ARC Professional Development Committee Annual Report 2009

This year’s Professional Development Committee members are:
· Debbie Bockus (Chair), Worcester Polytechnic Institute
· Margaret Cardello, Central Mass Regional Library Systems
· Linda Oldach, Mount Wachusett Community College
· Elizabeth Pope, American Antiquarian Society
· Lynne Riley, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
· Janice Wilbur, Assumption College
The committee met three times this year. In the fall, we created a wiki that lists websites that may be useful for professional development purposes. The categories are:
· Central MA Library Associations
· State Library Associations
· Regional Library Associations
· National Library Associations
· International Library Associations
· Special Associations
· Blogs, Wikis and more
· E-journals
· Listservs
· Websites
We also plan to add handouts from our spring workshops. Members of ARC may log in at https://arcpd.pbworks.com and request access. Once approved, they will be able to view and edit the wiki.
In January, the committee sent a survey using Zoomerang to query the members on topics for a spring workshop and preferred days and times. We received 50 responses. Based on their input, a half day combination of presentation and workshop was planned for May on wikis and del.icio.us. On May 13, 2009, WPI hosted “Getting Organized: Using Del.icio.us and Wikis to Organize Library Content.” Presenters were Pingsheng Chen, Electronic Reference Supervisor at Worcester Public Library, and Betsy Like, Educational Services Librarian at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
Both presenters gave background information for approximately 45 minutes on Del.icio.us (Ping) and Wikis (Betsy) and then an additional 45 minutes to an hour of hands on activities. Thirteen people attended and the program received high praise by all. The introductory session gave good examples of how libraries are using del.icio.us and wikis in their libraries from staff manuals to reference assistance. Participants enjoyed the chance to create their own accounts and practice with experts on hand to assist.
The committee enjoyed a very successful year!
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Bockus
Chair