By Dina Meky, on behalf of Berkeley College Library Con2017 Task Force Members
“Did Berkeley College librarians dress up in costumes?” Possibly that would be the initial reaction when first reading this article about LibraryCon2017 at Berkeley College. LibraryCon2017 was a first-ever, week long professional development conference of twenty Berkeley College librarians from nine campuses that took place at the Berkeley College campuses of Newark and New York City, 41st street building. The mission of LibraryCon2017 was to enrich cohesiveness amongst all librarians, with a clear vision in moving forward with the continued success of Berkeley College Library services.
In the past, professional development at the Berkeley College Library libraries had been limited to a single day or in the form of workshops that took place throughout the year. The task of planning professional development was designated to one of the seven library committees and various task forces. For this year’s professional development, the bar was raised to achieve a full productive week of learning objectives and strategic outcomes with all Berkeley College Librarians onboard.
Berkeley College Librarians pose with “Rocky” the customer service mascot, during this past summer’s LibraryCon2017.
A dedicated task force of seven librarians from across all Berkeley College campuses (Marlene Doty, VP of Library Services, Bonnie Lafazan, Director Woodbridge Campus Library, William McNelis, Director, NYC Campus Library, Dina Meky, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Woodbridge Campus, Jaclyn De Nichilo, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Woodland Park Campus, Susan Van Alstyne, Director, Woodland Park Park Campus and chaired by Amanda Piekart, Director, Research & Instructional Services) formulated the foundation and execution of LibraryCon 2017. The preparation for LibraryCon 2017 took five months of planning that revolved around frequent email correspondence, physical and virtual (Skype) meetings, and phone calls. With the diligent efforts of six librarians, The LibraryCon2017 Planning Task Force organized eight unique workshops, seven lightning talks and five collaborative sessions. Over the course of the week, sixteen librarians presented and several actionable items were planned for the future of the Berkeley College libraries.
The first day of LibraryCon2017 included an overview of the weekly schedule, expectations of workshops and meetings, professional group and single portraits, an explanation of the weekly fun activity (a photo trivia scavenger hunt called FunSnap), and a year in review provided by the Vice President of Berkeley College Library Services. Interspersed throughout the week were lightning talks by our librarians to teach or inspire others on topics such as One Drive Tricks, Canva, FAQ’s and Custom Widgets, and WGSN, It’s Not Just for Fashion. The duration of the week scheduled around daily workshops, ranging between one to two hours each, that included collection development, accessibility, creating e-portfolios, universal design, handling patron types, and the migration and reassessment of LibGuides v2. Aside from workshops, strategic planning sessions took place that included planning for Information Literacy Month, a year of calendar planning of outreach and awareness ideas for campus displays and programming presented by Marketing and Outreach Committee and most productively, a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Faculty Services Workshop. The Faculty Services SWOT Workshop focused on how librarians and libraries can better service faculty members. Berkeley College librarians are continuously seeking opportunities to strengthen relationships with faculty, as the relationship between faculty and librarians is crucial to student success, especially in terms of teaching information literacy skills. As a cohesive group, the librarians discussed strengths as a library and opportunities for improvement. The SWOT Faculty Services Workshop ended in success with a strategic plan of short term (three month) and long-term (six-month) goals to achieve with faculty.
At the conclusion of LibraryCon 2017, the Berkeley College Librarians were more united and inspired to achieve goals in continuing to strengthen the success and improve Berkeley College Library Services to meet the needs of the Berkeley College community. Even though there are nine campuses across New Jersey and New York, the Berkeley College motto has always been, “One Berkeley.”
For more LibraryCon2017 pictures click here.
Dina Meky is a Reference and Instruction Librarian at Berkeley College. She can be reached at dina-meky@berkeleycollege.edu.