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Programs |
OPENING KEYNOTE | 8:55–9:45
Empathy, Information & EDI: A Conversation
How can library staff navigate patron interactions with empathy? Professional social workers and community leaders will discuss how libraries can incorporate an EDI lens into their visions and work. Topics such as the meaning of diversity, cultural competence and humility, equity as a stance, learning and engagement, and resources will be addressed.
Claudia Avendaño-Ibarra is passionate about advocacy and serving. For her, it is a privilege to work with and advocate for disenfranchised and underserved families and individuals. Claudia believes in the power of education, equity, and unity. She is a Social Worker with 23 years of experience, a Clinical Social Work Associate Counselor, and Tenured Faculty in the Human Services Program at Skagit Valley College. She has served on various boards such as the: Skagit Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services board, the Skagit Immigrant Rights Counsel, Community Action of Skagit County, the Skagit Regional Health Community Advisory Committee, and is an appointed Commissioner for the Skagit County Housing Authority where she serves as vice-chair. Her long-term vision is to launch a counseling and consulting business to address needs such as coping skills, psychoeducational workshops, cultural competence and humility, wellness (self/community care & trauma), child abuse and neglect prevention, suicide prevention, and teen and adult leadership (mentoring, identity, culture, decolonization, healing & giving).
Ray Soriano, MSW, has committed his 30-year career to serving children, youth, and families furthest from opportunity. Ray believes that the quality of our relationships with each other, individually and across communities, is the key to creating inclusive and equitable environments, institutions, and systems. Ray draws from professional experience that includes early childhood education, public child welfare, youth residential treatment, parent education, leadership development, and therapeutic application of music and the arts. Ray presently serves as an Innovation and Capacity Specialist with the WA State Department of Children, Youth and Families’ Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (DCYF-ECEAP). He is also an Associate Instructor in the Early Childhood Education Dept. at Skagit Valley College. Ray is a first-generation immigrant of Philippine descent and a proud father of a young adult son.
Claudia Avendaño-Ibarra, MSW, Human Resources Instructor, Skagit Valley College
Ray Soriano, MSW, Early-Childhood Educator
Room: Auditorium
Materials: Slides, Handout: Cultural Competence Continuum, Handout: Culturally Competent Values, Handout: Cycle of Strong Feelings
How can library staff navigate patron interactions with empathy? Professional social workers and community leaders will discuss how libraries can incorporate an EDI lens into their visions and work. Topics such as the meaning of diversity, cultural competence and humility, equity as a stance, learning and engagement, and resources will be addressed.
Claudia Avendaño-Ibarra is passionate about advocacy and serving. For her, it is a privilege to work with and advocate for disenfranchised and underserved families and individuals. Claudia believes in the power of education, equity, and unity. She is a Social Worker with 23 years of experience, a Clinical Social Work Associate Counselor, and Tenured Faculty in the Human Services Program at Skagit Valley College. She has served on various boards such as the: Skagit Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services board, the Skagit Immigrant Rights Counsel, Community Action of Skagit County, the Skagit Regional Health Community Advisory Committee, and is an appointed Commissioner for the Skagit County Housing Authority where she serves as vice-chair. Her long-term vision is to launch a counseling and consulting business to address needs such as coping skills, psychoeducational workshops, cultural competence and humility, wellness (self/community care & trauma), child abuse and neglect prevention, suicide prevention, and teen and adult leadership (mentoring, identity, culture, decolonization, healing & giving).
Ray Soriano, MSW, has committed his 30-year career to serving children, youth, and families furthest from opportunity. Ray believes that the quality of our relationships with each other, individually and across communities, is the key to creating inclusive and equitable environments, institutions, and systems. Ray draws from professional experience that includes early childhood education, public child welfare, youth residential treatment, parent education, leadership development, and therapeutic application of music and the arts. Ray presently serves as an Innovation and Capacity Specialist with the WA State Department of Children, Youth and Families’ Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (DCYF-ECEAP). He is also an Associate Instructor in the Early Childhood Education Dept. at Skagit Valley College. Ray is a first-generation immigrant of Philippine descent and a proud father of a young adult son.
Claudia Avendaño-Ibarra, MSW, Human Resources Instructor, Skagit Valley College
Ray Soriano, MSW, Early-Childhood Educator
Room: Auditorium
Materials: Slides, Handout: Cultural Competence Continuum, Handout: Culturally Competent Values, Handout: Cycle of Strong Feelings
WSL Resources: VR in Libraries
Sign up at the registration desk for a spot during one of the three session times, or drop in during lunch. Virtual Reality (VR) is THE next technology tool for nearly everything, including education. With a focus on educational value, the Washington State Library (WSL) distributed fifty Oculus VR systems into public libraries beginning in January 2018. Learn how to facilitate educational VR programs and try some yourself!
Joe Olayvar, Info Tech Consultant, Library Development, Washington State Library
Sara Peté, Community Outreach Librarian, Washington State Library
Room: Fireside
Sign up at the registration desk for a spot during one of the three session times, or drop in during lunch. Virtual Reality (VR) is THE next technology tool for nearly everything, including education. With a focus on educational value, the Washington State Library (WSL) distributed fifty Oculus VR systems into public libraries beginning in January 2018. Learn how to facilitate educational VR programs and try some yourself!
Joe Olayvar, Info Tech Consultant, Library Development, Washington State Library
Sara Peté, Community Outreach Librarian, Washington State Library
Room: Fireside
SESSION I | 10:00–11:00
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Emergency Resources for Vulnerable Patrons
Learn how to provide emergency resources to your most vulnerable patrons, including those experiencing domestic violence, physical and mental health crises, homelessness, and chemical dependency. Suzanne Carlson-Prandini, Public Services Librarian, Bellingham Public Library Room: Auditorium |
Save Yourself! Avoiding Strain at Work
Save yourself! Use ergonomics principles to prevent strain, sprain, and overuse injuries, and save your body for enjoying work and a happy retirement. Demonstration will take place. Claudia Kelley, OTR/L, Ergonomist, WA Department of Labor and Industries Room: Lower Materials: Slides |
Teen Programming & Outreach
How do you reach the young people in your community? Does your library offer programming that helps create a welcoming space for teens to build community, connect to resources, and navigate their emerging identities? Are you able to perform outreach in a way that meets teens where they are? A teen librarian will share her successes and lessons learned with programming and outreach. Participants will finish this session in a facilitated discussion to share and brainstorm outreach and programming on a shoestring budget. Tamar Clarke, Teen Services Coordinator, Whatcom County Library System Room: Upper Materials: Slides |
SESSION II | 11:15–12:15
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Grow Up! Taking Adult Programs to the Next Level
What is your library doing to engage with the adults in your community? From twenty-somethings to your senior residents, how can you use programs both inside and outside of the library to better connect with your patrons while building greater support and awareness of what the library has to offer? In this inspiring session, learn about programming ideas that you can reproduce with little or no budget. From arts, culture, and music events, to makerspace activities around farming, food, or fantasy, to mind and body healthfulness, you will leave this interactive workshop with lots of fresh ideas and sensible tips for taking your adult programs to a whole new level! Audrey Barbakoff, Adult Services Manager, Kitsap Regional Library Room: Auditorium |
Growing a Reputation for Service Excellence
Some organizations gain such a sterling service reputation that their names become synonymous with excellence. What are the characteristics that earn this reputation for "service excellence"? Libraries may not have similar big budgets or financial bottom lines, but how can we apply some of these same characteristics to the service we provide? In this engaging session, we will look at how customer service may be translated into the library environment and then identify specific behaviors and techniques that communicate these characteristics, both externally with the public and internally among staff. Robin Dye, System Administrator, Kitsap Regional Library Room: Upper Materials: Slides |
WSL Resources: Workforce Development & Online Learning
Learn about resources and opportunities available through the Washington State Library around workforce development and online learning. Hear about Workforce, certification, and LinkedIn Learning (aka Lynda.com), as well as Primarily WA and the new SimplyE platform for eBooks. Elizabeth Iaukea, Workforce Development Librarian, Washington State Library Tami Masenhimer, Training Coordinator, Washington State Library Room: Lower |
LUNCH & NETWORKING | 12:15 – 12:45
DIRECTORS PANEL | 12:45 – 1:20
DIRECTORS PANEL | 12:45 – 1:20
Facing the Future Together: Library Directors Panel and Q&A
During lunch, hear from your library directors about their visions for the future. Directors will answer questions that staff can submit in advance.
Jeanne Williams, Director, Central Skagit Rural Partial County Library District
Ruth Barefoot, Director, Anacortes Public Library
Amanda Perez, Director, Upper Skagit Library
Isaac Huffman, Director, Mount Vernon City Library
Janice Burwash, Assistant Director, Burlington Public Library
Moderator: Kate Laughlin, Executive Director, Association for Rural & Small Libraries
Room: Auditorium
During lunch, hear from your library directors about their visions for the future. Directors will answer questions that staff can submit in advance.
Jeanne Williams, Director, Central Skagit Rural Partial County Library District
Ruth Barefoot, Director, Anacortes Public Library
Amanda Perez, Director, Upper Skagit Library
Isaac Huffman, Director, Mount Vernon City Library
Janice Burwash, Assistant Director, Burlington Public Library
Moderator: Kate Laughlin, Executive Director, Association for Rural & Small Libraries
Room: Auditorium
SESSION III | 1:30–2:30
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Tell Your Library's Story: Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
Learn the most effective, free strategies you can use today to promote your library, programs, and services to your community. You'll discover how marketing can be effectively used to build stronger relationships with patrons, grow your ties with the community, and develop local partnerships. By the end of this intensive session you will have a clear idea on how to position your library as a hub for your community and make it easier for your patrons to connect. We'll cover current best practices and discuss how social media can fit into your larger marketing strategy. Rebekka Van Der Does, Copywriter and Media Consultant, Media Sundries Room: Lower Materials: Slides |
Consistency as a Tool for Service Excellence
One of the primary characteristics that earns organizations a reputation for service excellence is the ability to maintain consistency. Why is consistency considered such an important factor in customers' perceptions of poor or great service, and what can we do to establish and maintain consistency in our library, not just with our patrons but internally among staff? Policies and procedures can serve as an effective method for maintaining consistency, but too often they are unclear, outdated, or nonexistent, leaving each individual to respond as they see fit. In these situations it can be very difficult to establish and maintain consistent service. Participants in this session will examine how to use policy and procedures as powerful tools for delivering consistent, excellent service! Robin Dye, System Administrator, Kitsap Regional Library Room: Upper Materials: Slides |
Compassion Fatigue and Self-Care in the Library
Do you know the difference between Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Trauma Stress, and Vicarious Traumatization? Can you recognize the triggers of Compassion Fatigue in yourself and others? This session will help answer these questions and more. Learn the potential effects of traumatic stress on our life systems – our workplace, our families, our clients, our world. Explore how to better manage the demands of emotionally draining public library work and experiences, and how to help those around us. Participants will create a checklist to use in their workplace. Peggy Ray, MSW, Certified Traumatologist and Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Practitioner Room: Auditorium Materials: Slides |
TRAIN-THE-TRAINER WORKSHOPS | 2:45–3:25
An expert facilitator will lead staff in a train-the-trainer session to help staff take what they learned throughout the day back to their library systems. Staff will then break up into small groups based on their service role for guided discussions to share resources and takeaways, brainstorm possibilities, and identify actionable goals from their day of learning.
Robin Dye, System Administrator, Kitsap Regional Library
Room: Auditorium
Robin Dye, System Administrator, Kitsap Regional Library
Room: Auditorium
CLOSING KEYNOTE | 3:30 – 4:20
Hear from a special mystery guest to wrap up the day!
