The Accidental Technology Trainer: A Guide for Libraries

Citation

Patkar, A. (2008), "The Accidental Technology Trainer: A Guide for Libraries", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 452-454. https://doi.org/10.1108/00330330810912124

Stephanie Gerding is a librarian, author and trainer. She began her career in 1996 at an academic library, training the library staff on their very first e‐mail system. She has since managed statewide library training programmes at New Mexico and Arizona State libraries. Stephanie's first book was Grants for Libraries, published in 2006. She co‐authors the Library Grants Blog, which is a one‐stop information site for grant announcements targeted at libraries. She was formerly a trainer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's US Library Programme. Imparting her wealth of experience, the guide she has authored is full of real‐life examples and illustrations.

This book is an excellent guide for fresh on‐the‐job systems librarians who are actively engaged in technology training initiatives. This step‐by‐step guide, coupled with psychological theories on learning, attempts to make training easy by understanding participant behaviour. It seeks to provide an added edge for librarians who “accidentally” stumble into conducting technology training.

This work comes at an appropriate time when libraries are embracing the Library 2.0 phenomenon. The “webbing” of librarians and the importance of skills transfer to patrons have made this title very relevant to library graduates joining the profession. The first half of the book deals with knowing the library learners and creating and maintaining their interest in a stimulating environment through motivation and interactive learning. Gerding provides readers with a number of icebreaker exercises and quotes expert opinions on real‐life situations. The second half of the book delves into the practical aspects of conducting a training programme, explaining how to draw up a workshop plan, including drafting the objectives and modules of the training and staying relevant by drawing information from blogs, e‐mail discussion lists, websites, webinars/webcasts, conferences and printed resources.

The author goes a step further to discuss difficult situations and best practices in library technology training. This makes the book unique. Gerding shares her insights on learning problems and distractions to enable librarians to handle the unexpected and conduct a successful training programme under pressure. One of her suggestions includes segmentation of participants and alternatives means of instruction so that disruptions are minimised. She distinguishes between the “advanced learner” “slow learner” “latecomer” “quiet one” “scowler” “talker” “monopoliser” “know‐it‐all” “interrupter” “the one that does not want to be there” or “the long breaker”. With the apparent mix of group dynamics, she provides ways of dealing with each of these personality types. Gerding provides a concise summary of pertinent issues that arise during training programmes: questions that cannot be answered; time of day and length of workshop; technology failures; registration problems; lack of time to create handouts and lesson plans; and budget constraints. She also provides ways of addressing these issues. The best practices section will help librarians get a good understanding of the current technological applications used in libraries. The practices, however seem to be contextualised to the North American cultural setting with little reference on how cross‐cultural training environments could be different. More importantly, the social learning paradigm of the west and the pedagogies practised would require some adaptation in Eastern cultures.

The simple language, side bars, use of graphics and good organisation of the book make it an interesting and easy read for librarians at all levels. Gerding provides a list of resources for further reading as well as web links of blogs, podcasts, online tutorials and tips from experts, which will be useful to get a deeper understanding of the subject. Since, the book deals with technology, it could have been more interactive if it had an extension on the web featuring some live demonstrations of training sessions. The www.stephaniegerding.com/accidentaltechtrainer website includes links from the book and has additional resources and articles and would be useful for professionals who are hard‐pressed for time and need a quick boost for their training sessions. Overall, the book is a useful technology training guide for librarians but would require adaptation by librarians in other parts of the world to suit their cultural contexts and existing technologies and library infrastructures.