91´«Ã½

CHICAGO - The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the 91´«Ã½, offers multiple online professional development opportunities year round that are open to the public. Whether you want to acquire new skills or sharpen your current skills, RUSA's online courses and webinars offer convenient and flexible learning opportunities on both basic and advance topics. Basic topics may include the reference interview and readers' advisory to name a few. For advanced topics we dive into specialty areas such as business reference and genealogy among others. RUSA members qualify for discounted registration rates including discounts on group registrations. RUSA is pleased to announce our spring 2017 online learning opportunities:

• APRIL

  • ​4/4/17 - [Webinar]
    
    This webinar will recontextualize library services and infrastructure for a makerspace experience that is consistent for every patron, scalable to any skill level, and integrated into the overall library experience. Specifically, we will cover circulation, reference services, and staffing models.

  • 4/24/17 [eCourse]
    
    The Library Tech Project is a six-week asynchronous online course, designed to give librarians direct exposure to different types of library-related technology that they may have heard about but have not had the opportunity to use. The emphasis is on experiential learning, where participants handle different devices to see what they do and how they work.

  • 4/25/17 [Webinar]
    
    Participants in this workshop will engage in discussion about Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger’s work with the theory of situated learning, its emphasis on social exchanges for providing a context for learning, and how this applies to reference interactions in the library.

  • 4/27/17 [Webinar]
    
    Ancestry is often the first resource that genealogy researchers use, but then where should they go? After briefly covering the differences between the library edition of Ancestry and a personal subscription, we discuss the newly renovated HeritageQuest Online.

• MAY

  • 5/1/17 [eCourse]
    
    Far too often today, people say our profession is dying. This course teaches participants that marketing and promotions can help us better serve our patrons in the 21st century, and improve awareness and regard for our profession. It will highlight the overall importance of using marketing and promotions to increase awareness and plan for the future.

  • 5/4/17 [BRASS Webinar Series 3 of 3]
    
    Library patrons now need not only help finding facts and figures, but help with turning that raw data into analysis and presentation. This webinar will describe and discuss data services for libraries, with a particular focus on the data visualization techniques and tools that are transforming how we analyze and understand our world.

  • 5/16/17 [Webinar]
    
    Answering health and medical reference questions can be challenging. This webinar will present the guidelines, highlight some of these practices, and introduce a new “Quick Start” guide connecting the guidelines to suggested reference behaviors, in order provide high quality health and medical reference service.

  • 5/23/17 [Webinar]
    
    To be fully integrated into the University Community, academic libraries must create partnerships and collaborative opportunities with campus organizations focused on student academic success. Because the Millennial and Generation Z students often don’t think of the library first when starting their research, libraries should reach them wherever they are on campus.

  • 5/23/17 [Webinar]
    
    Learn how Mary Baldwin University librarians improved student engagement in library instruction by updating learning spaces with whiteboard paint. This session will cover how to plan a similar renovation, ideas for active learning in a whiteboard painted space for single and semester long classes, and how we measured increased engagement.

  • 5/29/17 [eCourse]
    
    By understanding the essentials of learning design, librarians can better prepare the ways they communicate and plan the instructional experiences for patrons. This course will introduce participants to key learning theories and they will practice applying theoretical concepts to the design of instructional materials (e.g., handout to be used at the reference desk or classroom) and a learning environment (e.g., a classroom or programming space).

About RUSA

The (RUSA), a division of the 91´«Ã½, offers multiple online professional development opportunities year round that are open to the public. Whether you want to acquire new skills or sharpen your current skills, RUSA's online courses and webinars offer convenient and flexible learning opportunities on both basic and advance topics. Basic topics may include the reference interview and readers' advisory to name a few. For advanced topics we dive into specialty areas such as business reference, genealogy and topics related to prison libraries among others. RUSA members qualify for discounted registration rates including discounts on group registrations. RUSA represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers' advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services and collection materials they need.

Have questions about RUSA’s online learning? Jennifer Cross, Web Services Manager has the answers. Email her today.