Help! My Customers Are More Tech-Savy Than Me!

Are you ready to shout these words?  If so, how do you catch up with the rapidly changing world?   Here are some tips:

 1.    Take classes if they are available, even if you have to pay for them out of your own pocket.  If your library offers some basic classes you could start with these.

2.    Develop the right mindset before you start.  Pretend that you are an explorer on an adventure to discover new worlds.  After all, these are new worlds to you.  Work up enthusiasm. Think of it as having fun playing, instead of as a chore or a requirement of your job.

 3.    Today is the day to start. Don’t procrastinate.  You will never get going if you wait until tomorrow or until you finish the big project that you are working on.  There will always be more projects that demand your attention, but in the meantime you will be falling further and further behind.

4.    Prepare an action learning plan with timelines.  Use the resources that are out there to help you.  Stephen Abram’s article in Information Outlook, “43 Things I might want to do this year”, is a good list to start with.  Following along with the Learning 2.0 project that the librarians at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County is doing is another. 

5.     Hold yourself accountable if you don’t meet the deadlines that you set.  Don’t let yourself slide and don’t accept your excuses. If you make learning the new technology a priority you will have time. 

6.    It’s always more fun playing with others than alone.  Join with a friend or your library team to share your learning goals and progress with.  Play a few online games together with them.  This might be a good time for your avatars to discover the library in Second Life, design a 3D library in Google’s  SketchUp, and put your vacation pictures on Flickr or Picasa.

7.    Show and tell your customers and other staff some of the wonderful things that you discovered .  Hold classes on them, write about them in the newspaper, link them on your library’s website, talk about them in the library’s blog that you started.  Proudly use your new skills to help your struggling customers.

8.    Celebrate your progress, but don’t stop now.  Continue playing and discovering new skills to help your library grow, thrive, and be vital in the next century.

9.    Congratulations!! We’re all proud of you!

Sharyn