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Victorian public libraries workforce development
- 1. Victorian public libraries Workforce development 2014 -2017
- 2. Public Libraries Victoria Network is a collaborative and advocacy organisation comprised of Victorian Local Government Public Library Services.
- 3. Statewide Projects •1995 •Collaboration across the state •Special Interest Groups •Collaboration with State Library through the Public Libraries Unit
- 4. Past Projects Research •Libraries building communities •Dollars, sense and public libraries •Internet and PC usage in public libraries •Creative communities •Statewide skills audit •Collections audit 2006 •Workforce sustainability and leadership 2008 •Library buildings audit 2008
- 5. Past Projects • Statewide training • Statewide marketing • Digitisation projects • Disability awareness • Jolly Jumbuck • Business information project • LOTE • Memory Victoria • Shared leadership
- 6. Past Projects Research •Libraries building communities •Dollars, sense and public libraries •Internet and PC usage in public libraries •Creative communities •Statewide skills audit •Collections audit 2006 •Workforce sustainability and leadership 2008 •Library buildings audit 2008
- 7. Shared Leadership Projects • Pop-up libraries • Creative spaces • Libraries and CALD communities • Guidelines for joint use or collocated public libraries • Volunteen • A framework for Victorian library partnerships • Strategic evaluation of programs • Green credentials for new and refurbished Library buildings • Library services to babyboomers
- 8. 2010 Sleepover • Presentation - NSW Bookend Scenarios (a strategic foresight project) • Identified a lack of strategic long term thinking for Victorian libraries • Led to the Libraries 2030 project
- 10. VPL 2030 • Launched in June 2013 • Guiding document at the 2013 planning retreat
- 11. What is strategic foresight? Veteran foresighter Richard A. Slaughter gives this definition: Strategic foresight is the ability to create and sustain a variety of high quality forward views and to apply the emerging insights in organizationally useful ways; for example, to detect adverse conditions, guide policy, shape strategy; to explore new markets, products and services.
- 12. What is strategic foresight? •Gathering intelligence about possible futures •Taking advantage of all possibilities •Identifying social trends •Looking for tipping points
- 13. Background Objectives: • Identify global trends that may impact future public library services • Explore alternative futures, tipping points & strategic responses to trends • Develop & extend the capacity of the sector to think strategically • Create an adaptable framework that can meaningfully guide strategic planning in any location
- 14. Process Collaborative 5-stage process involving over 80 Victorian public library managers, staff & stakeholders 1. Interviews 2. Creating future scenarios workshop 3. Transitioning to the future workshop – backcasting 4. Impact on public libraries workshop – analysis 5. Strategic framework workshop
- 15. Creative scenario Community scenario Creativity The desire to unlock, express, develop & record creative interests Collaboration The willingness to partner, cooperate & share with others Brain health The need for lifelong mental engagement, stimulation & care Dynamic learning The need to continually learn new knowledge & skills to participate fully in a rapidly changing environment Community connection The desire for stable & trusted relationships with people & places of common interest Five key social trends and two future scenarios depicting Victorian lifestyles
- 16. Five significant social trends (VPL 2030) • Creativity • The desire to unlock, express, develop and record creative interests • Collaboration • The willingness to partner, cooperate and share with others • Brain health • The need for lifelong mental engagement, stimulation and care • Dynamic learning • The need to continually learn new knowledge and skills to participate fully in a rapidly changing environment • Community connection • The desire for stable and trusted relationships with people and places of common interest
- 17. VPL 2030: Creative libraries • a fundamental shift in society’s aspirations as the desire to consume declines and a creative culture emerges in its place. • a decline in individual and organisational competition, and a rising interest in collaboration, both on a personal and professional basis. In this scenario more and more people are seeking to explore, develop and express their creativity.
- 18. VPL 2030: Community libraries • economic, social and technological change, as industries and social norms are disrupted • changing social dynamics lead to the desire to reconnect with the local community. In this scenario there is a need to continually acquire new knowledge and skills
- 19. VPL 2030: Recommendations • Storytelling • Revenue and fundraising • Products services and programs • Facilities and resources • Staff
- 20. Storytelling To generate internal & external belief & buy-in to a shared vision for the future role of Victorian public libraries • Developing a PLVN communication plan • All staff have a role in telling the stories
- 21. Revenue and Fundraising To develop a portfolio of revenue & funding streams that ensure the future prosperity of Victorian public libraries • Workshop held on sponsorship and partnerships • PLVN working on this project
- 22. Products Services and Programs To offer a suite of products, services & programs that meets the community’s changing expectations & needs of a public library into the future Read • Development of a Reading and literacy for all strategic framework and early years literacy program and adult literacy program Memory • Capacity building in digital collecting, preservation and local history • Travelling exhibition and training
- 23. Facilities and Resources To incorporate a mix of flexible spaces that facilitate & support the range of public library products & services into the future
- 24. Staff To develop a flexible & inclusive culture that attracts & retains people with the right skills & attitude to deliver public library products & services into the future
- 25. The Lead and Learn Workgroup – 2014-2017 • Roll out of Our Future, Our Skills recommendations • Develop training and programs that respond to the skill gaps identified in the report
- 26. 1. 2008: Workforce Sustainability and Leadership report States that libraries need clear and practical strategies for long- term sustainability of the workforce 2. 2012: Victorian Public Libraries 2030 strategic framework Presents future scenarios for public libraries 3. 2014: Victorian Public Libraries: Our Future, Our Skills research report Reports on a skills audit of the Victorian public library workforce 4. 2015: Workforce Development Action Plan Identifies a suite of targeted training and development initiatives focused on high priority skill gaps Background
- 27. The 2030 future Creative scenario Community scenario Creativity The desire to unlock, express, develop & record creative interests Collaboration The willingness to partner, cooperate & share with others Brain health The need for lifelong mental engagement, stimulation & care Dynamic learning The need to continually learn new knowledge & skills to participate fully in a rapidly changing environment Community connection The desire for stable & trusted relationships with people & places of common interest But how can we better prepare library staff to adapt and innovate to meet changing community needs? Focus of Victorian Public Libraries in 2030
- 28. The skills audit project – Victorian Public Libraries, Our Future, Our Skills • A framework of core competencies for the public library workforce • A skills audit to map current and future skills • A report which analyses findings and recommends strategies to prepare for the future
- 29. The skills audit The skills audit in the Our Future, Our Skills project collected over 1300 responses from Victorian public library staff and enabled analysis of: The skillsets that library managers (n=78) believed were going to be important The perceived levels of confidence expressed by individuals The comparison between these two gave us a gap analysis for future skills development. VS
- 30. Skills framework Cognitive skills Foundation skills • Most important now and in 5 years’ time: Literacy, Cultural literacy, Digital literacy, Local awareness Technical skills Professional skills • Most important now: Information seeking, The role of information and libraries in society, Information services, Lending services, Promoting library collections, services and programs • Most important in 5 years’ time: Community development, Programming for diverse audiences, Technologies Behavioural skills Behavioural skills • Most important now and in 5 years’ time: Customer engagement, Ethics and values, Empathy, Teamwork, Self-management, Flexibility
- 31. Skill gaps Skillset Managers - Very important % Individuals - Very confident % Foundation skills Local awareness 79.5% 17.9% Political literacy 47.4% 20.2% Economic literacy 55.1% 10.9% Health literacy 56.4% 15.9% Environmental literacy 46.2% 13.4% Digital literacy 93.6% 18.9% Cultural literacy 87.2% 45.6% Professional skills Community needs analysis 92.3% 16.6% Community engagement 87.2% 18.9% Community relationships 87.2% 17.5% Cultural programming 59.0% 11.1% Creative making 39.7% 4.9% Behavioural skills Customer engagement 93.6% 68.0% Building partnerships and alliances 82.1% 9.6% Political and business acumen 73.1% 12.8%
- 32. Three key skills 1. Digital literacy 2. Social media and mobile applications 3. ICT support Core competencies • Critically evaluate dynamic content • Use diverse format types and delivery modes • Produce original content in multiple media formats • Share information in participatory environments • Embrace new technologies • Respect privacy, information ethics, cybersafety and intellectual property issues. P–32 Digital Literacy skills gap
- 33. RE Ross Trust grant Funding for the Learn component of the Lead and Learn program includes $150,000 from the RE Ross Trust. These funds are dedicated to: • address priority gaps identified in Victorian Public Libraries: Our Future, Our Skills • develop a plan of programs for improving access to training for public library staff in regional Victoria • develop and deliver an online Digital Literacy training module for public library staff • deliver professional development seminars.
- 34. Key themes Lead and Learn workgroup identified four themes around which training activities should be planned for 2014-17: • Partnerships • Library programming to strengthen the community • Collection development • Digital literacy
- 35. Skills that should underpin all training We should be mindful to develop these concepts that underpin all training: • Creative thinking • Problem solving • Change management • Learning to learn Professional Development seminar • Renew, Rethink, Revitalise Mini-conference • Took place in March 2015
- 36. Theme 1: Partnerships Face-to-face Training • Targeting Bands 5 and above • 250 staff • Metro and regional locations • June to December 2015 Professional Development seminar • Creating Partnerships for Creative Communities (Took place in November 2014)
- 37. Theme 2: Library Programming to Strengthen the Community Face-to-face Training • Initial planning 2014/15 • Develop in 2015/16 • Deliver 2015/16 and 2016/17 • Targeting Bands 4 to 7 • Face-to-face delivery • Metro and regional locations
- 38. Theme 3: Collection development Conference/summit • Seminar March 2016 (1-2 days) • Targeting management and specialist staff • Strategic thinking about collection development: o the principles of collection development o freedom of information o copyright laws o understanding suppliers • A central location such as SLV
- 39. Theme 4: Digital Literacy Critical issues • Building the confidence of staff • Developing staff capacity to learn. Online Training • Modules delivered online • Targeting Bands 3 to 6 • Approx. 1000 staff • Development 2014/15 • Delivery 2015/16 and 2016/17 • Tailored content aimed at the Victorian public library environment
- 40. P–40 Priorities for our training • Monitored • Principles + practice • Champions • Confidence building • Learning to learn Next steps • Working Party • Design • Development • Testing • Roll out Digital Literacy online training
- 41. P–41 Contact us for more details: Robyn Ellard – rellard@slv.vic.gov.au Jayne Cleave – jcleave@slv.vic.gov.au Karyn Siegmann – ksiegmann@bayside.vic.gov.au
Editor's Notes
- The workforce development action plan: Is part of the Statewide Public Library Development Projects. These projects are at the heart of the State Library/public library collaboration to improve library services to all Victorians. The plan has been a developed by the Lead and Learn workgroup of public library and SLV staff. It will guide the decision-making of the workgroup for the next 2.5 years It draws on a huge amount of research and strategic work undertaken through the Statewide Public Library Development Projects by SPLDP over the past seven years.
- Background What is Strategic Foresight? What are scenarios What are tipping points Context for libraries Informing all future planning
- Creativity The desire to unlock, express, develop & record creative interests Collaboration The willingness to partner, cooperate & share with others Brain health The need for lifelong mental engagement, stimulation & care Dynamic learning The need to continually learn new knowledge & skills to participate fully in a rapidly changing environment Community connection The desire for stable & trusted relationships with people & places of common interest
- In the Creative scenario there is a fundamental shift in society’s aspirations as the desire to consume declines and a creative culture emerges in its place. In this scenario more and more people are seeking to explore, develop and express their creativity. We also see a decline in individual and organisational competition, and a rising interest in collaboration, both on a personal and professional basis.
- In the Community scenario we see the combined effect of economic, social and technological change, as industries and social norms are disrupted and traditional gatekeepers lose their relevance. Rapidly changing social dynamics lead to sustained high unemployment, feelings of social displacement, and the desire to reconnect with the local community. In this scenario there is a need to continually acquire new knowledge and skills as people feel the impact of the transformation from a local, physical economy to a global virtual one.
- Lots of different responsibilities including the Shared Leadership program, but one big responsibility is responding to the recommendations in the Skills Audit report.
- Briefly looking at the background of this project: In 2008, the Workforce Sustainability and Leadership report made it clear that Victorian public libraries needed to approach their future strategically and with a long term vision. The conclusions led us to publish the Victorian Public Libraries 2030 strategic framework in 2012, putting into print the public library sector’s strategic direction and priorities, illustrated by possible future scenarios. In order to realise this vision, we developed a competency framework and conducted a skills audit of the Victorian public library workforce, producing a dense research report in 2014, Victorian Public Libraries: Our Future, Our Skills. It is based on this research that the Lead and Learn workgroup are basing their decisions for future workforce development strategies. The Workforce Development Action Plan defines a staff development program that is aligned with the public library sector’s strategic direction and priorities and is based upon the evidence and skills gaps identified in the skills audit.
- As stated by Karyn, the Victorian Public Libraries 2030 strategic framework identified two scenarios of the future libraries, the Creative Library and the Community Library, which depict how community attitudes, behaviours, wants and needs might be different in 2030 and how public libraries will respond. There are five social trends of particular significance: Creativity Collaboration Brain health, or the need for lifelong mental engagement, very important with an aging population Dynamic learning Community connection Understanding how best to meet the changing needs to our communities, led to research into the skills of the Victorian public library workforce.
- The skill audit project Developed a competency framework for the public library workforce, including the skills identified in the two Victorian Public Library 2030 scenarios as crucial for the future to the skills framework. It then conducted an audit of the workforce to identify the extent which the library workforce might be ready and prepared for the alternative Creative and Community futures outlined in the report.
- The Skills audit Over 1,300 individuals completed the individual survey, 45% of all employees There were 78 responses to the managerial survey The comparison of the skillsets that managers believed were going to be important with the perceived level of confidence expressed by individuals in those same skills created what we call a “skills gap” and became a skill needing to be addressed to help future-proof the workforce.
- The skills framework The skills were grouped into three key areas and broken down to specific key skills In the Foundation skills, the same areas were seen as both important now and in five years time: literacy, digital literacy, local awareness For Professional skills, individuals saw the most important skills changing to emphasise local community programming and technologies The Behaviourial skills that are seen as important now and in the future, are customer engagement, teamwork and self-management, among others.
- Skills gaps You can see here the specific skills that had the largest ‘skills gaps’ identified To pull out a couple: 82% of managers believed Building Partnerships and Alliances to be very important in the future, while less than 10% of staff feel very confident. Another key area and one that we’ll be looking at more closely today, is Digital Literacy. Here you can see that 93.6% of managers deem it very important and less than 18.9% of staff feel very confident.
- In the audit, Digital Literacy was made up of three skills: Number one was actually called Digital Literacy and refers to the ability to use information and media skills in a digital world. The second skills is the ability to integrate social media and mobile applications into library operations And third, the ability to troubleshoot ICT problems in the library To break it down even further, the key competencies of Digital Literacy are: Critically evaluate dynamic content Use diverse format types and delivery modes Produce original content in multiple media formats Share information in participatory environments Embrace new technologies Respect privacy, information ethics, cybersafety and intellectual property issues.
- Back to the Workforce Development Action Plan: The Workforce Development program has been awarded a grant by the RE Ross Trust. These funds are dedicated to addressing the skills gaps identified in the Skills Audit There is also funds to improve access to training for public library staff in regional Victoria, to develop and deliver Digital Literacy training and for the delivery of professional development seminars. To develop the Action plan, workgroup members (all senior library staff) attended a facilitated workshop that used the workgroup’s experiences and priorities for the sector, along with the skills audit results, to identify four primary areas for action. The plan also identifies target audiences, essential content, modes of delivery and timing.
- The training activities for the remainder of the 2014 to 2017 triennium will focus on: Partnerships Community engagement and development Collection development Digital literacy
- VPL 2030 notes that: Creative thinking and problem solving are likely to become essential skills in a less predictable world: public library staff will need to be able to seek out and promote new ideas and to test novel approaches to resolving operational issues. A commitment to lifelong learning will be an imperative, with staff prepared to take responsibility for their ongoing learning and professional development through avenues of both informal and formal learning. The Action Plan states that these four skills that should underpin all training delivered by SPLDP: Creative thinking - the ability to apply creative and innovative thinking Problem solving - the ability to use creative strategies to resolve a problem Change management - a systematic approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organisations to a desired future state (identified under the skill category ‘Management and administration’). Learning to learn - the need to continually learn new knowledge and skills to participate fully in a rapidly changing environment. This includes self-motivation and having the confidence to succeed, develop specific strategies to help themselves, and developing positive learning habits. The public libraries team recently delivered a professional development seminar showcasing how 18 Victorian public libraries are using these skills to address the changing needs of their communities, and really revitalising their services. The “Mini-conference” attracted 240 people and was very well received.
- The skills that come under the Partnerships heading were: Building partnerships and alliances Political and business acumen The activity will primarily be face-to-face training targeting Victorian public library staff employed at Band 5 and above (branch manager level). A brief has been drafted for a consultant to deliver 1-day training workshops that will take place 3 metro and 4 regional Victorian locations, and train a minimum of 250 staff. The training will cover: Positioning your organisation to be a partner of choice The partnership process, including gaining partner commitment Assessing a potential partner’s business strategy and needs Understanding risk and mitigation in the partnering process including governance Presentation of case studies with a local government focus The public libraries team has already delivered a partnerships focussed professional development seminar last November.
- The skills that come under the Community Programming heading were: Cultural programming Literacies and learning Community development Project management The training, which will be developed in the second half of 2015 and delivered from early 2016 through to the end of the triennium, will target Victorian public library staff employed between Band 4 and 7. It will also be delivered face-to-face in metro and regional locations. The training will cover: Scope and plan a project, including stakeholder analysis Identify and understand community and cultural needs, desirable/expected community outcomes Map similar programs already being delivered by other organisations Develop a solution and response to these needs Assess resource requirements Promote, deliver and evaluate the program
- Finally, the fourth area, Collection Development, is a core competency of the Skills framework, and is made up of a range of skills required to ‘develop and manage the library collection to meet customer needs’. A regular conference or summit was suggested as a way to keep this core skill on the public library agenda. It will target management level staff including branch managers and collection managers, as well as those with a responsibility advising on collection purchasing for a select customer group e.g. Adult reader advisory librarians. It’s purpose is be to stimulate strategic thinking about collection development and cover issues such as the principles of collection development, freedom of information, copyright laws, understanding suppliers. The conference will involve public library and SLV staff and be run in a central location.
- The final skills gap identified for urgent action was Digital Literacy. The critical issues facing public libraries in this area, is building their staff’s confidence in handling digital and technological enquiries, and developing their capacity to learn independently. This ability to “learn-to-learn” came up repeatedly and is key to successfully improving the digital literacy skills of staff. The Action Plan has directed us to begin planning of an online training program, made up of a series of modules that address the principles and the practice behind digital technologies. It will target staff employed between Bands 3 and 6 and train between 1,000 and 1,500 people.
- The priorities for our training that were identified by the workgroup were that the training be monitored, so not self-paced. That it combined learning practical skills as well as the principles behind them. That it created champions among the VPL workforce, to ensure a culture of learning and encouragement. And finally that it focused on confidence building and learning-to-learn, the result being that those who went through had increased resilience and belief in their ability to tackle digital or technology problems in their professional and personal lives. It was also desirable that the training would be available into the future after the monitored training had taken place, for people to go back to in the future, or for new staff to explore. We researched a huge list of available products, and the closest pre-existing product we could find was Lynda.com. There were a few things that steered us away from Lynda, including the prohibitive licencing costs, but also the fact that while they have a huge number of courses that teach skills, they are almost entirely practical, with little attention to principles, they don’t have a huge range at the true beginner level, the structure wouldn’t allow us to have champions and after our licence ran out we would lose access to the training. The next steps for Digital Literacy training are the creation of a Working Party, which has been happening over the past few weeks. We have finalised that list and have 8 representatives from across Victorian public libraries coming together next week for the first time to help inform the shape and content of the training. We have representatives from this SIG, from the LibMark and Collections SIG, people who are expert in digital literacy and some who are real beginners. The WP will work with the project team at SLV to design and develop the training over the next three months and assist us with testing phase, before we run a pilot and finally (hopefully) roll out the first term in October this year.