About Library 2.Oakton

Note: The Library2.Oakton learning program was officially held in the summer of 2008, but the learning continues on this blog. New news and tips will be added! Please feel free to go through the original 8-week program if you’re visiting for the first-time and are interested in learning about these great tools!

Welcome to Oakton Community College Library’s blog where faculty and staff will explore, discover, and play with new ideas and technologies in order to bring incredible services to our users. We’ll do this by participating in a learning 2.0 program that will hopefully be interesting, challenging, and fun. Yes, that’s right, fun!

What is Library 2.Oakton & why are we doing it?

Library 2.Oakton is a self-directed, hands-on, immersive learning program that provides an opportunity to explore Web 2.0 tools and the impact these tools are having on education and libraries. All participants are encouraged to think of ways in which Oakton Community College Library can use these tools to deliver innovative and helpful library services. Remember that it’s not about “doing it right” or completing the program just for the sake of completing it. Library 2.Oakton is all about exploration, discovery, and play!

Who is eligible to participate?

All part-time and full-time library faculty and staff members at Oakton Community College Library are eligible to participate in Library 2.Oakton! Student employees are welcome to participate and can make arrangements with their supervisor to do so.

How does it work?

For 8 weeks during the 2008 summer session (starting June 2), participants will use freely available online tools to complete a number of activities. Each week focuses on a specific type of tool (e.g. blogs, RSS, wikis) and each activity will give participants a chance to explore the tool and consider the ways in which it can be used in a library environment. After the 8 week period ends, you’ll have a few more weeks between August 1 – August 21 to look back on the activities, reflect some more, and think of concrete ways in which these new technologies can both help you in your individual work and help the Library as a whole improve our services to our users. We’re calling this the bonus discovery period! Then, on Friday, August 22, there will be a wrap-up party that will take place during our all-Library meeting from 7:30am-2:30pm.

Why do I need to create my own blog?

Participants are asked to use their blogs (week 1’s topic) to record and share their thoughts about each week’s topic and activities. These blog entries will also be how we keep track of participants’ progress, so make sure your blog entries are substantive and thoughtful. A full list of participant blogs will be posted on this blog so that we can all share and help each other. Don’t forget to comment on each others’ blogs!

How much time should I be spending on this?

Some people will pick up on this new stuff fairly quickly and others will need more time, so it’s hard to say. We’re expecting most people to spend about 3 hours per week (that’s 3 hours per topic). Each week, a new topic with activities will be posted on this blog, so people shouldn’t jump ahead. We’d like everyone to be on the same page so we can all learn together and help each other out.

Will there be training classes or drop-in sessions?

Although this program is intended to be mostly self-directed, we realize that different people have different learning styles. So, there will be weekly, informal drop-in sessions (schedule will be posted soon) at both the Des Plaines and Skokie campus computer labs where staff can work side-by-side with colleagues to figure this stuff out! This gives everyone the opportunity to get away from your desk and regular duties, and to focus instead on the Library2.Oakton topics alongside your colleagues. Someone will be on-hand to provide demonstrations if needed and answer questions related to each week’s topic. If you can’t make it to these sessions and have questions about the program, leave a comment on this blog, seek help from a colleague, or email oaktonlibrary@gmail.com.

How do I get started?

To start participating in Library 2.Oakton, simply visit the Weekly Activities page and start with week 1’s topic and activities! After you create your own blog, please send your name, blog title, and blog url to oaktonlibrary@gmail.com.

Thank you to…

Library 2.Oakton is a project of the Oakton Community College Library. It is modeled on the Learning 2.0 @ Mac program at McMaster University Library and the 10 Things @ SPL program at Skokie Public Library. Helene Blowers developed the original Learning 2.0 program for the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County.

“Steal these ideas”

The Library 2.Oakton program is licensed under a Creative Commons License.