Library Assistants Meet At NNYLN For Spring Conference

Library Assistants from throughout the North Country held their Spring Conference on April 21, 2005 at the Northern New York Library Network in Potsdam. Three informative workshops were presented, along with time for the Assistants to share ideas from their libraries over lunch.

During the morning session, Tedra Cobb, the president of Tedra L. Cobb and Associates, presented a workshop on Setting Personal and Professional Goals. Attendees were asked to consider what a goal is, how to assess their needs and wants, why goals are important, what gets in the way of achieving our goals, and an 8-step approach to achieving goals. Tips for success included careful planning, writing it down, being prepared, getting buy- in from others involved, setting deadlines and staying focused.

Assistants attended one of two workshops in the afternoon. Joe Trombetta, Regional Manager for Kapco, demonstrated some hands-on work with book repair, showing Assistants how to add life to their paperback and hardcover books, and what to do when books are damaged.

Jerry Schell, of the North Country Library System, spoke about Safeguarding Your Personal Computer, discussing various types of security threats such as spoofing, spamming, snooping and tunneling. He explained how to recognize worms and viruses and how to avoid them.

Co-Chairs of the Northern New York Library Assistants, Tracey LaBarge and Dayna Cole, along with Bridget Doyle, planned the event using suggestions gathered from a survey of Northern New York Library Assistants. Following the conference, the Library Assistants Committee met. The next Assistants Workshop will be in November.

By Pat Wiley
Saranac Lake Free Library Assistant