Librarianship 101: MLC's Annual Learn-How-To-Library Workshop

Elisabeth Scott

Reference Librarian/Literacy Projects Coordinator

Let's get ready to liiiiiiibrary! The Mississippi Library Commission (MLC) will welcome a new group of library paraprofessionals to our annual Librarianship 101 tomorrow, and we can't wait to get started helping them become the best librarians they can be. After all, a great librarian gives great library service!

 

This intensive three-day workshop, which is made possible in part by funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), brings library staff from across Mississippi to the state capital here in Jackson to learn more about libraries. That may sound simple, but the nearly thirty students in attendance will receive an overview of everything library. This includes:

• A rundown of core library services, such as reference interviews and practices, collection development, programming, cataloging, weeding, and readers' advisory
• An overview of outreach, which encompasses community partnerships, social media, and library marketing
• Mississippi-specific subjects, like local library law and MAGNOLIA databases
  
• A synopsis of MLC services, like Talking Book Services and Technology Services, and a Petting Zoo featuring MLC's special collection kits

Attendees will also learn the results of their Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) tests, a personality test that can be used to gain perspective on the ways people work together. Paired with the abundance of networking opportunities over the three-day period, this jam-packed workshop gifts participants with a life-long learning experience that will help them serve their home communities and meet their library needs. Even better, participants create and carry out a library project in their home libraries that gives back to their communities and helps Mississippians reach their full potential. 

Librarianship started back in 2004, and MLC staff are proud to say that we have helped train a generation of library paraprofessionals in our state. Many have gone on to pursue further education in the library field and moved up the library ladder into leadership roles. The annual Mississippi Library Association conference provides an opportunity for everyone to reconnect, a mini-Librarianship 101 reunion, if you will. This week will be the library experience of a lifetime for many of the people visiting Jackson in the upcoming days, so please wish them a good time and the best of luck!