PLA Webinar

Creating Data-Driven Professional Development Pathways for Public Library Staff

Wednesday, December 12, 2018 | 1:00 PM Central

The 2018 class of ALA Emerging Leaders was charged with identifying data competency training resources for the Public Library Association. It has become increasingly important for library professionals to be able to gather, analyze and communicate data in order to navigate a data-rich world and make data-driven decisions related to funding, policies and other resources needed to support the communities you serve. Learn how the website created by the Emerging Leaders serves as a professional development guide that can help move library staff toward becoming more data competent. REGISTER NOW.

The American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders program is a leadership development program which enables newer library workers from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. The 2018 Emerging Leaders project is supported by the Public Library Association and the Research Institute for Public Libraries.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will:

• Understand what it means to be data competent in five key areas, including data analysis, data planning and resource management, data storytelling and advocacy, principles and practices of communicating data to inform decisions, and research and evaluation methods;
• Take advantage of resources and tools to assist them in building data skills and understanding; and,
• Be able to share resources and tools with colleagues.

Who Should Attend

This free webinar is intended for any library staff interested in becoming more data competent.

Instructors

Crystal Chen is a Young Adult Librarian at the Woodstock Library branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL). She holds a BA in fine arts from Amherst College, an MFA in printmaking from SUNY New Paltz, and a MSLIS from Pratt Institute. She has served on NYPL’s Best Books for Teens Committee (2016 and 2017) and NYPL’s YA Advisory Committee (2018).

Tracy Drake is an archivist at the Chicago Public Library. She graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a BS in African American Studies, a MA in history from Roosevelt University and a MSLIS degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also one of the founding board members for Project Back-Up foundation, an organization that helps community members preserve their family history. Outside of work she enjoys traveling, exploring new places in the city of Chicago, reading and hanging out with her favorite 9-year-old.

Aurelia Mandani (she/her/hers) is a systems administrator through Cherokee Nations Service Group at NOAA Boulder. Aurelia holds a BA in Political Science and International Studies, along with a MLIS from the University of Denver. She is also a Gates Millennium Scholar (cohort 2010), and is currently working on her PhD in CSIS (computer science and information systems) at the University of Colorado at Denver.

A.J. Muhammad is a librarian in the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (NYPL).

Claire Nickerson is the Learning Initiatives and Open Educational Resources librarian at Fort Hays State University. She provides research help and information literacy instruction and assists faculty in in implementing zero-cost course materials in the classroom. She also teaches introductory research and writing skills (and, soon, data literacy) to graduate students in the Masters of Liberal Studies program.

Registration

THIS WEBINAR IS FREE, BUT REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AND SPACE IS LIMITED. You can register for this webinar until it begins, or until space is no longer available, whichever comes first. Please do not register unless you are sincere about attending the live webinar. Space is limited, and signing up and not attending may deprive someone else of the opportunity. Thank you for your cooperation.