TLA Staff Development Workshop

This past Wednesday I visited the University of Tennessee at Martin for a staff development day put on by the Tennessee Library Association. There were three informative sessions during the day dealing with very different topics. UT Martin has a beautiful library and below are some of the pictures.

Film Display at UT Martin's Paul Meek Library

Art at the Paul Meek Library of UT Martin

Chess Set and Comfy Chairs at UT Martin's Library

The first session had to deal with how to find help for those in need. The session begin with a heart wrenching story of a mother, with no money, who has been left to raise children on her own. She is looking for resources as to how she can provide food for her children, enroll them in school and provide them with health care. Many of these resources can be found at Tennessee Help, a website provided by the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, National Association of Social Workers, and the Tennessee Department of Children's Services. While this session was mostly meant for public libraries I believe that it is important for libraries to serve as community centers and that librarians are able to provide many types of resources and information.

The second session was given by the I.T. Director at UT Martin by the name of Steve Holt who has written a book entitled Unlocking Google. His presentation was called 51 and a half things that you can do with Google. Some of these things I knew and some I did not. Google is very useful and it is clear to see that Google is trying to take over the web and doing a good job of it. In case you are wondering what the half thing that you can dow with Google is just search for "Find Chuck Norris".

The Last Session of the day was a team building activity in which I got to play the Big Bad Wolf in a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. The point of this activity was really driven home in the fact that what seems to be very difficult to do on one's own is achievable within the context of a group. I enjoyed meeting the librarians from Obion County, which I now no is pronounced OBIIINE.