going beyond the great idea
TRANSCRIPT
GOING BEYOND THE GREAT IDEA
Getting buy-in and doing effective training for 2.0 projects
Jenica P. Rogers-UrbanekComputers in Libraries 2008
Academic Library 2.0
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS STILL NEED LEADERS
Without a head lemming, most groups will never step off the cliff.
Collaborative ≠ self propelled
2.0 projects are described as ‘intuitive’, ‘social’, ‘participatory’… but they still need a leader to:– Sell the idea– Organize the project timeframes– Facilitate training, setup, and follow-through
Learn from Ghandi. “We need to be the change we wish to see in the world.” Step up!
GETTING YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW:
YOU NEED SUPPORT FROM
ABOVE, ACROSS, AND BELOW.
Most of us are the middle duck, if not the little bitty last duck. You need support from your supervisor, administration,
colleagues, and support staff.
How to convince them all?
Avoid “uncritical me-too-ism”
Prepare the ground before you begin
Sell the project: Utility
Sell the project: one size does not fit all
• Consider each stakeholder separately – what do they care about?– Be relevant to internal and individual needs
– Bring data to support your arguments
– Adapt to your audience
Sell the project: Avoid truthiness
Focus on your reality-based library
Have reasonable expectationsDo sensible user assessmentStrive for achievable results
Plan to measure success in meaningful and do-able ways
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP: PREPARATION IS ESSENTIALYou wouldn’t want to hang off a building without safety ropes, a
training program, and appropriate oversight. We need to apply those same ideas to our projects – even small and informal ones.
Multifaceted Training = Learning 2.0
• Show and Tell
• Provide documentation, no matter how “self explanatory” it seems
• Hands-on exploration is worth 1000 words
• Allow private learning before public roll-out
• Integrate the learning into the doing
“I DON’T HAVE TIME TO LEARN A NEW TOOL!”
Maybe you do... The path to nirvana
runs through training by doing – it’s like
constant on the job training, only less
painful.
Advanced On the Job Doing
You must teach and learn the basics formally – you can’t skip this step. But, then…
• Encourage exploratory use of the tool • Assign, delegate, or collaborate on necessary tasks that
require use of the tool• Have an “expert” who is prepared to assist when
necessary
If the tool is relevant and useful, the task work will be relevant and useful – and will facilitate learning the
tool with minimal extra time required.
TIME TO
JUMP.
You’ve taken the lead,
gotten key buy-in, and trained your participants, and now…
Other pretty good practices
• Plan for success – is your project scalable?• Prepare the ground – will your library know what
you’re talking about when you first broach the topic?
• Write it down – document your process for future use.
• Assess the project – what’s working? What isn’t?• Respond to criticism – and then make
appropriate changes.• Plan for failure – what happens if it falls apart?
Photo Credits
• Lemmings• Ducks in a row• iPhone party• Stephen Colbert• Safety Training• Road to Heaven• Learn• Base Jump
All found on Flickr or Wikipedia, licensed for reuse through Creative Commons.
Thanks for listening!Thanks for listening!
Questions and commentary welcome now or during the unconference
Jenica P. Rogers-UrbanekCollection Development Coordinator and Technical Services Team LeaderSUNY Potsdam College Libraries
http://[email protected]
AIM/Meebo/Twitter: Jenica26