Mirgation

Organizing Chaos: Training for a Library Service Platform Migration
Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 10 am
When a library system moves to a new service platform, it can feel chaotic and disruptive. The whole staff needs to be trained at the same time, while the implementation team is still actively working on configuration and data migration. How do you give everyone what they need to start work on Day 1 when even staff who know the most are still learning and the system isn’t entirely ready? Just as importantly, how do you address the change management needed to prepare staff for a new technological system that may also change physical workflows and even job responsibilities?
 
Using examples from her experience coordinating training for Alma (Ex Libris), Koerber will examine a variety of approaches and tools that can spread the training net wide.
 
Learning Objectives:
 
During and after this webinar, participants will:

• Learn a model for staff training for migrating to a new library service platform (LSP), using Ex Libris’s Alma as an example
• Be able to incorporate change management discussions into their training programs for migrations
• Have a list of resources for providing LSP training online and in person

 
Presenter: 

Jennifer Koerber is a consultant who advises and guides libraries on staff training programs, especially around technology change and skill-building. She has more than 20 years of experience in public-facing and behind-the-scenes roles, including children’s librarian, reference generalist, branch manager, and web services librarian. After 17 years at the Boston Public Library, she established her own business providing technology training and consulting services to libraries. In 2017, Jennifer became staff Training Manager for the Harvard Library ILS migration and pivoted her career to follow this new path. 
 
In addition to her library work, Jennifer has written extensively for Library Journal, and is the co-author (with Michael P. Sauers) of Emerging Technologies: a Primer for Librarians (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015). In May 2018, her book Library Services to Immigrants and New Americans: Celebration and Integration was published by Libraries Unlimited/ABC-CLIO.