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| CC 2.0 Flickr User griraffes |
So get thee over to Sharon Morris' wonderful guest post on SLA's FutureReady 365 blog. Check it out: Ten Strategies For Being Future-Minded
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Future-Minded
So get thee over to Sharon Morris' wonderful guest post on SLA's FutureReady 365 blog. Check it out: Ten Strategies For Being Future-Minded
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
PALA Presentation: TEDx and Libraries: A Partnership for Community Engagement
Here is the slide deck for our talk: TEDx and Libraries: A Partnership for Community Engagement, Presented by Peter Bromberg, Janie Hermann and John LeMasney for the Pennsylvania Library Association Conference, October 27, 2010. (Download the powerpoint deck and look in speaker’s notes for content.)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Video/Slides from Adult Services Forum Keynote: All Together Now
All Together Now
Keynote at the NJLA Adult Services Forum, October 18, 2010
Slides/Text available at SlideShare
Thank you to Kelly Garwood for creating and sharing this video! Slidedeck (with full text of talk in the notes field if you download the ppt) available at: http://slideshare.net/pbromberg/all-together-now-keynote-for-njla-adult-services-forum-2010
Keynote at the NJLA Adult Services Forum, October 18, 2010
Slides/Text available at SlideShare
Friday, December 10, 2010
New ALALearning Post: Cultures of Curiosity
NEW ALALEARNING POST
This month ALALearning bloggers are focusing on how learning is done in our organizations. Having started at the MPOW just a few short months ago I am still learning how learning happens– formally and informally — in the organization. So rather than address the question narrowly, I’d like to look more broadly at the topic and suggest that the foundation for learning in any organization is having a culture of curiosity.
See the whole article over at ALALearning, (also transcribed below 3/27/13)
This month ALALearning bloggers are focusing on how learning is done in our organizations. Having started at the MPOW just a few short months ago I am still learning how learning happens– formally and informally — in the organization.
So rather than address the question narrowly, I’d like to look more broadly at the topic and suggest that the foundation for learning in any organization is having a culture of curiosity. Whether you are promoting learning in your organization through self-paced online tutorials, face-to-face workshops and discussions, or sharing of annotated bookmarks, learning will not happen in any real or consistent way unless there is a strong shared value of curiosity.
Why do I assert this? Because an attitude of curiosity is the only
known antidote to the single biggest block to learning: the idea that we
already have the answer (and it’s 1st cousin, “I don’t care
about the answer”.) Being in a state of curiosity means looking out at
the world, collecting data, observing human behaviors and interactions,
and asking “why?” and “what if?” These questions are humbling. They
bring down our blocks and mitigate our filters and invite new data to
enter our minds, and creatively find new ways to integrate and organize
organizing data with a goal of understanding.
THE VALUE OF A CULTURE OF CURIOSITY
One of the most powerful effects of cultivating a consciousness and culture of curiosity is that it greatly enhances communication and the quality of relationships. Communication (and thus learning) is shut down when we assume we understand the motivations of others, and all too often we ascribe negative motivations to others without pausing to contemplate their perspective.
Curiosity creates space for that pause. When we are in a place of deep and authentic curiosity about others, it is impossible to simultaneously be in a place of judgment, which is a closing of ourselves to other ways of seeing. When we curiously ask why, we open to the idea that others have a unique and valuable perspective that can expand our own data set and worldview. Asking why leads to conversation and exploration, which in turn leads us to a deeper understanding of how others experience the world, their motivations, and their choices. And this deeper understanding, in turn, helps to reinforce our own consciousness of curiosity, and thus our own personal culture of learning.
I am curious about what has worked for you. How is learning promoted in your organization? What tools, methods, tips, tricks have worked for you? Drop your thoughts in the comment section!
This month ALALearning bloggers are focusing on how learning is done in our organizations. Having started at the MPOW just a few short months ago I am still learning how learning happens– formally and informally — in the organization. So rather than address the question narrowly, I’d like to look more broadly at the topic and suggest that the foundation for learning in any organization is having a culture of curiosity.
See the whole article over at ALALearning, (also transcribed below 3/27/13)
This month ALALearning bloggers are focusing on how learning is done in our organizations. Having started at the MPOW just a few short months ago I am still learning how learning happens– formally and informally — in the organization.
So rather than address the question narrowly, I’d like to look more broadly at the topic and suggest that the foundation for learning in any organization is having a culture of curiosity. Whether you are promoting learning in your organization through self-paced online tutorials, face-to-face workshops and discussions, or sharing of annotated bookmarks, learning will not happen in any real or consistent way unless there is a strong shared value of curiosity.
Why do I assert this? Because an attitude of curiosity is the only
known antidote to the single biggest block to learning: the idea that we
already have the answer (and it’s 1st cousin, “I don’t care
about the answer”.) Being in a state of curiosity means looking out at
the world, collecting data, observing human behaviors and interactions,
and asking “why?” and “what if?” These questions are humbling. They
bring down our blocks and mitigate our filters and invite new data to
enter our minds, and creatively find new ways to integrate and organize
organizing data with a goal of understanding.THE VALUE OF A CULTURE OF CURIOSITY
One of the most powerful effects of cultivating a consciousness and culture of curiosity is that it greatly enhances communication and the quality of relationships. Communication (and thus learning) is shut down when we assume we understand the motivations of others, and all too often we ascribe negative motivations to others without pausing to contemplate their perspective.
Curiosity creates space for that pause. When we are in a place of deep and authentic curiosity about others, it is impossible to simultaneously be in a place of judgment, which is a closing of ourselves to other ways of seeing. When we curiously ask why, we open to the idea that others have a unique and valuable perspective that can expand our own data set and worldview. Asking why leads to conversation and exploration, which in turn leads us to a deeper understanding of how others experience the world, their motivations, and their choices. And this deeper understanding, in turn, helps to reinforce our own consciousness of curiosity, and thus our own personal culture of learning.
I am curious about what has worked for you. How is learning promoted in your organization? What tools, methods, tips, tricks have worked for you? Drop your thoughts in the comment section!
Friday, October 08, 2010
Making time to tell you...
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| CC 2.0. Flickr User: Bogenfreund |
So now I'm making the time, if only this very little bit before I zip out the door, to invite you to read "10 tips for finding your groove and getting sh*t done". I'm so glad I did--you rock Jules!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
New ALALearning Post: Learn More, Do Nothing
Would you like to be more creative? Learn faster? Super, all you need to do is... Nothing.
Interested? Read the complete post over at ALA Learning
(also archived below on 3/27/13)
October 9, 2010 update: Check out Bobbi Newman's post on the connection between innovation and working less.
The New York Times reported this week
that researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have
found that rats don’t learn from experience until they take a break from
the experience. The break gives them time to process and create
persistent memories. Furthermore, the researchers believe that their
findings almost certainly apply to the way humans learn. Uh oh…
Why uh oh? Because many humans are increasingly connected to our ipads, blackberrys, smartphones, and laptops, keeping our brains engaged continually throughout the day. And while all of that ubiquitous connectivity offers us the possibility of reaching heretofore unreachable levels of efficiency and productivity it seems that it might come at a price: The Times reports that “when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas. ”
Having recently started a new job, I can attest to the fact that there’s nothing like a silent drive or a brief nap to process and organize a great deal of new information. My 45 minute commute home might be the most productive part of my day, as that’s where all of the sense-making is happening. Strange as it may seem, sleeping has also been incredibly productive as I awake many mornings with a number of ideas synthesized from the previous day’s conversations, observations, and readings.
So as we come to the end of another summer and start getting geared up for the busier days of Fall let’s take a moment to remember: There might be no better way to learn than by stopping, unplugging, and doing absolutely nothing.
Interested? Read the complete post over at ALA Learning
(also archived below on 3/27/13)
October 9, 2010 update: Check out Bobbi Newman's post on the connection between innovation and working less.
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| Learning In Action |
Why uh oh? Because many humans are increasingly connected to our ipads, blackberrys, smartphones, and laptops, keeping our brains engaged continually throughout the day. And while all of that ubiquitous connectivity offers us the possibility of reaching heretofore unreachable levels of efficiency and productivity it seems that it might come at a price: The Times reports that “when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas. ”
Having recently started a new job, I can attest to the fact that there’s nothing like a silent drive or a brief nap to process and organize a great deal of new information. My 45 minute commute home might be the most productive part of my day, as that’s where all of the sense-making is happening. Strange as it may seem, sleeping has also been incredibly productive as I awake many mornings with a number of ideas synthesized from the previous day’s conversations, observations, and readings.
So as we come to the end of another summer and start getting geared up for the busier days of Fall let’s take a moment to remember: There might be no better way to learn than by stopping, unplugging, and doing absolutely nothing.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Congratulations, I'm Sorry.
After four wonderful years blogging at Library Garden I will now be doing the majority of my writing in this space (while still contributing regularly to the ALALearning blog.)
I used my final post at Library Garden to say goodbye and begin a dialogue on cooperative library services. Here is an excerpt:
I used my final post at Library Garden to say goodbye and begin a dialogue on cooperative library services. Here is an excerpt:
[T]his was my final week of employment at the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative (SJRLC), where I have enjoyed working for the past nine years...and this is my final post at the Library Garden blog, where I have had the pleasure of writing for the past four years. Both departures are bittersweet, filled with sadness and loss, but also mixed with excitement for the what lies ahead. On Monday, August 2nd I will begin as Assistant Director at the Princeton Public Library,For the complete post, see: http://librarygarden.net/2010/07/31/so-long-farewell-amen/. Thanks for joining me at the new blog! -Peter
CONGRATULATIONS, I’M SORRY
Those of you in NJ know that we have just emerged from a partially successful four-month advocacy campaign to restore state funding for library services. In March we received devastating news that the Governor had slashed library funding 74% in his proposed budget, effectively putting an end to vital library services including delivery, interlibrary loan, shared full-text databases, and the New Jersey Library Network including the four Regional Library Cooperatives. In late June, after an advocacy campaign that generated tens of thousands of letters of support, we learned that much of the funding was restored, and many services would be saved. Unfortunately, as in other states (including Colorado, Massachusetts and Illinois), the Cooperative system — a system in place for nearly 25 years — is being downsized, as the State Librarian has made a decision to consolidate the four Cooperatives into one.
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