Working from home difficulties

I'm having some trouble working from home. 

NicheAcademy webinars

Looking for ways to develop your skills while working from home?  There are a lot of interesting recorded webinars on NicheAcademy that can be accessed from their website without having to create an account.  

These range from Diversity/Inclusive topics like "Cultivating Strong Girls" and "Serving Individuals with Autism,"  to general library topics like "Practicing Intellectual Freedom," and even some topics for managers like "Best Practices for Developing Employees' Soft Skills."

Not everything is CEU worthy, so be sure you are selecting topics that are appropriate to your work at the library, and that you are accessing webinars and not just informative articles.  Remember, the webinar has to be at least 60 minutes long to count for credit.

These are recorded webinars, so you'll need to include a review/discussion of the program with your CEU form when you submit it.  I'll attach the information about recorded webinars, which can also be found on the blog.

https://www.nicheacademy.com/blog  

Working with Patrons from Poverty

Today we held another successful session of the "Understanding and Working With Patrons from Poverty" program.  For those of you who could not attend, or those who might be interested in more information on this topic, here is a link to a curated list of books on this subject:

https://www.bestmswprograms.com/50-best-books-on-poverty/

Many of the books on this list are in our collection, although some are only available as ebooks.

Other books on this topic include Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, and Evicted:  Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond, which are both in our collection.

The cover was blue

https://leisureguy.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/librarian-humor.jpg

5 Tips for Managing Emotions

If you are having trouble dealing with a situation at work, step back and give your brain time to work on the problem.

     Identify the cause of the problem (what is the real issue?)

     Take 3 deep breaths and/or count to 10 (or 20 or 30)

     Use your words to say how you feel (talk through the issues)

     Ask for help to solve the problem
      (share the responsibility and get a fresh viewpoint)

     Take time to calm down (walk away if necessary)


If you have  difficulty with a customer, ask for help from a colleague.

Remember:  it is never okay to take out your feelings on others (assistants, friends).

If you have on-going issues, seek help from your manager, HR, or your division chief.

You can also contact EAP for some outside help.

Twitter #publibchat on harassment

Ghost Walkers of EPFL

Fourteen staff members put aside their doubts to explore Mt. Vernon in search of ghosts.  Our guide Rob, from Baltimore Ghost Tours, led us from the Belvedere to Eager Street to the Washington Monument and finally to Mount Vernon Place.

Along the way we learned a bit about the history of Baltimore, a bit about architecture, and a bit about the residents who loved the area so much they never left.

From society ladies who kept monkeys, to gallant ghostly gentlemen, the spirits of Mount Vernon's past came alive (so to speak) for the participants.

We also met some interesting people along the way, including one person who just bought an apartment that was included on the tour.  He apparently did not know the history of the house, but said that he thought it was "creepy" from the moment he bought it.

Some of the participants shared bits of history or tales of their own, but the bright sunny day made it hard to believe in visitors from the other side.

Everyone was left to decide for themselves whether the stories were true, or just stories.

“When Bad Things Happen to Good Librarians”

This library training has been developed to help front-line library workers better serve patrons with mental illness and/or developmental disabilities. The training was created using input from focus groups consisting of public library staff members, mental health consumers and mental health professionals. The content of the program reflects many hours of collaboration and interaction between Department of Mental Health (DMH) librarians and the "in-the-trenches" front-line workers of many Missouri libraries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zACEc4f-Cxc