Distance Learning Opportunities for Library Staff
Opportunities for library staff to learn via a distance
are increasing. Distance learning offerings in the library field range
from short-term professional development and continuing education courses
and workshops to long-term programs of study. This page attempts to serve
as a good foundation for information on distance learning opportunities
geared toward library staff but is by no means comprehensive. In addition,
the Texas State Library and Archives Commission provides this list as
an information resource only and cannot vouch for program quality. Some
opportunities are free while others are fee-based. If you have
updates or additions, please send
them to Library Development.
Professional Development
/ Continuing Education for Library Staff Via Distance Learning
The Texas State Library offers numerous continuing education and professional
development opportunities free of charge to Texas library staff through
the use of various distance learning technologies. Texas library staff
are urged to visit the Library Development Division's
Continuing Education page to see if the Texas State Library has contracted
with any commercial providers to offer these programs free of charge.
The Library Development Continuing Education Web page will also provide
information on distance learning opportunities created by the Texas State
Library (look out for more online courses created by the Texas State Library
in the coming year!). Other continuing education and/or professional development
opportunities for library staff are listed below, categorized by their
distance learning delivery format.
Online Learning Opportunities
/ Content Providers
- American
Library Association Distance Learning -- fee-based online workshops
- AMIGOS - Learning
@ Amigos.org: fee-based; self-paced and live online workshops on
a variety of topics
- Association
for Library Service to Children -- fee-based online workshops
- Association
of College and Research Libraries: fee-based; in-depth online seminars
and live webcasts for academic librarians
- Association
for Library Collections & Technical Services: fee-based; in-depth
online workshops on such topics as collection development and resource
acquisitions
- Bibliographical
Center for Research: free and fee-based workshops pertaining to
OCLC, Internet, Web design, cataloging and ILL topics
- Five Weeks to a Social
Library: free online course devoted to teaching librarians about
social software and how to use it in their libraries
- Idaho State Library - Alternative
Basic Library Education (ABLE): free online tutorials on basic library
skills
- Idaho State Library - Supplemental
Alternative Basic Library Education (SABLE): free online tutorials
on topics that are supplemental to basic library skills
- Illinois
State Library - Plinkit Video Tutorials: free Plinkit video tutorials
walk you through various Plinkit tasks
- InfoPeople
- Archived Webcasts and Webinars: free archived Webcasts and Webinars
on a variety of library topics; courtesy of the training arm of the
California State Library
- InfoPeople - Online
Workshops: fee-based online workshops presented by the training
arm of the California State Library
- InfoSpeak
Interviews with Library Leaders: listen to free audio podcasts by
leaders in the library field
- Kovacs Consulting:
primarily fee-based, in-depth online workshops on a wide variety of
library topics
- LEAD - Lifelong Education @ Desktop:
fee-based, two-hour continuing education courses on a wide variety of
topics taught by subject matter experts
- Learning 2.0: the
original "23 Things" program on Web 2.0, this program is available
for duplication by any library under the Creative Commons License
- Librarian
Live Podcasts: a series of free podcasts covering topics of interest
to the library community; produced in partnership by the North Texas
Regional Library System, the New Mexico State Library, the Alamo Area
Library System, and the Central Texas Library System
- Library
of Congress Professional Development Self-serve Workshops: free
online modules on a variety of topics including search skills, primary
sources, basic technology
- Library
of Congress Webcasts: free Webcasts on topics of interest to librarians
and archivists
- LibraryU: free online
courses for library staff and patrons created by the Illinois Library
Systems and the Illinois State Library
- LISRadio: free
interactive Webcasts from the School of Information Science and Learning
Technologies at the University of Missouri-Columbia
- MaintainIT Webinars:
free monthly Webinars geared toward public computing in libraries
- Medical
Library Association: primarily fee-based; includes a list of web-based
courses currently offered and approved for MLA CE contact hours
- National Library
of Medicine Distance Education Program Resources: free short tutorials
on various medical library resources such as PubMed and MedlinePLUS
- Nylink Educational
Services: fee-based online workshops and webinars on a variety of
topics; Nylink provides educational opportunities to New York State
librarians and beyond
- OCLC:
online opportunities from OCLC, partners, and regional service providers
- Ohio Library Council:
free self-paced online modules cover topics such as new staff orientation
for public libraries, basic reference and library marketing
- OPAL: an international collaborative
effort by libraries of all types to provide free web-based programs
and training for library users and library staff members; administered
by the Alliance Library System, the mid-Illinois Talking Book Center
and the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service
- PALINET
Technology Podcasts: free podcasts of interviews with technology
leaders in the library field; most of the recordings are about 20 minutes
in length
- PBS Teacherline
of Texas: fee-based online courses for Texas teachers; some courses
may appeal to school librarians
- Professional
Learning Centre: fee-based online courses from the Faculty of Information
Studies, University of Toronto, Canada
- Public
Library Association - eLearning at PLA: fee-based, in-depth online
courses for public library staff
- Raab Associates
Webinars: fee-based Webinars related to children's and family library
programming; geared toward school and public librarians
- Reference
and User Services Association: fee-based online courses related
to reference and user services
- Shaping Outcomes: fee-based
online course on outcome based evaluation; cost is per participant OR
working group; offered by Indiana University School of Library and Information
Science in partnership with the Insitute of Museum and Library Services
- Simmons
College Graduate School of Library and Information Science: offers
fee-based online workshops on a variety of topics with an emphasis on
new technology and young adult topics
- SirsiDynix Institute:
free live online seminars by library industry leaders on timely topics;
also features free archive of past seminars
- Special
Library Association - 2007 Click U Live!: fee-based, live and archived
online seminars aimed at staff in the special library sector
- State Library of Ohio - eLearning Center:
although these free online modules are geared toward Ohio library staff,
they may prove useful to non-Ohioans
- TechSoup: free technology-related
information, resources and support for non-profits and libraries --
don't miss the Learning
Center, the free
online seminars and the free
toolkits
- TechSoup Online
Seminars: free online seminars for libraries and non-profits
- University of Maryland
- College of Information Studies Professional Development Online Courses:
fee-based continuing education online courses taught by University of
Maryland faculty
- University
of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science:
fee-based continuing education online courses taught by UNC faculty
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
School of Library and Information Studies Continuing Education Services:
fee-based online continuing education courses
- Webjunction Courses:
fee-based online courses from Webjunction and other providers
- WebJunction Webinars:
free online seminars presented by library leaders and experts in real-time
on a variety of library-related topics -- check the archive of past
Webinars to view programs you may have missed
- Young
Adult Library Services Association Online Courses: fee-based online
courses for those in the library field who serve young adults
Satellite Teleconference
Opportunities / Program Providers
Videoconference Opportunities
/ Directories of interest
Degree Programs in the field of Library
and Information Science via Distance Education
These programs offer individual courses, certification programs
or degrees via distance and are based in Texas.
The American Library Association maintains a searchable directory
of accredited library programs -- many offering distance education programs.
Click on the link below to access the entry point for the directory, click
on "search the directory" and limit your search based on specific
distance education formats:
ALA
Accredited LIS Program Directory
Training and Education on Distance Learning
These entities provide training on the use of one or more distance learning
technologies. Some of these entities provide training from a distance
while others may provide live, in-person training.
In addition, there is a list
of certificate programs in distance learning that is maintained by
the University of Wisconsin's Distance Education Clearinghouse.
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