The Customer Service Experience @ Your Library: a blended learning opportunity

How would you and your library benefit from learning the best practices in improving customer satisfaction through the creation of outstanding customer experiences? You just might be surprised!

The Customer Service Experience @ Your Library blended learning program involves participants in three interactive learning environments as we explore best practices in improving customer satisfaction through the creation of outstanding customer experiences.

Participants are expected to obtain and read "The Experience Economy", respond online to weekly questions from the instructor and attend the introductory pre-conference session on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 4pm at the COMO Conference in Athens.

Note - you must be registered for the conference to attend the October 13th session. If you're unable to attend the kick-off session at COMO but want to participate in the three week blended learning workshop, please contact Pat Carterette at pcarterette@georgialibraries.org

Dates: Starts October 13 - Ends November 18, 2010

• October 13 session - Athens Classic Center.
• October 27-November 16 - readings and online assignments
• November 18 - "Live" webinar at 2:00pm

Audience: All library staff, but especially public service staff.

Cost: No charge to Georgia library staff 

Contact Hours: 5.0 continuing education contact hours. A certificate of attendance will be issued by GPLS.
Click here for more information and to register.
This workshop is brought to you by the Georgia Public Library Service, a Unit of the University System of Georgia

Basic Management Skills Workshop on Oct. 27 in Washington, GA

This workshop explores basic management principles, relates those principles to each individual's self-perceptions of themselves as managers, and allows participants to clearly define their management style. Throughout it stays focused on the fact that of the library's four essential resources---staff, technology, collections, and facilities---staff is the only resource where the "human factor" has to constantly be kept in mind. Registration is limited to 25.

Date: Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010

Time: 9:30-12:30

Location: Mary Willis Library, Washington, GA

Cost: $10

Click here for more information and to register.

Audience: For anyone in public, academic or school libraries new to management as well as those interested in brushing up on management skills.

Certification contact hours: 2.5 contact hours. A certificate of attendance will be issued by GPLS.

For more info: Contact Pat Carterette at GPLS: pcarterette@georgialibraries.org or 404-235-7124

PLA Marketing Workshop Oct. 28-29 at the Decatur Library

This two-day program will provide working librarians with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively market the library’s programs and services. The program is interactive and it includes a variety of group exercises based on a case study about a medium-sized county library with multiple branches. Using the same case study throughout the training will give participants an opportunity to apply what they are learning in a practical way in the “real” library – and to see the effects of the decisions they make throughout the two-day program.

Contact hours: 12 continuing education contact hours. This workshop satisfies requirements for the Certified Public Library Administrator Certificate Program.

Intended audience: Public library directors, managers and other with marketing responsibilities or an interest in marketing.

Presenter: Wayne Piper, former professional development director at the Ohio Library Council

Dates: October 28-29, 2010
Where: Decatur Library, Decatur, GA
Cost: $250 for Georgia library staff

Click here for more information and to register. Hurry, registration ends soon.

GLA Now has PayPal Option!

I am so pleased to announce that you can now join or renew your membership or donate to our scholarship fund with our PayPal link: http://gla.georgialibraries.org/gla_membership.htm
You do not have to pay electronically. You can certainly still pay by mailing a check. I want to thank the GLA PayPal team of Kara Mullen, Cathy Jeffrey, Laura Burtle, Kim Eccles, Judith Brook and Darin Givens for making this possible. Carol Stanley, GLA President

Book Cart Drill Teams to Perform at COMO!!!

Allatoona High School and the Sequoyah Regional Library System will be strutting their stuff at the Georgia Inaugural Book Cart Drill Team Competition! This event will take place Friday, October 15th at 1pm at the Classic Center. Come cheer on the teams “Carte Blanche” and the “Bookettes” and maybe next year YOUR LIBRARY will be competing for the title of Georgia’s #1 Book Cart Drill Team! I would like to thank Conyers Rockdale Library System for coordinating the fun.

Carol Stanley, GLA President

GLA Academic Division Election Results

Congratulations to the Academic Library Division election winners and next years leadership team. Joining Sarah Steiner, the incoming chair, will be:

Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Katherine Ott
Secretary: Tessa Minchew
ACRL Representative: Amy Eklund

Free GLA Webinars on 9/15

The Georgia Library Association and Georgia Public Library Service are pleased to announce the September sessions of the Wednesday Webinar series, which highlights trends, innovation, and best practices in Georgia Libraries. The webinars feature Georgia speakers, but registration is open to anyone, anywhere. Topics are chosen to be of interest to employees of all library types, and each session is approved for one Georgia Continuing Education (CE) contact hour each.

Money Matters: Teaching Financial Literacy Skills in the Library
Presented by Trudi Green and Teri Hanna

• Wednesday, September 15, 2010, 10:00am - 11:00am Eastern Time
• Separate registration is required for each hour-long session.
  

Financial literacy is one of the 21st century library competencies outlined in the 2010 IMLS 21st Century Museum and Libraries Report. The Athens-Clarke County Library has addressed this competency with the launch of a grant-funded program "Money Matters: Because Your Future Matters" aimed at helping GED students and others learn basic financial skills. Join Trudi Green and Teri Hanna to learn more about this innovative and timely program. Come away with a clear idea of the benefit of such programming as well as ideas for incorporating parts of this unique program into your library's programming efforts using your own local resources. You'll even learn something about the newest credit rules! Money Matters is funded by Smart Investing @ Your LibraryTM, a partnership between the American Library Association and FINRA.

Discovering Georgia History and Culture: GALILEO and the Digital Library of Georgia
Presented by Karen Minton

• Wednesday, September 15, 2010, 11:15am - 12:15pm Eastern Time
• Separate registration is required for each hour-long session.
  

The Digital Library of Georgia, a part of GALILEO, is a unique gateway to Georgia's history and culture found in digitized books, manuscripts, photographs, government documents, newspapers, maps, audio, video, and other resources. Join us for this look at the Digital Library of Georgia and a couple of popular history and culture resources. Learn tips on ways training can help your patrons and staff get excited about using electronic local history resources.

Please contact a member of the Wednesday Webinar planning team with questions or ideas:
Pat Carterette, Georgia Public Library Service, pcarterette@georgialibraries.org
Buffy Hamilton, Wednesday Webinars Steering Committee, buffy.hamilton@gmail.com
Sarah Steiner, Georgia Library Association, PACE Chair, ssteiner@gsu.edu