July 05, 2006
May Institute 2006: Spring Forward
In his keynote address, Michael Stephens set the tone for our three-day institute, Springing Forward. His discussion was a perfect way to kick things off as we learned about not just the "how", but the necessity that lies behind the "why" we should be focusing on building our common body of knowledge and expanding our ability to meet changing user expectations.
Expanding on the idea of "user-centered planning", Michael showed us what some of the future technology could look like, and helped us to acknowledge some of the needs tomorrow's user will have. Things like blogging, wikis, RSS feeds for IPOD users, and "Library 2.0" were just a few of the new technologies generating buzz after the Institute.
Following the keynote address were three days of programming that offered all employees an opportunity to build knowledge and skills in a variety of areas including Library Mission, Team Building, Customer Service, Technology and Tools, and Organization & Management; there was something for everyone.
Your comments on the evaluation forms were overwhelmingly positive, offering useful insight into ideas and shared goals for next year's planning team (don't hesitate to respond when the call goes out for volunteers!).
All of the program handouts, several power point presentations, and photos can be found on the institute webpage.
The survey results again showed an overwhelmingly positive response to the Institute, and offered great suggestions for future Institutes. Some of the comments we saw were:
• "The committee did an excellent job in presenting a well-rounded forum to become a better employee, and more importantly, offer unhappy people to reflect why they still choose to work here."
• "I think the fact that staff were encouraged to attend was good for morale and informative. I was energized and ready to go back to work after the three days.
• "Consider hosting the Institute in another location on campus. It 'forces' library people to make the physical/mental commitment to be involved in the processes of the Institute. It was a great opportunity to meet new staff and to have conversations with people who have been here as long as I have been."
Thank you for your participation and support, and remember that it takes "you" to help make us great.
This year's May Institute Planning Team Members were:
• Joanne Bessler, jbessler@nd.edu
• Anastasia Guimaraes, aguimara@nd.edu
• Mandy Havert, mhavert@nd.edu
• Meleah Ladd, mladd@nd.edu
• Pat Loghry, ploghry@nd.edu
• Marcy Simons, msimons@nd.edu
• David Williams, dwillia6@nd.edu
• Lou Wetherbee, lvw99@swbell.net
The institute web site is located at:
https://libstaff.library.nd.edu:990/lib_only/lipt/index.shtml