Rapid City Public Library Orientation History And Services

New Employee OrientationSession One

Session One: RCPL History and ServicesSession Two: RCPL Departmental ShadowingSession Three: City Government and

Organization – Tour of City DepartmentsSession Four: Sixty Day Check-up

THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE

The library’s Strategic Plan Current Plan Current Implementation Strategy

A day in the director’s life

Employment CriteriaAll Ages and CulturesRelationships [patrons and staff]

Approachability, scanning the space and safetyVerbal and nonverbal communicationsCulture: trust, conflict, change and

communication.Embracing technology

Traditional and evolving servicesPersonal and Professional Development

Life-long learning

Traditional and evolving servicesHighest circulating collections: Media and

OnlinePrint will always be here

Community SupportLaw enforcement, fire/ambulanceDiversity of the community

CulturesBusinesses

Active and comfortable in virtual world

Informational questionsInformational question – This is an

information contact that involves the knowledge, use, recommendations, interpretation or instruction in the use of one or more information sources by a member of the library staff.

Examples: How do I find information on medieval history? Do you have any books on starting a small business?

What is your best level of skill? This can be used in all the points of contact with customers.

Online, telephone and in-person skillsThis requires the following attributes:CourtesyPatienceResponsiveness The ability to multi-process when several

different types of contact are being made at the same time.

Flexibility

Conflict Management3 myths about conflict:

Conflict is about them, not about meTake a look in the mirror

If I ignore conflict, it will go awayIt stays, grows, and festers until you address it

Conflict is badManaging conflict presents opportunities for

personal and professional growth and building of relationships

Conflict ManagementLibrary’s expectations for conflict

management:

Conflict will be addressed

Conflict will be addressed between the parties directly involved

Conflict will be addressed in a timely manner

Conflict ManagementResources to deal with conflict:

Sirsi-Dynix webinars:Library conflict management for consenting ad

ults: turning enemies into alliesWorkplace culture: building positive and produ

ctive staff relationsDealing with conflict in a peaceful library

Conflict management: a communication skills approach (2nd ed.) – Deborah Borisoff, David A. Victor

Policies and ProceduresPolicies define what we do

Policies impact the entire organization In general, policies address access, fees, or services By law, policies are adopted by the Board of Trustees

Procedures outline how we implement the policies Procedures may address the entire organization or a

specific department Procedures are updated as needed to implement the

policies

Access point for policies and procedures is the staff intranet

Understanding trends and staying relevantSocial Networking tools are becoming

increasingly popular. Why should we use them at RCPL?The library reaches greater populations.They are accessed by millions.They are a fun way to interact with patrons.It helps to change the patron’s perception of what

a library can be.

Social Networking trainingAccording to Wikipedia:

A social network service uses software to build online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.

What does this mean?This means that a social networking tool connects

people with similar interests online.http://plcmcl2-about.blogspot.com/Social networking is part of the RCPL

experience.

Overview of current technology Blogs

http://rcplweb2.rapidcitylibrary.org/announcements/ Wikis

http://rcflood.wikispaces.com/ MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/rcpl_teens del.icio.us

http://del.icio.us/rcpl LibraryThing

http://www.librarything.com/profile/RapidCityPubLib Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcpl/ YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/rapidcitylibrary

Putting it all togetherRCPL Organizational Chart

AdministrationSupport Circulation and Technical ServicesPublic Services

Next Orientation Session will be shadowing in each of the locations.