The FISH workshop
Jan Ison facilitated the FISH workshop whose objective is to explore customer service and identify ways to increase energy, morale and productivity in the work place. She stressed that if we neglect our internal user (co worker), it will have an effect on the external user (customer). The philosophy of fish which enriches work for employees, is anchored on four premises namely,
- Play: Fun and lightheartedness
- Make their day: focus on engaging other in ways that lift their spirits.
- Be there: living in the present moment and giving others our full attention
- Choose your attitude: Understanding that whatever attitude you are carrying with you right now, is the attitude you chose
The philosophy engergizes the workplace, fosters teamwork, enhances productivity, inspires creativity, and boosts morale. The workshop help enhance the team building competences.
A tour of the Grainger Engineering Library exposed us to the interesting innovations being done at university of Illinois.
Site visit to OCLC
This involved the tour of the OCLC data Center and the OCLC Library and Archive. OCLC, a global library cooperative, supports thousands of libraries in making information more accessible and more useful to people around the world. They provide shared technology services, original research and community programs that help libraries meet the ever-evolving needs of their users, institutions and communities. Has many solutions for libraries. Spirit of corporation that has created the Worldcat, the world’s largest catalogue started in 1967. Web junction is a new resource for librarians to share and learn and most of interest is ideas on library space design which we could work with at the University of Zambia. The concept of collections to connections was the theme around the visit to OCLC and the Westerville Public Library which challenged me to think critically about innovative ways of providing services to the community we are serving by following them instead of waiting for them to come.
Visit to Westerville Public Library revealed a lot of innovative ideas of how a small library has made use of the space and how it has involved the community. We had a chance to see how the Library’s outreach department delivers books to schools on demand.
Tech lab and Chai wai took place on Thursday.
Friday brought the Digitization of collections with Alyce Scott, lecturer from San Jose State University. She articulated the process of digitization and the technical issues involved in coming up with quality scans and also spoke about copy right issues surrounding digital collections.