The Pratt Learning Blog is a great place to find information about training, learning portfolios, and get helpful tips on customer service, managing employees, or other library issues. We'll also be posting post-conference reflections and ideas discovered by staff members at programs they attended.
WELCOME TO THE STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING OFFICE HOMEPAGE.
Monday, November 30, 2020
Monday, November 23, 2020
Continuing education credits for recordings and webinars
Many staff members are currently participating in webinars, SkillSoft training, and other online programs including recorded conference sessions.
Monday, November 9, 2020
Renewals for the upcoming year - SkillSoft etc.
Maryland State Library has renewed the licenses for the following programs for the upcoming year, so we will continue to have free access to these programs for all EPFL staff.
If you need to register for SkillSoft just let me know and I'll create an account for you. The others have self-registration. Just click on the link below to access.
Lisa
Ryan Dowd, Librarian's Guide to Homelessness
Monday, October 19, 2020
Niche Academy/PCI and Ryan Dowd logins
I'm not sure why we don't get both sets of webinars when we log in to NicheAcademy, but if you are having difficulty, here are instructions.
- Log into your NicheAcademy Account
- In the upper right corner you'll see the link to your account (looks like a little person)
- Click on the link and you should get a drop down menu. Select "My Niche"
- On the right side of the page select the "Academies" option
- You should then get this screen
- Maryland Libraries Training takes you to the Dowd webinars
- Maryland Libraries PCI Academy takes you to the other available webinars
Friday, October 9, 2020
Links for Problem Behaviors Webinar and Quiz
As we prepare for the next steps in our reopening plans, SD&T has identified a webinar to help prepare everyone for the eventual re-entry of our customers. This webinar “How To Deal With Problem Behaviors Related to COVID-19” will be required viewing by all employees. The presenter, Ryan Dowd, is the author of The Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness and a trainer who focuses on how to compassionately manage problem behaviors.
This one hour program is designed to help you with difficult situations related to COVID-19 including patrons who refuse to wear a mask (or refuse to wear it correctly), methods to ensure social distancing with customers, and ways to manage someone who is showing possible symptoms. The program will also review reasons why people might not be complying with policy and suggest some strategies for handling these situations.
The recorded webinar is available on the NicheAcademy website:
If you’ve never used NicheAcademy before you will need to register which will include sharing your name, email, and library system. Once you register for this program, you will also have access to other NicheAcademy programs as provided through the Maryland State Library.
Once you complete the program, you will need to pass a short quiz to show that you understood the material. You can find the quiz here:
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Get Ready for Workday recorded webinar access
If you were unable to attend the Employee Self Service (ESS) Getting Ready for Workday webinars hosted by the city last week, you can view the recorded webinar. It is important for all library staff to become familiar with Workday.
https://www.gotostage.com/
Click on the video you wish to view, then click on the arrow in the middle of the image.
Please register using your name and EPFL email address. Do not use one of the other options on the left.
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
PCI webinar archives for the Maryland public library staff
We now have statewide access to the PCI webinar archives for the Maryland public library staff. All content should be available without needing to be assigned. These webinars are approved for CEU hours using the recorded webinars format.

