Public Librarian Partnerships Training yesterday funded by DPLA and the Gates Foundation

Eleven public librarians congregated yesterday at the Utah State Library to take part in the Mountain West Digital Library's first public librarian training. We had a jam-packed day that started at 8:30 am over a yogurt bar, fruit, granola, pastries, and coffee. Over the 30-minute breakfast, the 11 public library participants mingled with six trainers from MWDL, the Digital Public Library of America, the University of Utah Marriott Library and several representatives from the Utah State Library before we embarked on seven hours of digital library training. 

In a single day, the participants learned about MWDL and DPLA, content selection for digitization projects, rights management, digitization, metadata, and curating online exhibits. Our public librarians had a spirited conversation about content selection and choosing items that fit into a national story and could be featured in Digital Public Library of America exhibits. They also participated in a great hands-on metadata exercise led by MWDL's metadata librarian Anna Neatrour that emphasized the importance of good metadata for online discoverability. Matt Brunsvik, Digital Operations Coordinator at the University of Utah, illuminated the process of working with a Mountain West Digital Library hub and explained the basics of digitization.

Matt Brunsvik from the U, breaking down the digitization lingo

Emily Gore teaching fair use. Learn it, love it. 

A great day was had by all as evidenced by the glowing reviews that the training received in our post-workshop evaluations. This is what some of the participants had to say about the training:

“I had no clue about any of this. Now I have a basic understanding and am excited to start. Presenters made it easy to understand all what goes into this.”

“It was great realizing how our local collections relate to broader projects like DPLA”

“For me, it was just right. The info about MWDL and DPLA was useful and not previously understood by me.”

“Gave me a starting point and direction I need to begin”

“Easy to understand, great info”

“All presenters were very knowledgeable about their subjects. Emily was delightful to listen to and learn from.”

“Diverse presenters and hands-on metadata and discussion of possible ideas for projects.”

“Loved it”

Thanks to all public librarians that come to the training and the Digital Public Library of America and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation who provided the funding for these workshops.  If you are interested in attending future MWDL Public Library Partnerships workshops, sign up on our website! Two more workshops have already been scheduled for July and August. Hope to see you there!