IMLS Expands Program To Help Libraries Help the Unemployed
WebJunction site draws on successful NC State Library program
Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 09/11/2009
- WebJunction training followed by regional workshops
- Online sharing, discussion of best practices
- Library role in workforce development publicized
Libraries have been hosting and helping the unemployed in their job search efforts during this most recent economic downturn. Now it’s the librarians’ turn to be trained to better serve their job-searching customers.
Building on the State Library of North Carolina’s (SLNC) Job Search Help Desk project, a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and administered via WebJunction will expand the program to library staffers nationally.
"We know that libraries are making important contributions to the nation's economic recovery, and IMLS is committed to helping those libraries help their communities get back to work," said IMLS director Anne-Imelda M. Radice.
Sharing best practices
The one-year initiative will involve collecting and sharing best practices for providing library-based services and programs to the unemployed. Components will include an online training module and a WebJunction destination where administrators can explore new ideas. All regional workshops and the online training module will be supported by follow-up programming.
Project goals, according to the partners, include the distribution of "services, programs, and partnerships to support the unemployed; greater capacity in state library agencies to support their local public libraries; and broader understanding and support outside the library field for the workforce development role that libraries have in responding to the crisis."
North Carolina’s example
"In North Carolina, we have established real collaborations in communities across the state between public libraries and local workforce development organizations, which together support job seekers in everything from basic computer skills to applying for jobs online," said Mary L. Boone, State Librarian of North Carolina.
Members of SLNC's staff who were instrumental in that state's program will be involved in the national project.
This past spring SLNC held a series of training seminars at nine locations, totaling 300 spaces. They focused on use of North Carolina’s statewide electronic database consortium NC LIVE, training in the use of EBSCO’s Career Library and Learning Express Library, and learning about print and online tools for skills such as resume writing, job searching, and interviewing.
Seminars included panels with various local and national work force development staffers and local employment service agencies.
