Librarians Keep Learning

Posted by NNLM Region 7 on July 28th, 2020 Posted in: Blog

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Improving one’s self and continuing to learn should be explicitly incorporated into our jobs. It benefits our work, those we work with, and the organization as a whole. Working from home presents an opportunity to learn new things. Obviously, keep doing the work expected of you, but you might find that you have some time that can be used for your own edification.

Below are a few resources that might be of interest. It might be helpful to take classes outside of librarianship. There are so many topics that may not seem to be connected, but all different types of information can be helpful and applicable to librarianship. Knowledge grows at the intersections of topics and disciplines, so why not take advantage of these unique circumstances to broaden your horizons.

Library Specific

This amazing collaborative resource has been put together https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jJt1qoNqe_XteGFvzK2vq_fzutTAP8XCjESH8pHmFxE/edit?pli=1#heading=h.2e411a4p97b It has a lot of different library topics and formats. And if you know any that should be included, you can add them.

Of course it is important to include the NNLM’s recorded webinars available on YouTube. There are also on demand classes from the NNLM

Some other library focused trainings include:

• Training and Webinars from Indiana State Library. Check out the archived webinars.
• The Massachusetts Library System Archived Webinars.
• The Train Station from North Carolina Libraries.
• A Video collection from the Library of Congress

There are many other resources specifically for libraries or librarians, but this is a good time to explore new areas. with an open mind, almost everyone can learn something new, from any topic, that is applicable to librarianship. Why not also take a course on Cognitive Fitness or rhetoric or the Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature. Learning for learning sake is a legitimate use of time. You never know when it might be useful or pertinent. While there are lots of services and products out there, many have a cost associated.This post is focused on free resources, but we make no guarantees on content, cost, or availability.

Other topics or just for fun

• MIT OpenCourseWare https://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm
• Yale free courses https://oyc.yale.edu/courses
• Harvard free courses https://online-learning.harvard.edu/catalog/free
• UC Berkeley Class Central https://www.classcentral.com/university/berkeley
• Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative http://oli.cmu.edu/independent-learner-courses/
• Open Culture http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses
• Edx https://www.edx.org/ free courses (or you can pay for a certificate or credit)
• Codecademy https://www.codecademy.com/
• University of Oxford Podcasts http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series

There are probably many, many other resources out there. We encourage you to explore and share. The point is, take some time to learn something new and Have Fun!