E-Learning Comes to You

1. Your One Sentence Bio

• Lori Reed, mom, library enthusiast, lifelong learner, passionate about helping people, team Edward!

2. Do you blog? If yes, how did you come up with your blog name?

• I moved my blog from LibraryTrainer.com to LoriReed.com yesterday. I chose my name because it will remain constant. I want the freedom to change directions with my blog as needed.

3. What is your professional background?

• I worked for several years as a firefighter/EMT and discovered that I love training. I conducted training for firefighters and EMTs for a while then moved to computer training (better hours and pay). I worked for a few for-profits and found that I really missed the environment of public service. A job came open at the library in Charlotte for someone to do computer support and training and it seemed like the perfect fit. 10-years and three jobs later and it’s still a great fit!

4. What training do you do? staff? patrons? types of classes?

• I coordinate the staff development at my library. This means that I don’t get to do as much training anymore. Instead I do more strategic planning. I look at the mission and vision and goals of the library and translate those back into competencies that staff need to achieve the library’s goals. I work with managers and staff to see what skills our staff need to accomplish the library’s goals and to get their jobs done well. I rely on a core group of staff trainers to facilitate most training sessions. I also serve as an internal consultant to help staff trainers develop their courses and materials.

5. What training do you think is most important to libraries right now?

• I think the most important thing is that we be strategic with our training. If you align your training with your library’s vision, mission, and goals then you are right on track.

6. Where do you get your training?

• Wherever I can! North Carolina State Library’s Master Trainer Program, Mecklenburg County, InSync Training, Learning Round Table, ASTD, ISPI, conferences, blogs, Twitter, friends…maybe the question should be where don’t I get my training.

7. How do you keep up?

• The first rule of … wait … wrong question. I follow other people who keep up with subjects I’m interested in. It saves me a lot of time! I live by GTD principles and use my Outlook calendar and tasklist religiously. It also helps to have a clear personal definition of keeping up. For me keeping up means keeping my inbox at or near 0 and having some idea of what is going on in the world. For other people keeping up may mean knowing about every new idea or gadget that is coming out.

8. What do you think are the biggest challenges libraries are facing right now?

• I think traditionally libraries have been slow to adapt and change. The world around us is changing at a faster and faster pace. To remain relevant and cherished by everyone in our communities we need to adapt faster. We need to take risks and be willing to try new things that might fail. We need to look at failure as a success and staying the same as a failure. We need to reduce the digital divide that exists among libraries. We need to continue to market our services. We’re being asked to do more with less–maybe it’s time to get more creative with funding and partnerships. We desperately need a new universal brand that reflects 21st century libraries!

9. What are biggest challenges for trainers?

• Training is not always the solution. Training does not solve problems that stem from poor management or software that’s not intuitive. These are bigger issues at an organizational level. Traditionally trainers have not been in a role to contribute to organizations at that higher level. That needs to change. Trainers need to be part of the strategic planning of libraries and need to have the flexibility to implement complete performance solutions. When training is called for, developing quality training takes time. It’s more than happy butts in seats. Like everyone else, trainers are being asked to do more with less or worse to deploy bandages that will not solve long term performance or organizational issues.

10. What exciting things are you doing training wise?

• We recently implemented a curriculum for staff training. We also received a generous donation of Lumenix (a learning content management system) from Handshaw, Inc. I’m working with my staff trainers to convert existing face-to-face training into self-paced, online training. It’s a very slow process because it takes exponentially more time to create self-paced modules that replace what we were doing face-to-face. I’m hoping to implement live, online training this fall. Fellow ALA Learning blogger Paul Signorelli and I are co-authoring a book on leadership for trainers that should be available this summer.

11. What do you wish were you doing?

• I’m doing everything that I want to be doing, I just wish there were more hours in the day to do more and to sleep more.

12. What would you do with a badger?

• Recruit it to the Learning Round Table and teach it to fish!

13. What’s your favorite food?

• Anything that is shared with good conversation and good company.

14. If you were stranded on an island, what one thing would you want to have with you?

• A lifetime supply of insect repellent.

15. Do you know what happens when a grasshopper kicks all the seeds out of a pickle?

• This? Or this but messier?

16. Post it notes or the back of your hand?

• Post in notes are a GTD nightmare! I use my Outlook/Blackberry tasklist to action items. I use eWallet on my PCs and Blackberry for random information that I need to remember like passwords, printer IP addresses, security codes, etc. eWallet is well worth the small cost!

17. Windows or Mac?

• Doesn’t matter just give me a browser.

18. Talk about one training moment you’d like to forget?

• Potty training!

19. What’s your take on handshakes?

• Ackward early in my career, but now I’m comfortable with them. If I know you though, watchout, I’m more likely to hug you than shake your hand!

20. Global warming: yes or no?

• Ask him.

21. How did you get into this line of work?

• See question 3.

22. What is the best part of your job?

• Just about everything! Seeing the ripple effect that occurs as a result of good planning and strategy. Seeing staff whom I’ve worked with get promoted to new jobs. It’s all good!

23. Why should someone else follow in your shoes?

• Everyone else has a good point of wearing your own shoes, but if you have a passion for learning, love helping people, don’t mind public speaking, and have good problem solving skills then you might want to consider a career in training workplace learning and performance.

24. Sushi or hamburger?

• Hamburger.

25. LSW or ALA?

• I belong to both, and they both have pros and cons.

26. What one person in the world do you want to have lunch with and why?

• Only one? I’m going to break the rules and say the ALA Learning bloggers. I think it would be amazing to get these 12 people all in the same place at the same time. I can’t imagine what the energy would be like!

27. What cell phone do you have and why?

• A pink Blackberry Curve. I really wanted an iPhone but I can’t get a signal in my house using the Blackberry Storm or the iPhone. Verizon gives library employees a 19% discount which is substantial off a bill with two phones and two data plans. I also must have a phone that syncs directly to Outlook (See questions 7 and 16).

Lori Reed

Lori Reed, Managing Editor of ALA Learning, has more than 15 years experience in training and is the Learning & Development Coordinator for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library where she oversees the learning & development of a diverse group of staff at twenty libraries. Lori’s passions are performance consulting, learning strategies, and e-learning. Lori is coauthor, with Paul Signorelli, of Workplace Learning and Leadership: A Handbook for Library and Nonprofit Trainers. Lori also blogs at LoriReed.com and can be reached at lori[at]lorireed.com.

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