The 2014 ALA Annual Conference is fast approaching.
Among the new offerings this year: a series of learning sessions, offered as part of Libraries Transforming Communities, that will introduce participants to the practice of "turning outward" and putting community aspirations first.
In four “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community” sessions, conference-goers will gain practical tools to aid in decision-making, planning and group facilitation, and will discuss how to remain engaged and rejuvenated both on and off the job. Each stand-alone session focuses on a single tool; taken together, they become a powerful framework for engaging community and leading change.
The four part are:
- “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community: Aspirations" (8:30 to 10 a.m., Saturday, June 28) will help librarians focus on community aspirations, identify next steps for change and create an aspirations-based story for their community as a starting point for library action.
- “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community: Turn Quiz" (1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 28) will introduce librarians to the “Turn Quiz” tool, enabling them to assess the focus of their efforts in the community as they shift their orientation from internal to external.
- “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community: Intentionality" (8:30 to 10 a.m., Sunday, June 29) will enable participants to test the external orientation and mindfulness of their community engagement choices and decisions.
- “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community: Sustaining Yourself " (1 to 2:30 p.m., Sunday, June 29) will help librarians personally map the components that feed their motivation and commitment for community work.
All four will take place in LVCC-S223.
Our sessions will be led by Cheryl Gorman and Carlton Sears of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation.
Get more information about the conference (June 26 to July 1 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev.).