Creating a Culture of Learning at Your Library: Why It's Important for Library Staff to Continually Take the Time to Learn New Skills and Continually Improve the Skills That They Already Have
The YALSA "Future of Libraries for and with Teens: A Call to Action" (often called the Futures Report) spells out a paradigm shift for libraries a shift that asks library staff to think of themselves as educators and learning facilitators that support self directed learner centered inquiry. The shift takes the library from a place to find content and resources to a place of engagement and learning. If we want to create an environment that puts the learning needs of our community at the center of our service, we must start by making sure that library staff have the learning experiences that help them gain the expertise to make this a reality. We need to develop a workplace culture that makes time for interest driven learning and encourages staff to share their learning accomplishments. For most public institutions (schools or public libraries) a majority of the budget is spent on staff. People are our most valuable asset, our most flexible tool, and the place where we need to start turning the paradigm shift into reality. By investing in our staff and in ourselves, we are investing in our future services to teens. This shift asks a lot of us working in libraries to develop new skills and explore ways to share our passions as we shift into the role of learning facilitator. "The library is no longer simply a quiet place to connect to physical content. It is instead a place, physical and virtual, to learn how to connect and use resources of all types from physical books to apps to experts in a local, regional, or national community. It is a kitchen for 'mixing resources' in order to empower teens to build skills, develop understanding, create and share, and overcome adversity." (Futures Report, p. 4) All too often I meet library staff with a creative passion but without the time or resources to develop themselves or the opportunity to share their passion with others. It is crucial that we make the time and curate the learning opportunities that help us make this learning and sharing possible for our staff. In fact, in many cases, staff can be a great pilot or testing ground for a new tool, resource, or program that might later be offered to teens or other members of the community. When staff test a project it gives them an important opportunity to revisit the learning mindset, something we might not have adopted since our last formal education experience. Better yet, asking staff to provide feedback on a pilot also asks them to think reflectively on what it is like to be a learner in the library. Thinking deeply about our own educational paths and experiences can help us build empathy as we create programs and services that put teens in the same place. Through reflection we build patience for failure and identify potential roadblocks. Staff as learners should ask themselves: How does it feel to fail? Is the library a friendly place to fail? How do I and others learn best? Does the library serve one type of learner better than others? How does it feel to take risks? Is the library a friendly place for risk taking? How would my path to learning change if I were a teen from a non dominant background? What barriers would I face and how can the library help me overcome them? Make the Time for Learning Experiences "Someone working with youth has to have the capacity to learn new things, and really have the desire to learn new types of technology." Participant, connected learning.tv chat (Futures Report, p. 24) Developing a culture of learning, staff need the same things our teens need to enter the learning mind space. First, they need time and lots of it. Some institutions, like Sno Isle Libraries, in Washington, made a commitment to staff development, dedicating 25 percent of staff time to learning experiences. Simply saying you are going to set aside one to three hours every day for "learning time" isn't really enough.