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Overcoming Technology Service Barriers in Your Library

Discover effective strategies to remove barriers and improve technology services in your library. Learn valuable tips and tricks to address communication, time management, confidence, resource, implementation, and authority challenges.

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Overcoming Technology Service Barriers in Your Library

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  1. Why your attempts to remove technology service barriers aren’t working Leah Haist Alberta LibraryConference Jasper, Alberta April 29, 2017 lhaist@prl.ab.ca

  2. Have you ever tried to implement a new piece of technology… …and something CRAZY happened and nothing worked?

  3. What is the pattern? • I’ve solved 100 problems in one day, which was a crazy workday.

  4. How would your library change if… • …you were certain that your library’s success is directly tied to your own efforts and state of mind? • …there was a method that would help you increase your focus on creating limitless service opportunities? • …you knew this method only took a couple of hours a week to implement, and you were ready to commit to it?

  5. 6 Barriers • Lack of Communication • No Time for Learning • Lack of Confidence • Lack of Resources • Lack of Information • Lack of Authority

  6. Barrier #1: Lack of Communication • “Communication – the human connection – is key to personal and career success.” – Paul J. Meyer

  7. Barrier #1: Leah’s Tips and Tricks • If you don’t feel comfortable with any aspect of a project at work, speak up for yourself. • If you’re implementing a big change at work, communicate the progress you’ve made every step of the way.

  8. Barrier #2: Lack of Time for Learning • "[The] mastery response to setbacks [is] that approach didn't work. I need a new strategy." - Alison Ambi

  9. Barrier #2: Leah’s Tips and Tricks • Take 7-10 minutes of your workday to learn something new. • If you’re learning new software and you don’t have any training resources, practice in a test database. • Document everything you’ve tested in steps, including what worked and what didn’t work. • Celebrate yourself based on the efforts you’ve made that day, not based on the completion of a long-term project.

  10. Barrier #2: Lack of Time for Learning • “The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.”– Oprah Winfrey

  11. Barrier #3: Lack of Confidence • “Today, not starting is far, far worse than being wrong. If you start, you've got a shot at evolving and adjusting to turn your wrong into a right. But if you don't start, you never get a chance.” ― Seth Godin, Poke the Box

  12. Barrier #3: Leah’s Tips and Tricks • If a task feels intimidating, enlist support from your manager and colleagues. • Start working on the intimidating task today and if you make a mistake, course correct along the way. Don’t wait! • Accept constructive feedback from your peers and manager.

  13. Barrier #4: Lack of Resources • “It was through volunteerism that I learned one of the great secrets of life – that our sense of self-worth is defined not by what we get from the world, but what we give to it.”– Justin Trudeau

  14. Barrier #4: Leah’s Tips and Tricks • Look for support from the appropriate person at your workplace whose job description matches the expertise you’re looking for. • If your colleagues can’t answer your questions, don’t be afraid to network and reach out to professionals in other fields who can help you. • Face the tasks you don’t want to do first in your workday.

  15. Barrier #4: Lack of Resources • “The four traits of successful people are: • They are willing to do the things they HATE to get to where they want to be… • They do the things they don’t want to do FIRST… • They never take no for an answer… • They take action every day in pursuit of your goals…” – Marisa Peer

  16. Barrier #5: Lack of Implementation • “Implementation, not ideas, is the key to real success.”- Chet Holmes • “You can get to anyone if you’re determined.”- Chet Holmes

  17. Barrier #5: Leah’s Tips and Tricks • Your implementation doesn’t have to be perfect. Don’t let perfection stop you from taking action. • Don’t give up on fixing a problem just because someone couldn’t complete the project before you. That person may have just not had time to address the issue fully, and the fix could be quite straightforward.

  18. Barrier #5: Lack of Implementation • “Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” - Confucius

  19. Barrier #6: Lack of Authority • “You can't stop a teacher when they want to do something. They just do it.”― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

  20. Barrier #6: Leah’s Tips and Tricks • Get creative within the confines of your job description to solve the problem. • Take careful note of all the work you’re doing. Write down a key piece of information (such as the bibliographic control number of a record in an ILS) to remember what you were working on. • If you’re not sure how to accomplish your end goal, write down the steps you tried each day in detail and your results.

  21. Conclusion: Leah’s Tips and Tricks • Keep an open mind and have the courage to look for long-term solutions • Solving a database problem is like a rollercoaster ride – it’s up and down after you have strapped yourself in for the ride, there’s no going back! • It takes even more courage to admit when something has gone wrong, for me! • But when I succeed at solving a problem, it’s the best feeling!

  22. Reference List Ambi, A. (2016, May). Mindsets in Libraries. Poster presented at the Atlantic Provinces Library Association Conference in Halifax, NS. Retrieved from http://schd.ws/hosted_files/apla2016/09/Alison%20Ambi%20Mindsets%20in%20Libraries.pdf CARPHILS. (2015, December 5). International Volunteer Day. Retrieved from https://dreamingfortheworld.wordpress.com/2015/12/05/international-volunteer-day/ Confucius. (1992). The Analects of Confucius. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. Godin, S. (2015). Poke the Box: When Was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time? London: Penguin Books Limited. Holmes, C. (2007). The Ultimate Sales Machine. New York: Penguin. Johnston, M.P. (2012, April 19). School Librarians as Technology Integration Leaders: Enablers and Barriers to Leadership Enactment. School Library Research 15, pp. 1-334. Loeffler, B., & Church, B.T. (2015). The Experience: The 5 Principles of Disney Service and Relationship Excellence. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Ottawa and Ontario invest up to $100M in artificial intelligence institute. (2017, March 31). CTV News. Retrieved from http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/ottawa-and-ontario-invest-up-to-100m-in- artificial-intelligence-institute-1.3348852 Palmieri, C.T. (2008). Oprah, in Her Words: Our American Princess. Charleston, South Carolina: BookSurge Publishing. Peer, Marissa (2013, August 7). Four Traits of Successful People. Retrieved from https://www.marisapeer.com/four-traits-of-successful-people-2/ Salinger, J.D. (1951). The Catcher in the Rye. London: Hamish Hamilton.

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