Presentation to METRO Annual Meeting on January 15, 2013 - "Using Formative Skills Assessment to Drive Staff Training Decisions and Organizational Change"

1. Using Formative Skills Assessment to Drive Staff
On the Future of Libraries:
Training Decisions and Organizational Change
How? not What?
Jeffrey Lancaster
Emerging Technologies Coordinator
Columbia University Libraries
jeffrey.lancaster@columbia.edu

2. Change
Our patrons have a broad range of software skill levels.
We are charged with providing tailored support for this
software.
What is the base level of knowledge the subject specialists
ought to possess?

3. The Digital Science Center

4. The Digital Science Center
Software in the Digital Science Center
Geology, Mapping Statistics
GeoMapApp ArcGlobe 10 ArcMap 10 ArcScene 10 ENVI Google Earth R Stata NVivo SPSS
Math, Physics, Engineering Chemistry, Biology
AutoCAD LaTeXiT Mathematica MatLab TeXShop TeXworks CS ChemBioDraw CS ChemDraw MestReNova-
Ultra 3D LITE
Bibliographic Connect
BibDesk EndNote X2 Papers Fugu PuTTY WinSCP Remote Desktop Microsoft
Connection Communicator
Design
Adobe Bridge Adobe Adobe Fireworks Adobe Flash CS5 Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Adobe 3D Studio Max iPhoto iWeb Maya Adobe Pixel
CS5 Dreamweaver CS5 CS5 CS5 Photoshop CS5 Design Bender Toolkit 2
CS5
Audio, Video
Cinema Tools DVD Studio Pro Final Cut Pro Front Row iMovie Logic Pro MainStage Color Motion Microsoft Apple Qmaster Soundtrack Pro WaveBurner
Silverlight
Productivity
Adobe Acrobat FileMaker Pro Keynote Numbers Pages Microsoft Excel Microsoft Microsoft Word Microsoft Access Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Visio StuffIt Expander
Pro Advanced Powerpoint 2010 Publisher 2010 OneNote 2010 2010
Is something missing? Let us know! Email: ref-sci@columbia.edu

5. Let’s stay ahead of the wave!
Proactive change requires deliberate positioning
New &
Investment / Development
Innovators (2.5%) Stars
Early Adopters (13.5%) Emerging
Early Majority (34%)
Late Majority (34%)
Legacy Cash Cows
Laggards (16%)
Market Share ($$$)
Both via Rob Cartolano – left from Rogers, p. 247

6. Skills Assessment
The goals of the skills assessment to date have been fourfold:
• Determine a baseline for our division-wide technological acumen
• Determine our self-perceived desire to learn
• Establish an inclusive, supportive framework within which to improve
• Improve!
Surveys
Tasks
Presentations
Conversations

7. Skills Assessment
1. Software Survey
Why?
To assess the self-determined skill levels to use the software located
in the Digital Science Center.
Who?
The Director, Librarians, Emerging Technologies Coordinator, and
Access Supervisors of the Science and Engineering Division.
What?
The survey consisted of 3 questions about 64 pieces of software:
- Level of prior knowledge.
- Current level of expertise in using the software.
- Level of desire to learn about how to use the software.

8. Microsoft Word
Prior Knowledge
Designed to give you the
finest document-formatting
tools, Word 2010 also helps
you organize and write you
documents.
Expertise in Using
Desire to Learn

9. Adobe Acrobat Pro
Prior Knowledge
Adobe Acrobat Pro software
lets you deliver professional
PDF communications. Create
and edit PDF files with rich
media included, share
information more securely,
Expertise in Using and gather feedback more
efficiently.
Desire to Learn

10. Mathematica
Prior Knowledge
Mathematica is an application
for computations and is the
only development platform
fully integrating computation
into complete workflows,
moving you seemlessly from
Expertise in Using initial ideas all the way to
deployed individual or
enterprise solutions.
Desire to Learn

11. A Step Back: ‘Expertise’ and ‘Desire to Learn’

12. Influential Factors
Desire to
Learn
(Survey)
Emerging Perceived
Technologies
Coordinator Expertise
Recommends (Survey)
Service Training?
Ownership High Use
(Digital Centers (KeyServer)
Working Group)
High # Patron
Questions Population
(DeskTracker) (Lenel)

13. Skills Assessment
1. Software Survey
2. Learning Style Survey

14. Learning Styles (n = 9)

15. Gameplan: See. Do. Teach.
Phase 1: Overview of software programs
- Two sessions led by ETC
• What is it?
• What is it good for?
Phase 2: Homework assignments
- Ongoing task-based activities
• How do I use it?
• How does it relate to my subject area?
• How does it relate to other software programs?
Phase 3: Seminar-style tutorial based problem solving
- Subject-specialist led focused presentations
• Where did I get tripped up?
• Where will my patrons encounter problems?

16. Phase 1: Overview of software programs
1. Day-to-Day Use/Problems
• Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Scanner Software
2. Raster vs. Vector
• 2D Design Programs (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator)
• Most subject-specific programs
3. Thinking in 3D
• AutoCAD (with other 3D modeling programs)
• 3D Mouse
4. Formatting a Thesis
• EndNote (with other reference managers)
• Microsoft Word

17. Phase 2: Homework assignments
• What is the title of the book read by the student on
the left in the attached image (homework_2a.jpg)?
• Crop the attached image to show only the left
student‟s bookfar….
So and coffee cup
1. Scanning and Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Resize that cropped image to be 500 px wide with a
resolution of 72 px/in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator
2. Adobe
• Convert the image to Grayscale filetype, and „connect‟ utilities
3. Google Earth, .kml
• Save the image as a .png file with the name
4. Reference management software, presentation skills
„homework_2a_edit.png‟
5. Subject-specific software
• Select just the title page of the book (Hint: magic
wand, tolerance: 29),media
6. Social and copy and paste it into a
new file with aEmerging technology skills*
7. transparent background
• Adjust the contrast of the image
• Save the image as a .png file with the name
„homework_2a_edit_v2.png‟

18. Feedback from Staff
“Overall, they were a great help to me in “This effort had a lot to do with how
getting me to overcome my reluctance much people trusted and liked you…”
(and anxiety) about trying new software
tools.”
“I learned from it what software to pick
while helping patrons.”
“A side effect to this assignment was
the knowledge that with not a lot of
effort I can familiarize myself pretty “However I‟m finding it challenging to
quickly with these applications enough keep up with the skills I have gained
so that I can suggest them to patrons since I‟m not using all of them on a
who are looking for specific tools, or regular basis.”
answer general questions about their
use.”
“We still lack the technical skills.”
“I realized how far my
interests, skills, etc. are away from the
ever-changing role of technology in
libraries.”

19. Organizational Change
How to engage in organizational change?
- Formative assessment, with (some) influence on job performance
• Supportive environment to „not know‟
- Iterative approach, never fully fleshed out
• Needs to be adjusted for any given group, environment, situation, etc.
- Re-skilling, reorganizing, retooling
- Operate within the strategic framework of the organization
• Embrace the changing landscape of professional librarianship
• New hires would have many of these skills

20. Why Does This All Matter?
• We‟re not alone in this process
• We need a vehicle
• We have something to offer
• We‟re going somewhere
• Let’s stay ahead of the wave!

21. Let‟s Discuss!