Registration closes on October 30, 2009, for the Public Library Association’s (PLA’s) Management of Technology, to be held November 12-13, 2009 at the Washington State Library in Mountlake Terrace, WA. The course is $250 for PLA and Washington Librarians, $300 for American Library Association members, and $400 for non-members. Registration fee includes all training materials, breaks, and lunch on both days of the workshop.
Part of PLA’s popular Certified Public Library Administrator (CPLA) Courses, this two-day program will provide librarians with the knowledge and skills they need to determine an appropriate role for technologies in delivery of services at their libraries and to identify the best technologies that will support this delivery. The program is interactive and it includes a variety of group exercises based on a case study about a medium-sized county library with multiple branches. Using the same case study throughout the training will give participants an opportunity to apply what they are learning in a practical way in the “real” library – and to see the effects of the decisions they make throughout the two-day program. A complete course description along with course registration can be found at http://www.pla.org/ala/mgrps/divs/pla/plaevents/cplacourses/technology.cfm
At the end of the program, participants will be able to:
• develop a basic understanding of the concepts of computer and communications technologies;
• link current services to the inventory of technologies;
• make decisions about sustaining, expanding or phasing out current technologies;
• identify and evaluate new technologies for implementation;
• identify the costs, needed skills, and timelines for new and expanded projects;
• create an environment of on-going technological assessment and implementation.
Course presenter Michael Porter brings nearly twenty years experience in the library world, having worked at WebJunction.org, OCLC Western (Ontario, CA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation US Library Program, and the Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, IN). His professional focus is on practical technology, community, training and planning. He is currently working on a book about successful electronic communities for ALA Editions and co-authors the “Internet Spotlight” column in Public Libraries Magazine.
For more information or to register for the course, please visit www.pla.org or call 800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA. PLA is a division of the American Library Association.