Marketing & Community Partnerships
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
Presented by Caitlin Cowart, Community and Public Relations Manager for the San Antonio Public Library. This webinar focuses on the importance of community partnerships and their connection to comprehensive marketing efforts for libraries. The presentation will include tips for identifying key partnerships and marketing them effectively as well as examples from the San Antonio Public Library. Topics: 1. Community Partnerships Overview 2. Comprehensive Marketing Efforts 3. Identifying and Promoting Key Partnerships 4. Examples of Community Partnerships   This webinar was recorded on January 16th and is approximately 60 minutes long.
Marketing with Infographics
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
Whether you want to market your library's services, showcase your organization's achievements, or demonstrate your value to the community, infographics are an essential tool for libraries. In this interactive webinar, participants will learn how to design an infographic that stands out. Topics/Agenda: I. Introduction: with infographics matter II. Examples of powerful infographics III. Infographic software IV. Key instructions and steps Outcomes: By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to: 1. Understand how infographics can be used for library marketing 2. Create an account and use infographic software 3. Know the key elements of a successful infographic 4. Utilize step-by-step directions for designing an infographic Presented by Barbara Alvarez, an informational professional and instructor who helps librarians develop connections with their communities. This webinar was recorded on April 13, 2021 and is approximately 90 mins long. 
Sharing Showcase.

An introduction to adding resources to the Sharing Showcase section of the My Library Is... campaign website.

An introduction to adding a story on the Library Stories section of the My Library Is... website. Libraries can also add code to their own website to collect and display patron stories.

An introduction to the Blog section of the My Library Is... campaign website.

My Library Is... Get Started.

An introduction to the Get Started portion of the My Library Is... campaign website

Sharing Showcase.

An introduction to the Sharing Showcase section of the My Library Is... campaign.

An introduction to the Training section of the My Library Is... campaign website.

My Library Is... Online Roundtable: Adobe Suite for Libraries.

Recorded on August 3, 2021. This video includes a presentation by Jennifer Amling, Department Head for Communications and Creative Services at the Mount Prospect Public Library. Only the first half of this event was recorded.

Canva for Libraries.

Recorded on July 20, 2021. This video includes a presentation by Samantha Rusk, Business Manager, Vespasian Warner Public Library District. Only the first half of this event was recorded.

My Library Is...Panel Discussion
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
Three members of the My Library Is… Advisory Team shared their library success stories in this panel presentation. Representing school and public libraries, the panelists discussed how their libraries have engaged their patrons, educated their stakeholders, and expanded the reach and value of the library to their communities.  Panelists were: Janine Asmus, of West Leyden High School in Northlake, Gail Graziani, Assistant Director of Adult Services at Lisle Library District, and Jessica Parker of Kaneland High School in Maple Park. This presentation was recorded on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 and runs approximately 55 minutes.
Preparing for and Handling Book Challenges
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
This webinar discusses some of the reasons that patrons challenge books and other materials as well as how to prepare for and handle resource challenges. Attendees will leave with concrete steps they can take before and during book challenges.   Agenda: -Why some people challenge library books or other resources -The importance of intellectual freedom as a core value of librarianship -How to prepare for a resource challenge -How to handle a challenge if one occurs This webinar was presented on April 5, 2022  by Shannon M. Oltmann,   Associate Professor in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky.  The recording is approxmiately 60 minutes.
Report Redesign
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
Are you worried that your important numbers are hidden inside a Dusty Shelf Report? In this webinar, we'll focus on practical techniques for getting your data out of lengthy reports and into real-world conversations. You'll see examples of the 30-3-1 Approach to Reporting from organizations like yours, and you'll learn how chapter dividers, color-coding, icons, and text hierarchies can break your important content into manageable chunks. Topics - The 30-3-1 Approach to Reporting - 6 techniques that help you soar beyond the Dusty Shelf Report (minimal content, well-designed visuals, a variety of visuals, divider pages, color-coding by section, and a text hierarchy) - Real-life before/after report makeovers Learning Objectives After this webinar, participants will be able to: - discuss how the 30-3-1 approach to reporting could be applied to their projects; - name 6 practical strategies for making reports more digestible for busy readers; and - critique "before" reports and explain how to transform those documents into "after" reports. Prerequisites Staff who write reports about quantitative or qualitative data   This webinar is presented by Ann K. Emery, a sought-after speaker who is determined to get your data out of spreadsheets and into stakeholders’ hands. Each year, she leads more than 50 workshops, webinars, and keynotes for thousands of people with the aim of equipping organizations to visualize data more effectively. Ann's design consultancy also overhauls graphs, publications, and slideshows with the goal of making technical information easier to understand for non-technical audiences. This webinar was recorded on June 27, 2019, and is approximately 90 minutes long.
Revamping Strategies for Social Success
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
About two-thirds of American adults are getting “at least some of their news on social media.” Winning over followers and fans, and getting “likes,” “shares” and “comments” can be challenging. We want our library events to be seen and attended. We want them to invite their friends. We want the library relevance, value and fun messages to permeate virtual channels. Discover how two libraries are using effective strategies that have dramatically increased their social media engagement with target audiences.  Natalie Kiburg of Gail Borden Public Library and Evelyn Shapiro of Champaign Public Library will share how their teams meet to brainstorm content, the use of effective local social influencers, new Facebook LIVE strategies, utilizing Facebook’s Events, and continued training and increasing ROI for paid advertisements. Questions and answers to follow.   This recording is approximately 2 hours in length and was originally broadcast on October 25, 2018.  
Separating the Wheat from the Chaff; Developing a Scalable Strategy for Gathering and Reporting Analytics
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
Effective data analysis can support much decision-making in the library, however, it can be challenging to ensure that you’ve captured all the data you need. At the same time, it is possible to collect too much data that ultimately can overwhelm those tasked with analysis. This presentation will discuss how to create a strategy for gathering and reporting analytics in three parts: framing the questions that are important to answer, auditing all potential points where data is collected, and evaluating which data should ultimately be considered for analysis and visualization. This webinar was presented by Suzanna Conrad, head of library information systems in the University Library at California State University Sacramento. Her research interests include human-computer interaction, scholarly communication and ethics in librarianship.  The webinar was held on May 9, 2019 and is approximately 80 minutes long.  
Simple Spreadsheets: Data Analysis Techniques and Time-Saving Secrets
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
Ever feel like you’re swimming upstream in data? Need to make sense of spreadsheets, but not sure where to start? Have a gut feeling that you’re not getting the most out of spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, or Google Sheets? We’ll focus on must-have techniques (like pivot tables) and time-saving techniques (like data analysis formulas and functions). The speaker will demonstrate each skill and then you'll have an opportunity to practice. Topics -Pivot table demo -Pivot table hands-on practice/Q&A -Time-saving formulas demo -Time-saving formulas hands-on practice/Q&A Learning Objectives After this webinar, participants will be able to: - organize spreadsheets by freezing panes and adding filters; - explore and tabulate data with pivot tables; and - use time-saving formulas for data cleaning   This webinar was presented by Ann Emery of Depict Data Studios on June 13, 2019 and is approximately 90 minutes long.
Stop Talking and Start Testing: How to Improve Your Website with Usability Testing
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
Whether you’re planning a new website or want to improve your current one, usability testing is a powerful tool for understanding how your patrons interact with your website. This webinar will walk you through the process of identifying testing needs, planning a test, running one, and summarizing your findings. You will learn how to make usability testing easy enough to incorporate throughout your project and not just at the end (when it’s too late!)   This webinar was presented on April 10, 2019 by Brodie Austin of the Northbrook Public Library.  It is approximately 90 minutes in length.
Screen capture of slide showing a diagram of a storytelling model.

Presentation recorded at DrupalCon North America 2019, by Lily Berman. The talk is focused on website development, but the two techniques discussed could be useful to libraries in telling their stories.

Several librarians gathered around books and a computer.

Archived webinars on a number of topics; most recordings are available for anyone to watch.

The Connected Library: Vetting and Partnering with Social Service Providers
RAILS Continuing Education Archives
As we have witnessed the social, financial, and mental health challenges of our patrons escalate during the COVID-19 pandemic, libraries must connect and build relationships with local providers focused on these needs so that we may serve our communities as effectively as possible. This session will explore why it is imperative that libraries connect with social service providers in their communities, how to cultivate these connections, and tips to make sure the agencies you work with are effective, ethical partners. This webinar was recorded live on April 6, 2022, and runs for approximately 60 minutes.

Pages


Do you have suggestions for resources to add to this page? Contact us at communications@railslibraries.info.