Professional Development Opportunities
Cataloging/Metadata
Using the New RDA Toolkit to Catalog Music (ALA e-Learning)
This three-part webinar will cover the MLA Best Practices for Cataloging using RDA and MARC21 in the new RDA Toolkit. The first session introduces the MLA Best Practices, including a comparison of the Best Practices in the original and new Toolkits and an overview of notable changes and differences. It explains how to navigate and interpret Best Practices and how they interact with LC-PCC PS. The second webinar covers tools for use alongside Best Practices, including the MLA RDA Application Profile, external RDA guidance documentation, and other pertinent MLA cataloging documents. The third session illustrates using the new Toolkit, Best Practices, and associated documentation to catalog scores and audio recordings.
After this event, participants will be able to:
- Navigate and interpret the MLA Best Practices in the new RDA Toolkit
- Understand how the Best Practices interact with LC-PCC PS and where they differ
- Use additional tools to quickly evaluate which RDA elements to include in a bibliographic record
- Know where to look for supplemental guidance on music cataloging
- Apply instructions in the new Toolkit to the cataloging of notated and recorded music
October 29 – October 31
$170.10 (ALA Member) /$189.00 (Non-member)
Authorities (MCLS)
This workshop will teach participants guidelines for selection of authority records, content and interpretation of authority records, and an explanation of each field, subfield, and data element in the authority record. Goals for this workshop are for participants to be able to establish correct access points for cataloging and to interpret the content and coding of authority records during this process.
Additionally, participants will learn how to create corporate and personal name headings with appropriate cross references, explanatory references, and source data information.
This is a virtual workshop via Zoom.
October 29 – October 31
$100 (MCLS member) / $200 (non-member)
Object Cataloging for a Library of Things (MCLS)
This course focuses on learning the structure and notational system of the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) system, using the free PDFs of LCC via the Library of Congress. LCC is an enumerative system that uses an alphanumerical notation system to express the subject content of information resources. The call numbers created are a combination of class numbers and cutter numbers, thus an integral part of building numbers involves understanding the role of cutter numbers and how they are constructed using the LC Cutter Number Generating Table.
Students will become familiar with the structure of LCC and how numbers are devised through basic subject analysis technique. The notational system will be explored, including its expressiveness and hospitality and how notational elements are used. Call number building devices will be practiced, including basic cutter number construction, reserved cutter numbers, and successive cutter numbers, etc. Another integral part of LCC is its in-schedule instructions such as “Divide like” and “Under each” and the use of category lists and auxiliary Tables.
Course Objectives and Goals:
By the end of the course students will:
- Learn the structure of this long-standing library classification system through an examination of the overall 40+ schedules and targeted use of select schedules
- Develop a firm grasp of number building techniques and the use of cutter numbers
- Develop a firm understanding of Martel’s Seven Points and the use of Tables when building class numbers
- Build/construct LCC numbers for a range of information resources and for different library environments
November 4 – December 1
$250
Introduction to BIBFRAME (MCLS)
This course gives an overview of BIBFRAME as one web ontology in the larger linked data landscape. Attendees will learn the basics of data models and ontologies, become familiar with the interacting cataloging standards expected to form the basis of BIBFRAME / linked data cataloging, and how the BIBFRAME vocabulary is structured. As time allows, a brief BIBFRAME cataloging demonstration will conclude the course.
This is a virtual workshop via Zoom.
November 7
$60 (MCLS member) / $120 (non-member)
Introduction to Linked Data (Library Juice Academy)
This course is an expansion of the “Introduction to RDF” course. Here we will build on the foundations established in the previous course (RDF, SKOS, OWL, URIs, etc.) and focus on Linked Data.
Specifically, we will study what ‘Linked Data’ is and how it is being used on the web, as well as how RDF, URIs, standard web protocols, ontologies and taxonomies all fit together to create the concepts known as Linked Data, the Web of Data, and of course, the Semantic Web. In addition, we will look at the different ways that RDF data can be represented (RDF serializations): Turtle, N-Triples, and JSON-LD.
There will be a deeper dive into the technical nature of Linked Data and the Semantic Web in an effort to help you understand how these concepts actually work and to get you the information you need to start or contribute to Linked Data projects of your own.
This course can be taken as one of six courses needed to earn our Certificate in XML and RDF-Based Systems and may assume a certain level of background knowledge covered in other courses in the sequence.
This course is part of the Certificate in XML and RDF-Based Systems.
December 2 – December 29
$250
Electronic Resource Management
Electronic Serials Cataloging (MCLS)
The Electronic Serials Cataloging Workshop will introduce attendees to current standards and practices, elements and terminology used in the cataloging of electronic serials. This course is based on Resource Description and Access (RDA) as interpreted by current CONSER policy and practice with special attention paid to the differences in the cataloging of print and electronic serials. Attendees will work through examples which will include the use of current tools and documentation.
Note: This workshop does not cover integrating resources cataloging.
This is a virtual workshop via Zoom.
November 6 – November 7
$80 (MCLS member) / $160 (non-member)
Leadership/Management
Human Resources Crash Course for Library Managers (ALA e-Learning)
Most managers come to the position with no HR training, and while they may have skills that teach them how to be an effective librarian, they may not necessarily have the training to be an effective manager.
This series will provide current or future managers and directors with the foundation they need to excel in their new role. Participants will go through the life cycle of an employee, focusing on how they can create inclusive and welcoming environments by applying an EDI lens to HR decisions while also covering how to navigate various HR laws.
Event Outline:
Session 1: Laying the Foundation
- Creating a job description
- Developing strong policies
- Navigating legal issues and HR laws to know
Session 2: Getting & Keeping Staff
- How to hire staff, including crafting interview questions
- How to successfully onboard and train staff
- How to provide ongoing feedback and annual evaluation of staff
Session 3: Saying Goodbye
- When and how to discipline an employee
- Handling a termination
- Prepare for the future with succession planning
November 6, 13 & 20
$170.10 (ALA member) / $189 (non-member)
Reducing Staff Stress and Trauma (Library Journal)
How can supervisors best support their teams when stress and burnout are at an all-time high? This interactive, half-day workshop will support library supervisors in learning how workplace stress impacts them, their staff, and their library. You will learn how to plan and implement strategies to increase support for staff, reduce avoidable stressors, and respond effectively to unavoidable stress. You will leave understanding how to assess your library’s unique needs, and you will get support creating a plan to take actionable next steps to address stress and trauma in your library.
This course includes one half-day (4 hours) of live, online presentations from an expert speaker, as well as three weeks of a guided asynchronous workshop with facilitated peer cohorts and assignments. In this workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to practice what you’ve learned through prompted activities, share and crowdsource issues with peers, and get feedback from peers and your facilitator.
December 3
$239 - $284
Technology/Coding
Authentication & Browser Changes (NISO)
Authentication and browsers play a critical role in how libraries and publishers facilitate digitally-secure access in the access and exchange of information. As important components to user experience, resource management, security, and access, understanding recent updates and change is vital. This program will delve into recent and possible changes and provide knowledge and skills to adapt, ensure compliance with evolving standards, and still prioritize user access and privacy.
December 11
$135 (non-member)
Miscellaneous
An Introduction to Writing or Editing an Academic Book (Library Juice Academy)
This course is designed for librarians who are considering beginning an academic book project—either as an author or as an editor. We begin with the assumption that you have some experience with smaller projects, like writing a contributed chapter to someone else’s edited book, and are now considering scaling up to a larger project.
By the end of the course, you will have a clearer understanding of what goes into writing or editing a book. Those who are just starting to consider a book project will be able to make a more informed decision about whether/how to proceed. Those who are planning to move forward with a book project will have an opportunity to begin mapping out a strategy and timeline.
Topics covered will include:
- An overview of the process of authoring
- An overview of the process of creating an edited book
- Factors to consider in choosing your own book adventure
- The proposal process
- Giving effective feedback as an editor and getting effective feedback as an author
- Logistical concerns like choosing a publisher and negotiating copyright
- Strategies for planning a timeline and staying on track
November 4 – December 1
$250