Do you have an activity that works well for a customer service class?  Have you created a humorous video that learners in your classes always enjoy?  Maybe you’ve done a detailed study of webinar platforms and would like to share that information with others who could use it.  With the Learning Round Table’s new ALA Learning Wiki , you now have a platform to share your knowledge.

Over the course of the past several months, LearnRT has been constructing a dual-purpose wiki: a destination to serve as a comprehensive clearinghouse of tools and resources for those interested in learning and training in libraries, as well as providing an open forum for free-flowing discussion about training and learning.  We’re halfway to the finish line, but we could use the help of those who follow our blog.  The backbone of the ALA Learning Wiki is complete – that is, we have a structure in place to host tools and resources for learning and training, but we have very little content available thus far.  We invite you to help us build the wiki by adding tools and resources to the site that you believe can be useful to your fellow colleagues.  For our heartier readers, we also hope to discover a few wiki champions – people who’ll commit to posting at least five items per month through the end of December 2010.

The wiki is divided into seven broad sections:

Managing Training – Best Practices: Big picture issues of planning and managing a training program, and could include examples of curriculum plans, approaches to evaluating effectiveness, and policies and procedures for training programs.

Training Events – Best Practices: Tips and tricks for putting together effective classes and other training events.  This area also will include a wealth of resources on All Staff Days developed as a special project of LearnRT’s Emerging Leaders.

Training Materials and Resources: Materials related to specific class topics, such as outlines, lesson plans, activities, video tutorials, and slideshows.

E-Learning: Links to free and affordable self-paced courses and live webinars.

Trainers’ Tools: Recommended resources, reviews, advice, and comparisons of everything from webinar platforms to flipcharts.

Connections: A directory of colleagues who are involved in staff development, consultants, and professional organizations (e.g., the American Society of Training and Development [ASTD]).

Learn More: Reviews of books and articles, recommended websites, professional journals, and certificate and degree programs all relating to the training function.

It takes a village to raise a wiki, so we’ve made submitting content relatively simple.  Just sign up to become a member of the site and then follow the easy contribution guidelines to post.  With your help, the Learning Round Tables hopes to reach a critical mass of resources by January 1, 2011 so that we can officially launch the wiki to the rest of library land at ALA Midwinter in San Diego.  We feel confident that we can reach this goal, but we need the help of our readers, even if you only have one or two things to add.

Put on your hard hats, hop over to the wiki, and start helping us build!  Feel free to contact your wiki administrators Jay Turner (jturner@gwinnettpl.org) or Richard Mott (rmott@coj.net) if you have any questions, need assistance, or have suggestions for improving the site.

Jay Turner

Jay Turner, Training Manager at Gwinnett County Public Library in Georgia, is responsible for all aspects of learning and development for a staff of 300+ employees. He considers himself a lifelong student, and delights in sharing his passion for learning with anyone willing to listen (much to their chagrin!) He is a library lifer, who began working in libraries as a teen and has worn almost every conceivable public services hat since. Jay’s diversity of experience helps him develop and deliver solutions that are creative, practical, and effective. He is a self-proclaimed information and tech junkie, who gets his fix by playing in his “digital sandbox” with new tools and neat ideas to make learning more accessible, more flexible, and more fun across any medium. He can be reached at jayturner[at]comcast.net.