I attended an online conference on Wednesday hosted by Library Journal and School Library Journal. The Digital Shift: Reinventing Libraries. It was great! Perhaps a slight misnomer, though 'cause no one was talking about reinventing the library, just helping it continue its evolution.
The keynote panel spoke about the changes they envision libraries and librarians need to make to stay viable. They talked about makerspaces, production, learning and creation. They suggested that libraries become platforms for life-long learning. Places where patrons of all ages and stations in life can come to learn and connect.
In a discussion of critical skills librarians should be learning the panel suggested: problem solving, critical thinking, a willingness to fail, organizational and creative thinking, leadership, relationship building, grit, perseverance, flexibility, and a deep knowledge of how people learn. There was a lot of emphasis on the role of librarians as educators and teachers.
Other presentations I attended included makerspaces, testing & workforce development (badging), and connected learning.
I came away with lots of ideas and plenty of handouts and brochures from vendors to browse through. All in all a great experience.
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