Here is a sampling of free online learning events for library staff this month.

June 2 (9:00-10:00 AM)
First Tuesday: Bullies in the Workplace
Designed as a continuing-education opportunity for all library staff in Washington State, this free web presentation on the first Tuesday of the month lets attendees share their skills and successes and learn about new topics. The June topic is Bullies in the Workplace. Bullies show up at places other than schools. Learn more about the ones that show up in the workplace on the June 2nd First Tuesday program Rand Simmons, Program Manager of Library Development at the Washington State Library will present the program.

No registration, instructions for joining the webinar here.

June 4 (9:00-10:00 AM)
Returning the Researcher to the Library: A Series in Four Parts (Library Journal Webinar)

Users’ expectations of information search changed dramatically in the wake of Google and continue to evolve. Some studies point to a slow, but steady disintermediation of the library from the research process. Yet, libraries have a powerful competitive advantage in the quality, breadth and authority of their content – an advantage recognized and valued by users, especially in the academic library. This four-part series explores how libraries are taking back their role as the starting point for research by focusing on the user experience and supporting it with innovative technology. The opening learning session in the series – Understanding the Next-Gen User – brings together Joan Lippincott and Alison Head, leaders in research on next-gen research habits, for an insightful exploration into the needs and expectations of students and how libraries can respond in ways they respect and understand.

June 9 (11:00-12:00 PM)
Data for a Downturn Economy (Library Journal Webinar)

Are you drowning in data found in your researching regarding today’s economy? Do you question its validity and relevancy? If so, join us for an informative discussion on how librarians can be part of the statistical literacy movement, how data and statistical resources are evaluated, and the types of information about data and statistics that one needs to know to provide assistance for their patrons.

June 10 (11:00-12:00 PM)
Technology Stewardship @ Your Library (WebJunction Webinar)

Join presenter Nancy White co-author of the forthcoming book Digital Habitats: Stewarding Technology for Communities, (with Etienne Wenger and John E. Smith) for this free webinar. Nancy is recognized internationally for her research exploring online communities today, and in her work as a technology steward, designer and builder of online interaction spaces. In this webinar, Nancy will focus on librarians as community technology stewards. She will offer practical steps for you to begin to understand your community, assess the technology needs of your community, and how to select, configure, and support the online technologies your community uses.

June 12 (9:00-10:00 AM or 1:00-2:00 PM)
Grants writing for digital initiatives (BCR)

Many libraries and museums are looking for ways to enhance support of their digital program. With federal stimulus funds finding their way into state and federal programs, may offer new opportunities for funding digital initiatives. This Free Friday Forum “Grant writing for digital initiatives,” provides an overview on federal grant programs, helpful hints for developing grants and registering for Grants.gov.

June 16 (11:00-12:00PM)
Consider the Source: The Integrated Library System Marketplace (Library Journal Webinar)

When it comes to selecting an Integrated Library System (ILS), there are many factors to be considered with respect to both commercial and open source solutions. Customer support, third party integration, consortia concerns, underlying platform, and institutional stability are key parts of the equation. More than ever, libraries must consider the source of the software applications that keep all library resources accessible, manageable, and affordable, with the ILS at the center of its operations.

June 16 (11:00 AM-12:00 PM)
Social Learning with Libraries (WebJunction Webinar)

For the past six years, library staff have been using tools at WebJunction.org to connect with each other and build new skills for their work in libraries. Meanwhile, the dramatic growth of web-based technology has changed patron expectations of libraries, which means library staff have new needs as well. Join Chrystie Hill, community director at WebJunction, as she describes how WebJunction.org has evolved alongside these trends, to become an integrated `learning community’ that’s open, affordable, and always on. Chrystie will also present broader trends in learning and training, demonstrate how our members are using online tools to support their staff or their own professional development, and discuss with you how to shape the future of staff training and library services.

June 19 (10:00-11:00 AM)
ALA Connections Salon: The Future, with Special Guest Joe Janes, Assoc. Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington (OPAL)

Join us for an informal conversation about the future of ALA, libraries, and librarianship.

June 24 (12:00-1:00 PM)
Genetics Home Reference, Toxtown, Household Products, Toxmap, Hazmap, Toxnet (National Library of Medicine)

Genetics Home Reference, Toxtown, Household Products, Toxmap, Hazmap, Toxnet. The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region is presenting a new series of online classes. Once a month in 2009, liaisons will present information and exercises on various databases from the National Library of Medicine in an hour-long web conference. All classes are free and no registration is required. You will simply need 1) a computer with Internet access and 2) a phone (the system will call you – free of charge).

June 30 (11:00 AM-12:00 PM)
Bringing Web 2.0 into Academic Libraries (WebJunction Webinar)

When the goal is to be “where they are, when they need us,” what does that require at a university library in 2009? As students, staff and faculty move their lives online, university libraries must choose whether to move with them or get left behind. But where is the value in a university library when Google is the new ready reference desk and the libraries’ resources are increasingly digitized? How does a library remain relevant in a socially networked academic world? From their perspective as, respectively, virtual reference and e-learning librarians, Amanda Clay Powers (Mississippi State Univ. Libraries) and Ellen Hampton (Baylor Univ. Libraries) will discuss how libraries can readjust and move their most important resources online-their people. By using social networks and other web-based technologies, libraries can become a value-added member of their community- both online and in person. By using these new tools, librarians can once again hover by their reference stacks with an offer to help that’s just a click away.

All of the registration links to these CE events are on the WSL Training Calendar.

DISCLAIMER: The State Library regularly highlights third-party events and online resources as a way to alert the library community to training and resource opportunities.  By doing so, we are not endorsing the content of the event, nor promoting any specific product, but merely providing this information as an FYI to librarians who must then decide what is right for them.