“Remember, the main reading screen of the Nook is not a touchscreen.  I know it’s a bit counterintuitive, but just spend some time with the device, and you’ll get the hang of it.  Trust me.”

This was a common refrain that I found myself repeating during the Shifting Into OverDrive e-book/e-reader training sessions that I hosted alongside Digital Media Selector Chris Baker in support of our rollout for the circulation of the Barnes & Noble’s Nook device to our customers and increased marketing of our OverDrive collection.   I’ll be completely frank and perhaps a bit cavalier here: some e-readers and e-book platforms are counterintuitive to use and downright frustrating to work with; however, e-books are a game changer, and we would be remiss to ignore them outright and the subsequent learning needs that staff and customers have as they begin to work with this new technology.

E-books are a game changer, and we would be remiss to ignore them outright and the subsequent learning needs that staff and customers have as they begin to work with this new technology.

From my vantage point at the front of the classroom, I almost immediately noticed that my learners fell into two general camps each time we taught the session: those who were extremely curious about the technology and couldn’t keep their hands off the new Nooks and those who were tentative, who gave the device a quick one-over but hesitated to take it out of the case, turn it on, and start poking around a bit.

Granted, this generalized observation likely ignores the nuances of each learner’s personal situation, but taken as whole, it provides a good rule of thumb for how to approach e-book/e-reader training.  Some of your learners will need a bit of hand-holding, while others will want to explore the technologies independently.  Since we often cannot determine upfront the various learning needs of trainees before we deliver technology training, it’s important that our classes provide a blend of practical instruction and self-directed exploration.

Each of Gwinnett County Public Library’s Shifting Into OverDrive training classes — designed specifically for managers, librarians, and Library Help Line staff — lasted three hours, with the session broken into three approximately one-hour chunks.  Chris and I would begin class with an opening that invites discussion about the future of the print book and then dive into providing contextual information regarding how circulating e-books and e-readers benefits the library and customers, as well as covering common terminology in the discussion of e-books (file formats, DRM, authentication, etc).  The second chunk of class is your classic see-and-do.  Attendees mirror my steps while I demonstrate installing the pertinent e-book software on a PC, locating an item for download, and then transferring it onto the Nook.  In the final segment of class, after I’ve given a brief tour of the Nook, staff is invited to handle the e-reader and learn how it works by choosing 10 preset tasks to perform.  There is no instruction here just — staff tinkering with the device and learning how to make it work.  Of course, learners are encouraged to work together to complete the exercises and to ask questions if they get stuck.

After our training sessions concluded, we wanted to provide activities and tools to support learning back in the workplace.  Our Materials Management department sent a Nook to each branch a few weeks before we began circulating the devices to the public so that remaining line staff could have an opportunity to explore our new product.  Attendees of the original live training were given access to my annotated presentation and handouts, and were encouraged to reinforce their learning by teaching other staff members in their branch about the Nook and our OverDrive e-book platform.  Finally, Chris and I have created a couple of help videos about downloading titles from our OverDrive collection and transferring them to the Nook and to an iPhone (other videos, such as downloading and transferring to a Droid device, are in the planning stages).

As with any training, there is no one-size-fits-all model, but my hope is that by sharing GCPL’s multi-tiered approach, you’ll have a solid place to start.

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.