.049 --> 00:29:09.049 pretty low. 319 00:29:09.049 --> 00:29:14.059 I think you only have because, well, normally, with high school students, you only have to 320 00:29:14.059 --> 00:29:19.190 get ten out of 25 questions right but as they develop more versions of the test, I think 321 00:29:19.190 --> 00:29:21.259 the standards are going to increase. 322 00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:26.370 That's going to be in the pipes so we really need to infuse technology and more computer 323 00:29:26.370 --> 00:29:30.809 literacy in realtime in the class room. 324 00:29:30.809 --> 00:29:34.229 I think that's a third priority. 325 00:29:34.229 --> 00:29:35.360 >> Thank you! 326 00:29:35.360 --> 00:29:40.720 >> So I would say one of my first priority really is more research that supports outcome 327 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:42.240 measurement. 328 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:48.620 I really feel that this is an area that we're so far behind in the library world. 329 00:29:48.620 --> 00:29:55.159 Public libraries in particular have a greater and greater need to be able to show outcomes 330 00:29:55.159 --> 00:30:00.670 and we have measured outputs and counted stuff for so many years. 331 00:30:00.670 --> 00:30:04.090 We have to be able to show the impact of our work. 332 00:30:04.090 --> 00:30:12.460 So I'm it's wonderful that PLA is moving towards the idea of outcome measurement and the work 333 00:30:12.460 --> 00:30:16.570 they're doing will be great because what they're really striving towards as I understand it, 334 00:30:16.570 --> 00:30:22.710 is some fairly simple tools that can be implemented by any public library anywhere. 335 00:30:22.710 --> 00:30:29.919 To measure impacts but I also think that a more sophisticated level of research around 336 00:30:29.919 --> 00:30:38.890 outcomes is also still very beneficial and something I want to see IMLS continue to fund. 337 00:30:38.890 --> 00:30:46.200 Another area I want to point out is, what is the library workforce need to be going 338 00:30:46.200 --> 00:30:48.009 into the future? 339 00:30:48.009 --> 00:30:55.679 I would really love to see some more support from IMLS around understanding best practices 340 00:30:55.679 --> 00:31:04.960 for how we diversify our workforce not only in its ethnic make up and its language abilities 341 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:09.870 but also in the breadths of its skill set. 342 00:31:09.870 --> 00:31:17.289 You know, libraries need people to work in them other than libraries, sometimes. 343 00:31:17.289 --> 00:31:19.820 Librarians are great! 344 00:31:19.820 --> 00:31:27.650 We do amazing work and in a lot of small libraries, librarians, you know, really do wear every 345 00:31:27.650 --> 00:31:28.650 hat. 346 00:31:28.650 --> 00:31:32.429 We need folks who are experts in early childhood education. 347 00:31:32.429 --> 00:31:38.279 We need folks who are experts in adult education and workforce development. 348 00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:43.679 We need to diversify the skill sets of the people who are working with us if we really 349 00:31:43.679 --> 00:31:46.129 want to achieve the impacts we need. 350 00:31:46.129 --> 00:31:50.480 So looking at that library workforce and figuring out what it needs to be in the future, how 351 00:31:50.480 --> 00:31:58.159 we train our professional staff and what we do that works to recruit and bring people 352 00:31:58.159 --> 00:32:04.529 into libraries who reflect our communities and who have the skill sets we need. 353 00:32:04.529 --> 00:32:06.820 So those are my two pitches. 354 00:32:06.820 --> 00:32:08.169 >> Great, thank you all! 355 00:32:08.169 --> 00:32:12.120 Now we'll take questions and I'll remind you to say your name and your organization, which 356 00:32:12.120 --> 00:32:13.899 I did not do. 357 00:32:13.899 --> 00:32:15.139 So I'm David Singleton. 358 00:32:15.139 --> 00:32:18.440 >> Hi, I'm from the University of Tennessee. 359 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:26.179 I have a comment to make. 360 00:32:26.179 --> 00:32:33.870 The comment is the small businesses and libraries to allow a blueprint for a tool kit and we're 361 00:32:33.870 --> 00:32:39.279 doing a gap analysis so I'm really happy to hear what Theresa mentioned in terms of what 362 00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:41.659 we're also finding in that project. 363 00:32:41.659 --> 00:32:49.240 From the small business community end, we are realizing there's a need for them to find 364 00:32:49.240 --> 00:32:53.830 appropriate workforce people with specific para professional or professional skills to 365 00:32:53.830 --> 00:33:02.570 be able to refer various types of small businesses in terms of cost, reasonable hiring and such 366 00:33:02.570 --> 00:33:03.570 too. 367 00:33:03.570 --> 00:33:09.080 And on the other side from the librarian group, you're finding that adult education is going 368 00:33:09.080 --> 00:33:15.440 beyond just the traditional mode of understanding it too. 369 00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:20.350 High school or the community college graduate is just on the brink of becoming adults and 370 00:33:20.350 --> 00:33:22.890 how to train them. 371 00:33:22.890 --> 00:33:29.850 It seems psychological that there is in the rural areas in Tennessee, there is unemployment, 372 00:33:29.850 --> 00:33:36.889 lack of skill in the labor force and from the small business side, they need that at 373 00:33:36.889 --> 00:33:38.379 a reasonable cost. 374 00:33:38.379 --> 00:33:44.129 So I'm really glad to hear you mentioned a potential area of priority for IMLS to be 375 00:33:44.129 --> 00:33:52.070 able to support libraries that are engaging in those, who are working to help the graduates 376 00:33:52.070 --> 00:33:58.130 from the schools to fit in with specific skill sets for small businesses and how they can 377 00:33:58.130 --> 00:33:59.730 become part of that. 378 00:33:59.730 --> 00:34:02.110 So that was to this. 379 00:34:02.110 --> 00:34:07.029 My broader question comment is also what some of you mentioned and it kind of resonates 380 00:34:07.029 --> 00:34:12.870 with the first session when there was talk about transformation and experience and knowledge 381 00:34:12.870 --> 00:34:17.390 in this case, and mentioning in about capacity building and out comes. 382 00:34:17.390 --> 00:34:23.580 As the co chair for the conference that took place in Chicago 2015, reflections on social 383 00:34:23.580 --> 00:34:32.630 justice and looking at the past and future, also, editing social justice as well as a 384 00:34:32.630 --> 00:34:41.730 monograph that's coming up soon found that from the library trends especially, 51 submissions 385 00:34:41.730 --> 00:34:47.740 were presented on social justice but only ten were accepted because of a lack of conceptualizing 386 00:34:47.740 --> 00:34:48.770 the work we're doing. 387 00:34:48.770 --> 00:34:57.780 Learning is not just learning but it should be action and tangible outcomes as you pointed 388 00:34:57.780 --> 00:35:04.060 out so maybe there's a need for us to conceptualize our work in a more assertive and aggressive 389 00:35:04.060 --> 00:35:08.760 manner beyond just learning, something maybe a little bit more passive in my understanding 390 00:35:08.760 --> 00:35:09.760 about it. 391 00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:15.150 So I would love to hear the comments from the audience and from the panel list here 392 00:35:15.150 --> 00:35:20.240 in terms of embracing the understanding of social justice in terms of change, tangible 393 00:35:20.240 --> 00:35:24.350 change versus positive action beyond learning. 394 00:35:24.350 --> 00:35:26.000 Thanks, sorry. 395 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:28.460 I got long. 396 00:35:28.460 --> 00:35:37.540 >> David from Syracuse University, I'm going to cheat because I want you to help me with 397 00:35:37.540 --> 00:35:40.710 my presentation by the end of the day. 398 00:35:40.710 --> 00:35:47.540 So far what I have heard is we need to prepare librarians to work with immigrants, work with 399 00:35:47.540 --> 00:35:55.000 children, identify autism, be able to speak other languages, work in communications, have 400 00:35:55.000 --> 00:36:00.250 broad skills and Cindy, I want to pick up on your comment which is, if we expect librarians 401 00:36:00.250 --> 00:36:03.910 to do everything, then they will do nothing well. 402 00:36:03.910 --> 00:36:10.070 It occurs to me that when we talking about the potential for broad impact, if we constantly 403 00:36:10.070 --> 00:36:18.100 believe, what are the core skills and we constantly expand, here's a population and let's learn 404 00:36:18.100 --> 00:36:23.470 this, they're going to get a wonderful skill there, locally. 405 00:36:23.470 --> 00:36:30.880 It occurs to me to have broad impact, we really need to focus on what is really, to me, is 406 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:33.460 to facilitate the community sharing its expertise. 407 00:36:33.460 --> 00:36:37.840 Part of the way to look at the community is not just to hire them but to actually put 408 00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:39.810 them in charge and invite them and put them in front of classes. 409 00:36:39.810 --> 00:36:46.370 Part of the way that we deal with immigrant populations is as they go through this, they 410 00:36:46.370 --> 00:36:49.310 become part of the welcome process and the learning process. 411 00:36:49.310 --> 00:36:56.140 Part of when we talk about all of this is the idea that, as a librarian, I get frustrated 412 00:36:56.140 --> 00:37:02.930 because we think we can train ourselves to be anything and oftentimes miss the point 413 00:37:02.930 --> 00:37:10.250 brilliant people who are coming into our buildings everyday or more importantly, if we stop phrasing 414 00:37:10.250 --> 00:37:15.700 the problem as if only how do we reach non users to come to us? 415 00:37:15.700 --> 00:37:19.690 Why do we keep phrasing it that way as oppose to the problems of the librarians not going 416 00:37:19.690 --> 00:37:21.340 to the community? 417 00:37:21.340 --> 00:37:22.340 Sorry. 418 00:37:22.340 --> 00:37:24.580 Lots of frustrations. 419 00:37:24.580 --> 00:37:29.220 I'm just picking up, what are the core skills? 420 00:37:29.220 --> 00:37:35.680 Do librarians have to be everything or can we talk in adult education such that we can 421 00:37:35.680 --> 00:37:41.640 facilitate that process without having to become Ph.D.s in every topic under the sun. 422 00:37:41.640 --> 00:37:48.200 >> Well, I would will happy to address that a little bit because I think that, in fact, 423 00:37:48.200 --> 00:37:52.600 we are still turning out librarians from our library schools who think it's their job to 424 00:37:52.600 --> 00:37:57.270 do everything, who think they should be the only people who work in libraries and they 425 00:37:57.270 --> 00:38:02.330 should have all of the jobs in libraries whether or not that happens to be their personal skill 426 00:38:02.330 --> 00:38:04.430 set. 427 00:38:04.430 --> 00:38:07.770 And that is not really what we need our professionals to be. 428 00:38:07.770 --> 00:38:14.780 We need people who know how to assess the needs of their community, who know how to 429 00:38:14.780 --> 00:38:21.020 create partnerships in their community in order to bring resources together and bring 430 00:38:21.020 --> 00:38:24.060 them to bare on the community's needs. 431 00:38:24.060 --> 00:38:31.230 We need project managers who know how to see a need and figure out how to bring together 432 00:38:31.230 --> 00:38:33.450 to fulfill it. 433 00:38:33.450 --> 00:38:39.870 We need people who want to get out of the library, get out from behind the desk. 434 00:38:39.870 --> 00:38:48.540 You know, really be people persons who aren't so totally devoted to books that they can't 435 00:38:48.540 --> 00:38:52.830 see that it's really people that are what our work is about. 436 00:38:52.830 --> 00:39:01.961 You know, it is a different skill set than we are necessarily seeing from some of our, 437 00:39:01.961 --> 00:39:05.660 even our new graduates still. 438 00:39:05.660 --> 00:39:08.510 There's definitely work to do there. 439 00:39:08.510 --> 00:39:14.830 >> And I think the IMLS grant we currently are running on year two, that's the particular 440 00:39:14.830 --> 00:39:20.030 challenge that we actually were supposed because we had to develop this curriculum which is, 441 00:39:20.030 --> 00:39:25.910 huge, and it goes from demographics totem graphics analysis, community based organizations 442 00:39:25.910 --> 00:39:31.150 on how to make referrals down to legal services and the whole citizen process. 443 00:39:31.150 --> 00:39:33.880 So we're talking about a lot of content. 444 00:39:33.880 --> 00:39:37.730 You can develop the curriculum but how do you implement that and have librarians embrace 445 00:39:37.730 --> 00:39:40.670 that as something they need to have, right? 446 00:39:40.670 --> 00:39:46.500 So from the get go, we surveyed them as part of the initial part of our curriculum development 447 00:39:46.500 --> 00:39:51.100 and we actually put together focus groups that really had their input and contribution 448 00:39:51.100 --> 00:39:56.460 and we really hashed out what program or strategy we're going to use in term of implementing 449 00:39:56.460 --> 00:39:57.460 this. 450 00:39:57.460 --> 00:40:02.520 We don't expect librarians to be case managers but we do hope they are facilitator of information 451 00:40:02.520 --> 00:40:06.640 and that's the compromise we came up with. 452 00:40:06.640 --> 00:40:12.680 Initially we were moving towards case management which is really honor behind the desk but 453 00:40:12.680 --> 00:40:15.370 they recognize the needs for it. 454 00:40:15.370 --> 00:40:17.930 In Queens, 40  percent of the population is foreign born. 455 00:40:17.930 --> 00:40:24.680 They have to serve that need but how do you get them to embrace that right? 456 00:40:24.680 --> 00:40:33.760 They are either going to our internal website our they're Googling certain sites so this 457 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:39.790 curriculum really provides them the information on year three of the project, it's really 458 00:40:39.790 --> 00:40:44.670 devoted towards creating an online resource that would make it easier for them to access 459 00:40:44.670 --> 00:40:46.880 information so they don't have. 460 00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:51.030 This all came out during our focus group discussions and the survey. 461 00:40:51.030 --> 00:40:56.190 I think there's a certain set, at least the sense that I'm feeling is they they're interest 462 00:40:56.190 --> 00:40:57.190 indeed it. 463 00:40:57.190 --> 00:40:58.360 They want to know more. 464 00:40:58.360 --> 00:41:04.280 It will benefit them in the end and they do see it as continuing education to a certain 465 00:41:04.280 --> 00:41:05.280 degree. 466 00:41:05.280 --> 00:41:09.330 >> I don't have the answer on the librarian side of things but I will say, since we had 467 00:41:09.330 --> 00:41:16.030 the learning lounge and all of the things happening at the public libraries, our librarians 468 00:41:16.030 --> 00:41:23.220 are so relieved to have solutions for people coming in and they just love bringing people 469 00:41:23.220 --> 00:41:32.810 up and that's really, just taken off in many ways I would have never anticipated. 470 00:41:32.810 --> 00:41:37.080 I will push back a little bit on the comment about why I'm 100  percent about, we, class 471 00:41:37.080 --> 00:41:43.350 room walls falling down and library walls falling down, it's absolutely here and needs 472 00:41:43.350 --> 00:41:44.360 to be. 473 00:41:44.360 --> 00:41:52.972 I will say one thing because I'm not a librarian and I have been in other places but we do 474 00:41:52.972 --> 00:41:57.320 go out into the community but I still am and I think I'm more strong in my opinion of this, 475 00:41:57.320 --> 00:42:02.910 is let's take those little steps to get them back to the library because what I have been 476 00:42:02.910 --> 00:42:06.930 finding is when we take, we serve whatever the need is, the librarian goes out and serves 477 00:42:06.930 --> 00:42:13.210 the need out there but if we can still pull some strings back to the library, then they 478 00:42:13.210 --> 00:42:19.370 get connected to other programs that they didn't even though existed. 479 00:42:19.370 --> 00:42:21.920 So I might go out to adult education and help someone with their English outside of there 480 00:42:21.920 --> 00:42:27.060 but we'll encourage them to get a library card so it's impacting the family in a more 481 00:42:27.060 --> 00:42:28.060 holistic way. 482 00:42:28.060 --> 00:42:29.060 That's exactly right! 483 00:42:29.060 --> 00:42:44.010 That's part of the framing. 484 00:42:44.010 --> 00:42:49.270 And that's why we need to be out there a lot because the reason, what I heard from at least 485 00:42:49.270 --> 00:42:54.140 the new immigrant population, is that they're too afraid to come in the doors so getting 486 00:42:54.140 --> 00:43:01.820 that trust and face right outside, will take those tiny steps in. 487 00:43:01.820 --> 00:43:04.980 Yes, that's a good way to phrase it, on what needs to be done! 488 00:43:04.980 --> 00:43:07.110 >> I'll just add, I'll agree that librarians can't do everything but one skill that every 489 00:43:07.110 --> 00:43:18.690 librarian needs to have is community engagement to get the expertise that we don't have and 490 00:43:18.690 --> 00:43:20.290 we need. 491 00:43:20.290 --> 00:43:24.230 >> Mary, University of Denver, again. 492 00:43:24.230 --> 00:43:29.100 A couple of comments that have come up in not only this presentation but in a couple 493 00:43:29.100 --> 00:43:32.470 of the other ones relate to assessment skills. 494 00:43:32.470 --> 00:43:37.380 Being from the proud state of Colorado, I just need to mention the research institute 495 00:43:37.380 --> 00:43:44.280 for public libraries that is being supported IMLS and it's happening this summer outside 496 00:43:44.280 --> 00:43:47.270 the mountains in Colorado springs. 497 00:43:47.270 --> 00:43:53.250 The response to that institute is amazing! 498 00:43:53.250 --> 00:43:58.850 Obviously, that's an area that's needed. 499 00:43:58.850 --> 00:44:07.980 And public libraries in particular, academic libraries have that advantage because I just 500 00:44:07.980 --> 00:44:13.040 want to mention that and thank IMLS for that. 501 00:44:13.040 --> 00:44:17.940 >> Hi, everybody, I'm from Chicago public library. 502 00:44:17.940 --> 00:44:19.210 I have two things. 503 00:44:19.210 --> 00:44:20.560 One is a comment and the other is a question. 504 00:44:20.560 --> 00:44:26.350 The first is a comment back to you Karisa. 505 00:44:26.350 --> 00:44:34.840 This really started with the IMLS grant to launch the maker space a couple years ago 506 00:44:34.840 --> 00:44:39.710 in our central library and now we're taking that programming out across the system. 507 00:44:39.710 --> 00:44:45.740 It was inspired by the positive experience we had with you media and you know, with interactive 508 00:44:45.740 --> 00:44:50.040 learning for little ones in the summer and after school et cetera. 509 00:44:50.040 --> 00:44:52.570 It has been incredibly well received by adults. 510 00:44:52.570 --> 00:44:58.990 The maker lab experience is looser, it's more exploratory. 511 00:44:58.990 --> 00:45:05.831 Whatever your interest is, let's have you as adults can explore your curiosity, your 512 00:45:05.831 --> 00:45:11.200 ideas and get support to do so and make something that is valuable to use. 513 00:45:11.200 --> 00:45:14.480 So it's been very well received and positive. 514 00:45:14.480 --> 00:45:18.410 On the other side of the spectrum, we're having much struggling with how do we help adults 515 00:45:18.410 --> 00:45:24.260 achieve their life goals, learning goals in particular whether it's adult education or 516 00:45:24.260 --> 00:45:34.330 something more advanced and we just lunched last week four kind of explore prototypes 517 00:45:34.330 --> 00:45:39.630 with a partner called peer to peer University that has designed a lot of tools and facilitation 518 00:45:39.630 --> 00:45:47.370 guides that allow a para professional in our library to launch a peer learning circle between 519 00:45:47.370 --> 00:45:48.910 5 and 10 people. 520 00:45:48.910 --> 00:45:53.640 Adults who agree to meet with one another once a week while they're engaged in an online 521 00:45:53.640 --> 00:45:54.640 course. 522 00:45:54.640 --> 00:46:00.400 During their engagement in an online course, some of the courses are in GED math prep. 523 00:46:00.400 --> 00:46:02.210 Some of the courses are in python. 524 00:46:02.210 --> 00:46:07.430 So we are really experimenting with these very different ends of the learning spectrum. 525 00:46:07.430 --> 00:46:12.560 We expect to see you know, course completion go up really high because people are holding 526 00:46:12.560 --> 00:46:17.670 each other accountable so we think that's very promising. 527 00:46:17.670 --> 00:46:21.010 We will share everything we learn as widely as we can. 528 00:46:21.010 --> 00:46:23.650 I hope IMLS will help us do so. 529 00:46:23.650 --> 00:46:29.390 And then we look to expand this moving forward and we think it's something that is scalable 530 00:46:29.390 --> 00:46:31.900 across all libraries. 531 00:46:31.900 --> 00:46:36.720 The second thing is really just a question for him about the staffing model in your library. 532 00:46:36.720 --> 00:46:42.070 It sounds like you are organized very differently than most libraries I have seen. 533 00:46:42.070 --> 00:46:46.510 If you have staff that are actually teaching course content and doing things that in many 534 00:46:46.510 --> 00:46:50.700 libraries, are things that outside partners are doing. 535 00:46:50.700 --> 00:46:54.990 Could you talking about how you're organized and who is staffing all of these courses? 536 00:46:54.990 --> 00:47:01.240 >> And I think it really starts with the strategic plan for the library. 537 00:47:01.240 --> 00:47:03.810 I think for a lot of the work that we have done historically, and will continue to in 538 00:47:03.810 --> 00:47:06.430 the future goes back to the strategic plan. 539 00:47:06.430 --> 00:47:08.970 It's about looking for funding. 540 00:47:08.970 --> 00:47:17.510 Whenever there's a rationale to provide for a particular type of funding to fully staff, 541 00:47:17.510 --> 00:47:18.510 we go back to that. 542 00:47:18.510 --> 00:47:19.520 It's part of our mission. 543 00:47:19.520 --> 00:47:25.010 Is it part of the organization's vision but as it relates to the staffing model, yes, 544 00:47:25.010 --> 00:47:31.290 we have all of our teachers who are part time, although we're moving toward a full time instructional 545 00:47:31.290 --> 00:47:35.850 teacher because we feel that a lot of our teachers who are part time, are teaching from 546 00:47:35.850 --> 00:47:39.050 other organizations and we develop them and then they go somewhere else. 547 00:47:39.050 --> 00:47:41.720 So we're really moving towards that kind of model. 548 00:47:41.720 --> 00:47:49.440 Secondly, each of the adult learning centers has a center manager and an assistive manager 549 00:47:49.440 --> 00:47:53.000 who looking at accountability, outcomes, attendance retention. 550 00:47:53.000 --> 00:47:58.530 Each center has a literacy specialist who is focused on the class room and professional 551 00:47:58.530 --> 00:48:04.720 development and the needs of the staff as well as data manager, data coordinator, et 552 00:48:04.720 --> 00:48:05.720 cetera. 553 00:48:05.720 --> 00:48:10.280 We're also moving towards really putting people in functional groups so we have a case management 554 00:48:10.280 --> 00:48:13.370 cabinet that discuss all of the particular case studies they have encountered and did 555 00:48:13.370 --> 00:48:16.240 a lot of best practices. 556 00:48:16.240 --> 00:48:19.100 That's something fairly new. 557 00:48:19.100 --> 00:48:24.770 We have a data management cabinet as well as management cabinet as well as supervisory 558 00:48:24.770 --> 00:48:26.270 and strategic planning. 559 00:48:26.270 --> 00:48:31.190 So we really looked at not just the staffing model but the support for the staffing model 560 00:48:31.190 --> 00:48:33.030 and creating the structure. 561 00:48:33.030 --> 00:48:39.250 We have a pretty ambitious goal in terms of how we want to expand because we know the 562 00:48:39.250 --> 00:48:43.710 funding is coming and we want to be able to do that to enhance with all of these standards 563 00:48:43.710 --> 00:48:45.840 and requirements that are going to be required. 564 00:48:45.840 --> 00:48:51.280 So yes, supervisor staff, literacy specialist who look at professional development as well 565 00:48:51.280 --> 00:48:53.880 as all of these cabinet groups that support the operations. 566 00:48:53.880 --> 00:48:59.420 >> I was going to make a comment that ties. 567 00:48:59.420 --> 00:49:02.370 Funding is coming out of our mouths a lot if you noticed. 568 00:49:02.370 --> 00:49:10.440 To some degree, I'm housed in a library too but I have to raise all of my own grant funds 569 00:49:10.440 --> 00:49:13.790 to make that happen but yet we are the library. 570 00:49:13.790 --> 00:49:21.390 So we're often to the side and so that's why it's challenging with the funding so it does 571 00:49:21.390 --> 00:49:24.930 root us back into the strategic plan. 572 00:49:24.930 --> 00:49:30.140 So I think that's why you're hearing some of the things you're hearing. 573 00:49:30.140 --> 00:49:35.120 >> I wanted to just make a point about our, we speak your language initiative that relates 574 00:49:35.120 --> 00:49:37.080 to what Dave was saying before. 575 00:49:37.080 --> 00:49:44.900 One of the things we found by creating positions that have required bilingual, bicultural skills 576 00:49:44.900 --> 00:49:51.570 and abilities, but don't require an MLS, it is a great way to recruit a more diverse group 577 00:49:51.570 --> 00:49:54.020 of people at the library school. 578 00:49:54.020 --> 00:49:58.600 A lot of folks actually do end up deciding that the library is a great place to work 579 00:49:58.600 --> 00:50:00.820 they would have never thought about before. 580 00:50:00.820 --> 00:50:05.070 They want a career in libraries and they choose to go to library school. 581 00:50:05.070 --> 00:50:12.190 >> Hi, this is Cindy, Cleveland public library and I don't know if this is a question specific 582 00:50:12.190 --> 00:50:18.980 to the panel but I'm hoping at some point during the day, someone addresses it. 583 00:50:18.980 --> 00:50:29.200 My question has to do with when you're in a unionized setting and you're trying to switch 584 00:50:29.200 --> 00:50:36.640 from a transactional culture to a trans-formative learning organization, where staff are expected 585 00:50:36.640 --> 00:50:45.550 to develop and utilize new skills, is there anyone in the room who has had experience 586 00:50:45.550 --> 00:50:54.610 with not just doing that but the questions of how they is influencing compensation structures 587 00:50:54.610 --> 00:50:57.240 and performance management systems. 588 00:50:57.240 --> 00:51:06.360 It's a big question so if anybody has the answer, I would love to hear it. 589 00:51:06.360 --> 00:51:14.300 >> I can actually speak a little bit to that but I would probably also refer you to our 590 00:51:14.300 --> 00:51:21.760 HR professionals at Mecklenburg library and to Rita who is our neighborhood libraries 591 00:51:21.760 --> 00:51:26.970 director but also has been in charge of our, we speak your language initiative for many 592 00:51:26.970 --> 00:51:27.970 years now. 593 00:51:27.970 --> 00:51:36.020 We had to do a tremendous amount of work with our union, with our HR practices, and looking 594 00:51:36.020 --> 00:51:42.240 at what the competencies are for various positions in the organization and it has not necessarily 595 00:51:42.240 --> 00:51:45.420 been a smooth ride all the way. 596 00:51:45.420 --> 00:51:52.410 I think it's probably an easier sell to some extent in Portland because we have that liberal 597 00:51:52.410 --> 00:51:57.780 vibe and people know what they're supposed to think about that based on what all of their 598 00:51:57.780 --> 00:52:03.150 neighbors think but when push comes to shove and there's a job you don't qualify anymore 599 00:52:03.150 --> 00:52:09.240 because suddenly the person in it needs to have an African American competency or needs 600 00:52:09.240 --> 00:52:17.700 to be able to speak Spanish or Russian or Vietnamese or Chinese and be culturally competent 601 00:52:17.700 --> 00:52:25.060 in those areas, then it's, you know, people don't feel quite as good about that as maybe 602 00:52:25.060 --> 00:52:26.770 they would have before. 603 00:52:26.770 --> 00:52:37.350 So it's been a long transition for us but we have been at it for probably 15  years 604 00:52:37.350 --> 00:52:39.930 or so now. 605 00:52:39.930 --> 00:52:44.780 It has made a tremendous difference in the way that our community sees the library. 606 00:52:44.780 --> 00:52:53.180 So it's definitely worth doing the work because the people who come into our library are much 607 00:52:53.180 --> 00:52:55.980 more reflective in the community we're serving. 608 00:52:55.980 --> 00:53:00.670 We're going out and doing out reach in parts of the community we're not really getting 609 00:53:00.670 --> 00:53:06.570 to when we didn't have people who could speak the language and who people fell comfortable 610 00:53:06.570 --> 00:53:07.570 with. 611 00:53:07.570 --> 00:53:15.480 It's all about how comfortable you feel that someone shares your experience and really 612 00:53:15.480 --> 00:53:24.290 can talk to you but HR practices like if you wanted to be a page at our library and you 613 00:53:24.290 --> 00:53:30.910 were a high school kid, you were competing with people who had a Ph.D. who wanted to 614 00:53:30.910 --> 00:53:35.650 work at the library or people who had an MFA and wanted their library job to support their, 615 00:53:35.650 --> 00:53:41.800 you know, it was their day job to support their art, whatever that might be. 616 00:53:41.800 --> 00:53:46.520 So we have completely changed practices like the way we draw pools of people we're going 617 00:53:46.520 --> 00:53:50.380 to interview out of the pools of people who have made it through the first part of the 618 00:53:50.380 --> 00:53:56.590 civil service process by drawing random pools, we have broken down the barriers. 619 00:53:56.590 --> 00:54:03.970 There's nitty gritty kinds of things you can do that level the playing field a little bit 620 00:54:03.970 --> 00:54:09.010 and making sure that you're interviewing a more diverse group of people than if you just 621 00:54:09.010 --> 00:54:14.350 started with the top people on the civil services exam and then went down. 622 00:54:14.350 --> 00:54:18.770 There's different ways of recruiting that can make it easier. 623 00:54:18.770 --> 00:54:25.940 You know, the bilingual, bicultural competencies were definitely a negotiation in our union 624 00:54:25.940 --> 00:54:29.400 and something we had to talk to our staff about over time. 625 00:54:29.400 --> 00:54:33.840 The rest of the county was definitely on board. 626 00:54:33.840 --> 00:54:35.820 That has helped us. 627 00:54:35.820 --> 00:54:44.260 Again, I think some of the experts can really help you with ideas for how to make that work 628 00:54:44.260 --> 00:54:45.260 better. 629 00:54:45.260 --> 00:54:46.510 >> It's an ongoing process. 630 00:54:46.510 --> 00:54:52.670 I think for many, for all of our grant funded programs, they're all driven by attendance, 631 00:54:52.670 --> 00:54:57.930 retention, goals, outcomes, post test rate, educational gain, right? 632 00:54:57.930 --> 00:55:02.560 So we have tried to streamline all of the performance evaluations so that everybody 633 00:55:02.560 --> 00:55:07.330 is on the same page and everybody is working towards something. 634 00:55:07.330 --> 00:55:11.110 So this is always an ongoing negotiation process with the union and I think a lot of it to 635 00:55:11.110 --> 00:55:22.720 try to convey the importance of it and really what we have done is to do the graduation 636 00:55:22.720 --> 00:55:28.030 because we can see in real life, one of the things that was very visual for me. 637 00:55:28.030 --> 00:55:33.080 When you go to a typical graduation, you have young people who don't really have much life 638 00:55:33.080 --> 00:55:34.080 experience. 639 00:55:34.080 --> 00:55:37.880 They're looking forward because they have potential but these are graduates with children 640 00:55:37.880 --> 00:55:44.070 and kids and when they speak and give testimonials, they talk about the struggles they went through 641 00:55:44.070 --> 00:55:49.700 and all of it very rocky but they have kids and they have wonderful things planned for 642 00:55:49.700 --> 00:55:55.210 the future and I think for many of our staff who are invited to this graduation, that becomes 643 00:55:55.210 --> 00:56:00.370 the motivation as opposed to anything that is, you know, in terms of performance, the 644 00:56:00.370 --> 00:56:01.370 numbers. 645 00:56:01.370 --> 00:56:05.730 So we try to combine both numbers to try to get everybody to work together but it is an 646 00:56:05.730 --> 00:56:06.730 ongoing process. 647 00:56:06.730 --> 00:56:14.590 By the end of the day, it's the stories that really make the impact and remind us why we're 648 00:56:14.590 --> 00:56:16.630 doing what we're doing. 649 00:56:16.630 --> 00:56:19.180 There's nothing to be said. 650 00:56:19.180 --> 00:56:24.430 You can't under state that enough or over state that sorry. 651 00:56:24.430 --> 00:56:29.119 >> I'm a lex learning so I still get things mixed up, sorry. 652 00:56:29.119 --> 00:56:31.560 >> I know there are other questions today. 653 00:56:31.560 --> 00:56:33.920 I think we're out of time. 654 00:56:33.920 --> 00:56:35.109 So it's lunchtime. 655 00:56:35.109 --> 00:56:40.010 But our panelist will be around and I would encourage you to talk with them. 656 00:56:40.010 --> 00:56:43.940 You can see they're doing some incredibly innovative things in their libraries. 657 00:56:43.940 --> 00:56:49.110 Adult learning is hard because it's so big and getting your arms around it and around 658 00:56:49.110 --> 00:56:53.630 specific things within adult learning is hard but I really encourage about all of the great 659 00:56:53.630 --> 00:56:54.630 work out there. 660 00:56:54.630 --> 00:56:56.300 So join me in giving them a round of applause.