Raising the Tech Bar at Your Library by Nick D. Taylor

Author:Nick D. Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781440844966
Publisher: ABC-CLIO

TYPES OF TECH TRAINING

Library staff can provide technology training and assistance to patrons in a variety of ways. Different formats, as described in the following sections, better suit different audiences. Also keep in mind that topics and spaces and some formats are more time and resource intensive than others. Although frequent one-on-one sessions for one particular patron might net you good will from that individual, this is obviously not the best utilization of time to serve your entire community.

Self-Guided Training

Self-guided tech training offers a huge benefit to both your staff and patrons. It can be as simple as pointing a patron to an online resource that has the needed information or it can be performed with library staff–generated handouts. Another benefit of self-guided learning is that adults learn best in an environment in which they may choose the topic and pacing of their learning (Gerding, 2007). Staff-written training resources are great, as they are likely to reflect the most common questions and issues that your library patrons might need help with. Handout topics can be anything from using the copier to downloading music to commonly used HTML tags. These have potential for applications all over the library. In a makerspace, you can provide self-guided project cards that will walk people through a project step by step. People can use these cards to work through a project on their own, give it their own creative spin, and learn some new skills along the way. In a computer lab, a handout can help explain a common issue like attaching files to an e-mail or filetype conversion. Library patrons are sometimes confused about or unfamiliar with the concept and tools in a makerspace, so these project cards are a fantastic way to foster engagement. See appendix C for a sample project card.

A word of warning: although these handouts can be a great way for patrons to empower themselves and learn at their own pace, they should not replace the friendly and personalized assistance staff can give. It is up to staff discretion if a one-on-one appointment, on-the-fly help, or self-guided learning is most appropriate in the moment. It is not good customer service to hand a frustrated patron instructions on troubleshooting a problem without offering any other guidance.

When developing self-guided tech handouts, be sure you or your staff are utilizing resources that have been vetted for quality and accuracy. To make effective handouts, assume the handout will be used independently of any instruction. This means that content needs to be absolutely unambiguous in both content and language. Screenshots with arrows and circles are a much appreciated extra step. In the same vein, do not make any assumptions about the knowledge that the end user possesses. If your handout requires downloading an image from Google, you need to explain the process of opening a browser, putting in search terms, right clicking, saving, et cetera. Consider using bullet points, bolded text, and font size to highlight key points. Be sure to also include white space in handouts to allow for note taking and to improve overall readability.

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