Let us Help You Make a Difference.
LibraryLinkNJ subsidizes 75%
[ FY2012 Offer Flyer in .pdf ]
In these tough economic times, LibraryLinkNJ is here for you and your staff. We know that ongoing professional education is essential in the work lives of all staff members, and we want to make it as efficient and cost-effective as possible. We will subsidize 75% of the program cost! We have contacted several consultants and consulting firms specializing in professional development. They have developed high-interest, proven continuing education programs especially for teams of staff members.
How Does the Program Work?
We are presenting a menu of on-site training options for you to choose from and will provide the workshop of your choice at your library. Select a program for your team. Use what works for you.
If you don’t find what you need in the list below, please call us! We are happy to work with you and will try to provide what you need.
- LibraryLinkNJ has set aside a budget for this program and will accommodate as many requests as possible.
- Your library may choose one program a year (our fiscal year runs July to June) from the menu of options.
- You need a group of 20 or more participants for non-technology skills track programs.
- Technology skills track programs must have a minimum of 8 participants. Maximum depends on subject and program length.
- LibraryLinkNJ shares the cost for the presenter and resources with the booking library or libraries.
- LibraryLinkNJ is offering a 75% subsidy.
One booking can be for:
- Staff from one library, including branches
- Staff from several individual libraries combined
- Staff from a county system or combined staff from multiple county systems
- Members of a consortium or combined staff from multiple consortia
- Members of an established New Jersey library organization - Examples: NJASL, HSLANJ, SLA
Who is Eligible?
- Open to all member libraries - including county systems, consortia, and established library organizations.
How Do We Proceed?
- Review the menu of program offerings and choose the one that will work best for your team.
- Plan to offer the program between July 1, 2011 and June 15, 2012.
- Please complete the On-Site, On-Demand Staff Development Program Interest Form.
- If you have any questions, please contact Joanne Roukens at the office (Tel: 732-752-7720 or 1-866-505-5465) or via email jroukens@librarylinknj.org
- You must hold your selected program by June 15, 2012.
- If you don't find the topic of your choice in the program menu, please contact us and we will try and provide what you need.
Your Library is Responsible For:
- Hosting the program on-site.
- Providing the required equipment and Internet connectivity for the program.
- Furnishing the photocopied program materials to team members.
- Appointing a liaison for all contact with LibraryLinkNJ.
- Arranging and paying for the program’s food arrangements.
- Keeping LibraryLinkNJ informed of any changes to the program (i.e. date, time, content)
- Completing program evaluation forms online.
- Confirming to LibraryLinkNJ that the program has taken place.
- Reporting the number of participants.
- Paying LibraryLinkNJ’s invoice promptly.
LibraryLinkNJ is Responsible For:
- Contacting, scheduling and contracting with the CE provider.
- Maintaining contact with and providing all pertinent information to your library’s liaison.
- Providing the program evaluation forms and certificates
- Paying the CE provider and invoicing your library in a timely fashion.
Cancellation Procedure and Practice for Library Members Booking On-site On-demand Programs:
- Programs will be booked provided the library or the library organization has already received necessary approval for the expenditure from a governing entity. Booking will be delayed until approval is in place.
- LibraryLinkNJ requires at least 12 business days notice from a library or library organization for the cancellation of any program.
- If a member library or library organization booking and paying part of the cost for a program cancels with less than 12 business days notice, LibraryLinkNJ may be liable to pay 50% of the program fee as a cancellation fee to the vendor. In this case, if LibraryLinkNJ is assessed a cancellation fee, LibraryLinkNJ will invoice the library for 25% of that fee.
Staff Development Programs for July 1, 2011 - June 15, 2012
The programs listed below are the featured selections of what is available through the Continuing Education Providers we are working with. Most can be customized for length and for the specific needs of participants. They are designed to be interactive.
If you don’t find what you need in this list, please call us! We are happy to work with you and will try to provide what you need.
Communication Skills Track
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Why We Click With Some and Clank With Others - NEW!
Ever wonder why you click with some and clank with others? Enjoy a hilarious trip through the human personality as it plays out, in all its glory, in the workplace, with the DiSC Model. Learn why some co-workers insist on perfect plans before executing anything, while others just jump in, make things happen, and adjust on the fly. Discover why using the golden rule can do much more harm than good, and how to persuade just about anybody to your point of view by understanding their style – and yours. This program reveals the hidden drivers that form our likes and dislikes about the people we work with. Master the DiSC Model’s four behavioral styles and you will have the keys to maximizing your own potential and improving every relationship at work.Fun, engaging, and immediately applicable in the workplace, this program provides the foundation for both professional and personal growth.
- Communicating with Others
People bring both practical and personal needs to communication interactions. There is both a functional purpose and an emotional content. To learn how to meet this duality, participants will practice using five key skills - maintaining self esteem; showing empathy; sharing thoughts, feelings, and rationale; asking for help; and providing support.
- Communicating in a Diverse Environment
Our society’s new reality presents both opportunity and challenge for highly diverse people to work together to accomplish organizational goals. Through understanding and effective communications, people can learn to respect the unique nature of others and capitalize on the energy and talent that every person has to offer. Participants will leave appreciating the differences and similarities that people bring with them every day.
- Making Meetings Work
Both leaders and attendees have a responsibility to make meetings more effective. In this class, participants discover how thorough planning, simple facilitation techniques, and timely follow up can make meetings that serve their purpose and are even fun.
Leadership and Team-Building Track
- Solving Workplace Problems - NEW!
Managers will learn a five-step process that combines a variety of methods to provide an effective approach to solving simple-to-complex organizational problems. Each step of the process is explained in detail. Participants have the opportunity to be involved in group discussions, apply the process learned using a case study, and finally apply the solution to their own problem. Managers leave the workshop with implementation tools, forms, and additional resources to help them apply the skills learned back on the job.
- Resolving Conflict - NEW!
Participants will learn to transform problems into creative opportunities and develop communication tools to build rapport. A guided process will help team leaders establish a cooperative atmosphere to resolve conflicts as they occur. This module instructs individuals how to be aware of the positive and negative impacts of conflict and provides the skills to make conflict an opportunity to improve relationships.
- Nuts & Bolts Leadership
Leading others through the process of achieving organizational objectives is a challenging, yet rewarding assignment that requires excellent administrative, interpersonal, and communication skills. By applying situational leadership, participants will be able to coach and motivate their staffs into high performance teams. They will leave the session with a toolbox filled with nuts ‘n bolts techniques. This program requires the purchasing of a book for each participant. This is an additional cost. If you don’t wish to purchase the book, the program can be adjusted and adapted to meet your needs.
- Adapting to Change
Change is demoralizing when we don’t understand how it works or our role in it. In this class we will discuss the four phases of change – the occurrence of the change, a disorientation period, adjustment, and normalization. Participants will learn a four part technique for accepting change and apply it on a personal level to the workplace change they are currently experiencing.
- Building Trust in the Workplace
Workplace trust is everyone’s responsibility. This program explores how easily we each damage workplace trust by making assumptions, breaking promises, covering ourselves, spreading rumors, and bypassing people. Participants discuss how they can each build trust by effectively sharing thoughts and feelings, making commitments they can keep, admitting mistakes, requesting and accepting feedback, and testing assumptions.
- Customer Service
Taking a broad approach to customer service, this class includes identifying external and internal customers; the benefits of good customer service for the customer, the staff, and the organization; what good customer service looks like; meeting the customers’ needs; four key principles of service interactions; active listening; four steps to saying no. Participants leave with an individual action plan.
Note: An optional program approach focuses on how managers can ensure good institution-wide customer service.
- Five-Star Teamwork
The challenge of group dynamics is having diverse individuals work together to achieve a common goal. The quality of team relationships directly impacts performance, motivation, retention, and customer satisfaction (internal and external). Applying a five star commitment to teamwork will contribute to organizational success. This program requires the purchasing of a book for each participant. This is an additional cost. If you don’t wish to purchase the book, the program can be adjusted and adapted to meet your needs.
- The Art of Negotiating
Negotiation occurs every day – formally and informally on the job or at home. Communication, respect, preparation, and focus are the heart and soul of the negotiation process. By effectively managing interpersonal dynamics, a situation can change from one of confrontation to one of conversation. Participants will leave knowing how to assertively manage differences and achieve success.
- Creative Problem-Solving
Facing challenges of tighter resources along with increased demand for services, libraries need to become more inventive on how to do it all. Problems provide opportunities for discovery, learning, and growth. Creativity takes the process outside the box. Communication shares innovation. Teamwork allows diverse individuals to collaborate in the achievement of strategic outcomes. Participants will leave with the skills necessary to think strategically and solve problems innovatively.
- Giving and Receiving Feedback
Which is more difficult – giving feedback or receiving it? How can one present feedback so it can be heard and acted upon? The recipient must understand the feedback, choose whether or not to accept it, and decide how to take action. Participants will learn and use the STAR model of feedback which is useful for all these issues.
Personal Development Track
- Stress Management
Stress is a fact of life, but it doesn’t need to be a way of life. We have the power of choice in our reactions to events. The key to managing stress is focusing our energy on what we can control, rather than on what we can’t control. Participants will leave knowing how to achieve a healthier work-life balance and greater personal satisfaction.
- Clearing The Clutter
How often do you hear the New Year’s resolution, “I have to get rid of all this stuff”? Clutter is everywhere, and it’s overwhelming. It impacts our personal, professional, and emotional well-being. However, there are easy ways to clear out the mental and physical clutter that’s affecting our lives. Participants will leave with techniques that will allow them to finally get in control.
- Managing Time Effectively
Universally, time is the one item where demand always exceeds the supply. Balancing administrative, personnel, and project demands along with time for family and self can be challenging. By identifying the difference between urgency and importance, we can gain control over the many factors that impact teamwork, quality, and productivity. Participants will leave more focused about the proper use of time in their professional and personal lives.
Technology Skills Track
- Choose from a variety of options including Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7, or select a workshop on any one of the MS Office Suite of applications. You can specify your library’s needs on the On-Site, On-Demand Staff Development Program Interest Form
Cultural Diversity Track
- Cultural Awareness Training: Strategies for Creating a More Inclusive Library
This interactive program will introduce cultural concepts to help participants gain a deeper understanding of cultural differences and improve multicultural relationships with co-workers and library users. Participants will develop an individual action plan to improve customer service and interactions with colleagues
- Managing Across Cultural and Generational Differences
This interactive program will provide Directors, Managers and/or Supervisors with the tools and skills to manage across cultures and age diversity. Participants will develop awareness by identifying the impact of cultural values on behaviors and identify and strategize development areas.
OR
- Working Across Cultural and Generational Differences
This interactive program will provide all library staff with the tools and skills to work effectively across cultures and age diversity. Participants will develop awareness by identifying the impact of cultural values on behaviors and Identify and strategize development areas.
- Communicating in a Diverse Environment
Our society’s new reality presents both opportunity and challenge for highly diverse people to work together to accomplish organizational goals. Through understanding and effective communications, people can learn to respect the unique nature of others and capitalize on the energy and talent that every person has to offer. Participants will leave appreciating the differences and similarities that people bring with them every day.
Contact a CE Team Member:
Joanne Roukens: jroukens[a]librarylinknj.org
Sophie Brookover: sbrookover[a]librarylinknj.org
Mi-Sun Lyu: lyu[a]librarylinknj.org
Among the professional development consultants we are working with to provide these programs are:
- CAM Consulting - A strategic consulting and training firm specializing in professional development and organizational growth.
- Luisa Paster- A consultant and former training librarian with Princeton University experienced in library staff development training.
- ProgramsPlus- A professional computer training firm providing instruction in all facets of modern business computing.
- Lourdes Tango- A training consultant experienced in designing and facilitating programs in cross-cultural communication and diversity topics.
- Team Builders Plus– A human resources training and development firm linking development experiences to real-world workplace issues through one-on-one performance coaching and training programs. NEW CONSULTANT!