[Baynet] Infopeople has added sessions of "Techniques for Helping the Public Serve Themselves"

Thu Feb 14 09:29:08 PST 2008

We have added three sessions of this workshop.  Since some people who may be
interested in participating might not receive this notice directly, we would
appreciate it if you would print and post or route this announcement to
staff and colleagues. Thanks!

Title:  Techniques for Helping the Public Serve Themselves

Dates and locations:

Tuesday, March 11, Buena Park Library District

Thursday, March 13, Rancho Cucamonga Public Library

Thursday, April 17, Alameda County Library

There will be another session scheduled in Fresno.  When the date has been
confirmed, an announcement will be made.

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at

http://infopeople.org/workshop/363

Fee: There is a $75 fee for this workshop.

It's a self-service world. ATMs, airline check-in machines, and self-serve
gas stations are all part of everyday life. And survey data show that many
customers like the sense of control that self-service brings. That means
that the time is right for libraries to explore new ways to provide
effective assistance to the independent user.

In this class we'll look at a variety of ways to help the public serve
themselves using different media, including written materials, audio, and
video. Did you know that

.         Written help materials can be greatly improved by following simple
format and content guidelines? 

.         Changes in recording techniques and equipment for both sound and
video have made it possible to get good quality audio for under $100, and
good quality video for under $200? 

.         Even inexpensive recording devices are compact and easy to use, no
longer requiring additional cords or special memory cards? 

.         Anyone can put audio and video files on the web for free, even
without one's own web server? 

Creating effective self-service user guides is an excellent investment in
quality customer service. Making it possible for your users to complete
routine tasks successfully without direct staff intervention can help you
find the time you need for more complex customer contacts and other library
work.

Workshop Description: In this all-day, hands-on workshop, attendees will
brainstorm, learn about, and see examples of good instructional materials in
written, audio, and video form. Through individual and group exercises,
attendees will create materials designed to allow the public to serve
themselves, developing written material, creating an audio file, and
exploring video. The instructor will provide recording devices for you to
use hands-on in small groups. By the end of the day you will have created an
example of instructional material that you can use at the library
immediately. The class will also produce a short video. 

Pre-workshop assignment: Please bring an example-in print and in digital
form (on a flash drive) if possible-of a piece of written instructional
material you'd like to work on. If you have a digital audio recording device
and/or a video camera, and cords to connect them to a computer, feel free to
bring those as well.

Preliminary Course Outline

*	Getting the Public to Use Your Printed Instructional Material 

*	Creating user-friendly handouts 
*	Theming your instructional material 

*	Instructional Writing Techniques 

*	Correct use of bullets and numbering, titles, and spacing 
*	Using screen shots 
*	Adding boxes and arrows to Word files 

*	Ways to Use Audio to Allow the Public to Self-Serve 

*	Brainstorm ways to use audio 
*	Hear examples 
*	Produce a short audio tour of your library that can be translated
into other languages 

*	Ways to Use Video to Allow the Public to Self-Serve 

*	Brainstorm ways to use video 
*	Look at good library examples of how to use video 
*	Produce a one- to two-minute script for a video that would help
users self-serve 
*	Produce a short class video 

Instructor:  Cheryl Gould.  Cheryl has been a training consultant for
Infopeople since 1996. 

She has delivered workshops on a wide range of topics including: Increasing
computer competency, search skills, Training the Trainer, Word, Powerpoint,
Libris Design, Mastering Tough Public Service Situations and Cutting Edge
Customer Service Techniques. In her role as Training Consultant, she has
worked with over 100 different instructors to create workshops on more than
150 different topics of interest to California libraries. Her current role
as Training Consultant for Infopeople keeps her involved in all of the
Infopeople workshops and allows her to not only spread the gospel of strong
training techniques, but to keep current on what's going on in libraries
around the state.

Who Should Attend: Anyone from the California library community with an
interest in improving customer service by helping the public succeed when
they are working independently. Staff responsible for solving problems when
the library's current help resources are insufficient will find that
applying the techniques learned in this course will help them manage their
workload more effectively. And staff serving customers who prefer non-print
formats will also benefit from this course. Please note: The more experience
you have with Word, the more you will get out of the section on producing
excellent written instructional material. 

Prerequisites: This course requires that students be comfortable with basic
computer skills, including using a mouse, navigating the web, and basic
keyboarding. No experience using audio or video recording devices is
expected.

Other Logistics:

*On-site check-in is from 8:30-9:00 AM;  instruction is from 9:00 AM-4:30
PM.

*Maps, directions, and parking information are available on the Infopeople
Web site at 

http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop/Directions.  Infopeople does not validate
or pay for parking.

*Infopeople does not provide refreshments or lunch.  Since some training
locations do not have in-house or convenient food service,Infopeople
recommends that participants bring a sack lunch.

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information
about Infopeople training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople Workshops
page at http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at
assist at infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685. 

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