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I recently took the Sustainable Staff Development training course through SOLS where we learned approaches that can help us motivate our teams by fostering a culture of learning in our organizations. The biggest takeaway for me was that we can motivate and empower our staff by transitioning from a training-centred approach to learning into a learner-centred approach to learning. We went through a number of public libraries' M, V, and V statements, and parsed out the small changes that could be made that would encourage and reflect a growth mindset over a more traditional approach that espouses service provision as the dominant outcome.
I personally feel that the primary purpose of the public library is to provide opportunities for intellectual stimulation in a free, open, and politically-neutral environment. It should be a place where community members can gather and exchange thoughts and ideas, gain access to materials that provide educational and recreational opportunities, and be a space that provides shelter and comfort to those who need it.
No matter what time in history or the future, public libraries thrive when they are responsive to community needs, and continue to grow alongside the changes in society.

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Wow! As many of you have already said, there is s lot of literature out there on the topic of literature. It makes sense though; if you have leadership traits, you are more likely to be the type of perosn who would take a risk and share your thoughts through publication. Just another example of how leaders work to motivate and empower the people around them.
I would argue that all of these articles are reiterating the same basic quality that successful leaders possess: the ability to form meaningful relationships. There are a multitude of methods that one can use to achieve this outcome, including a lot of the buzzwords on leadership that I looked up and read about (transactional, transformational, conversational, servant, organizational, anthropological...), but it really seems to come down to understanding who you are as a leader, understanding who the people are that you are trying to lead, and understanding the motivations behind the strategic goals. When I think of the effective leaders I have observed over the years, the most successful ones seem to get that managing people is different than leading them.

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I have been (mostly) fortunate in my career to work with supervisors and managers who have taken the time to guide me in the ways in which public libraries work: the culture, the politics, the realities. My ideal mentor is someone who has a wealth of experience working in libraries (not just public) and out of libraries (maybe private, or board experience). I would like to have someone to bounce ideas off of who is receptive, intuitive, and understanding that I am still learning. I feel that I could really use the advice and knowledge of someone who is a strategic thinker, and can help me see the bigger picture of an organization. I am extrememly lucky to work in an environment currently where mentorship and succession planning is highly valued; my current manager takes the time to teach me things and answer all of my many question. She is exactly the kind of person I would choose to be a mentor.

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I have always thought of myself as a free-thinking, creative-type of learner, but after completing the assigned readings, I am more inclined to think that I need structure, and a "sequential" order to information in order to learn.

I struggle with online and distance learning models (this one included, sorry!), as I find them disjointed and difficult to navigate. It may be that I get lost in the medium of delivery and am unable to focus enough on the content being delivered.

I am an easily distracted person and tend to run through ideas quickly, so having information broken down into digestible pieces allows me to focus o,n and process what I am consuming. It also helps me fight back against procrastination when I feel like what I need to learn is overwhelming :)

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I have just celebrated my one-year anniversary as the Community Librarian with the Halton Hills Public Libary system. Loving it!

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I am the Marketing Chair and current Board Member with the Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games. This year's highlight: meeting Graham McTavish!

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I am the OLA Superconference co-planner representing OLITA for 2019 and 2020.

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I have two teenagers who make me very tired :) One plays high-level soccer, and the other is a self-described "nerd".

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In all my spare time (hahaha!!!) I love to make and sell scarves (is that weird?). Look for me at the Creative Spark Winter Market in Guelph on December 1st!