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Making a volunteer experience truly rewarding takes coordination and care – and leading library volunteers can be an experience unlike any other. By identifying opportunities for volunteers in the library and establishing a plan for coordinating their work, this session explores meaningful ways to inspire and celebrate volunteers. Discover best practices for recruiting, training, and supervising volunteers in the library and develop strategies for making the volunteer role beneficial for the volunteer and the organization.

Linked data is a method of representing and sharing data that connects information across different sources and domains. It can offer many benefits to libraries through improved data quality, enhanced discoverability of resources, and data sharing among institutions. This course covers the principles of linked data and demonstrates the use of semantically rich data in libraries.

Calling all bibliophiles! Come one, come all and put that lost spark back into your book discussion group this summer and fall. Let's discover and share proven tips and tricks to cultivate and revitalize an existing book group or launch a brand new one. Learn how to boost attendance in your face-to-face groups and explore the possibilities for building online groups.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is estimated to affect 1 in 44 children in the U.S. and to be present across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Librarians will benefit from learning about modifications that can enhance the library experience for individuals on the autism spectrum. This workshop will provide librarians across settings with a greater understanding of ASD as well as strategies for communicating more effectively with such patrons.

The National Alliance of Mental Illness estimates that one in five children, teens, and adults suffer from a mental illness. With libraries functioning as a hub of the communities they support, library professionals must be prepared to serve patrons struggling with mental health needs.

Library of Congress Classification (LC), a classification system used by many academic and special libraries, can be perplexing even to seasoned cataloging staff. This course will provide an overview of the structure of the Library of Congress Classification system and offer helpful resources for developing comfort and expertise with the system.

Does a book on houseplants go into gardening (635.9), botany (581.6), or interior decorating (747)? Librarians responsible for cataloging and classifying often encounter and similar dilemmas when processing new materials. Whether new to cataloging or just in need of a refresher, this review of Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) basics will help catalogers feel more comfortable using the classification scheme.

Special metadata projects often require specialized vocabularies beyond the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Many libraries are now supplementing their MARC records with terms from other thesauri. This course covers taxonomy design and development of controlled vocabularies. Topics include types of controlled vocabularies, taxonomy planning, and design, structure and relationships in a taxonomy, and taxonomy management and maintenance.

In an era of rapid technological advancements and evolving user expectations, libraries face the ongoing challenge of staying relevant and engaged with their communities. Design thinking, a human-centered approach to problem-solving, offers a powerful framework for librarians and staff to foster innovation and create exceptional user experiences. After reviewing the concept and theory behind design thinking, take a deep dive into each step of the process through discussions and exercises.

Effective communication is often what sets great leaders apart. Through listening, questioning, and refining, managers can assertively provide direction and effective feedback to staff. Learn about the importance of non-verbal communication, active listening techniques, how to influence others, and having difficult conversations with your staff.