In our Managing Conflict with Colleagues and Patrons, you’ll gain the skills to approach conflict and challenging conversations with confidence. Over two weeks, discover foundational strategies for managing conflicts both within your team and with patrons. You’ll explore tenets of cultural humility regarding language, as well as de-escalation techniques and how to assess your own communication and conflict styles in order to bring self-awareness into all situations. This online course starts November 12.
Course Program
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET
Foundations of Conflict Management
Where do disagreements come from and how does it escalate? How can you stay prepared to address and de-escalate conflict? This opening session will dive into ways you can grow self-awareness and manage your own emotions as a first step to proactive conflict management and relationship building. You'll learn how communication and conflict styles, power dynamics, and cultural humility can impact difficult interactions. Leave this session with conflict resolution methods that will give you tips and tools to communicate with others directly, kindly, and confidently.
Session 2 | 3:00-4:15pm ET
Preparing for and Managing Difficult Patron Interactions
How do you maintain excellent customer service while dealing with a stressed out or disgruntled patron? And how do you manage these interactions while maintaining your personal boundaries? This session will focus on community and patron relationships and give you strategies to manage challenging interactions with the public. You will learn communication skills to help when initiating and responding in difficult conversations with the public, as well as simple, tangible tactics for de-escalating situations.
Workshop Explanation & Q&A | 4:15-4:30pm ET
An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Session 1 | 2:00-3:00 pm ET
Managing Challenging Interactions with Colleagues and Staff
How do you effectively work with resistant or challenging colleagues or staff members? What do you do if your direct supervisor or other leadership is creating challenges? How do you have difficult conversations at work? This week will focus on internal work relationships and teach you practical ways to have tough conversations, give and receive difficult feedback, and overcome or prevent grievances at work. We will also discuss ways to "manage up" and advocate for yourself or your team, including how to build or find support systems where you might not have them.
Break | 3:00-3:15 pm ET
Session 1, Continued | 3:15-4:15 pm ET
Managing Challenging Interactions with Colleagues and Staff
Workshop Explanation | 4:15-4:30pm ET
An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course
Fundamentals of Librarianship for Frontline Staff 2-Week Online Course + Workshop
Tuesdays, Oct. 1, 8 and 15
Have you seen our new online course Fundamentals of Librarianship for Frontline Staff starting October 1? This course is designed to equip library staff who don’t have an MLS degree with the essential knowledge and skills needed to fully understand the ‘how and why’ of library work.
Why take this course: This course will cover foundational topics such as universal library values, including intellectual freedom, information literacy, and privacy. We will also discuss the basics of collection development and weeding along with the fundamentals of library programs, services, and community engagement. Leave this course with a better understanding of the context, mission, values, and scope of libraries to apply to your everyday work.
Who should take this course: This course is geared toward frontline and other public-facing staff who did not go to library school.
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