Continuing Education Opportunities

Diversity Forum 2007: Continuing the Dialog!

LTLS will be hosting a free statewide diversity forum to be held in Springfield, IL.  More details coming soon!

This workshop is provided by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library (ISL), a Division of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), under the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

Illinois State Library Diversity Program Training
Illinois State Library Diversity Program is offering Empowering Library Staff to Meet the Needs of the Spanish Speaking Community.  To learn more about ISL Diversity Program training please visit CLeO.

Previous CE Events

In FY2007, LTLS hosted a free statewide diversity forum at the Hawthorn Suites, 1 Lyon Court, Bloomington, IL on March 27, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The focus of the forum was "Walking the Talk" and how to become a more inclusive organization.

In FY2006, Lincoln Trail Libraries System, in conjunction with Lewis and Clark Library System, Rolling Prairie Library System, and Shawnee Library System, presented a series of continuing education opportunities centered around the topic of diversity.

Diversity Forum: Libraries and Communities Building Bridges: An Inter-Cultural Dialogue was held at the Effingham Hilton Garden Inn on April 24, 2006--This one-day event was designed to help librarians gain better understanding of diversity and share experiences and stories that strengthen ties. Speakers and panelists discussed community-wide topics such as tolerance and library specific issues such as collection development.  The key note speaker for this event was Rajmohan Ghandi click here to hear his presentation. 

Cultural Competency Workshops: On April 1, 2006 Tracie Hall presented Library Service to Diverse Community. This hands on session was designed to help participants improve cross-cultural communication. It provided attendees with rich materials for discussion and thought-provoking exercises, with the ultimate goal of gaining a better understanding of how to interact with diverse populations.

Poverty Simulator: Two Poverty Simulator sessions were facilitated by the University Of Illinois Extension staff. The first session was held on March 29, 2006 at Urbana Free Library and the second on May 19, 2006 at Jefferson County University of Illinois Extension Office in Mount Vernon. The goal of this program is to increase participants' awareness of the differences in economic cultures and how these differences hinder a person's ability to enjoy what others take for granted.

Basic Spanish for Librarians:  Courses were offered at the three participating systems: Lewis and Clark, Rolling Prairie and Shawnee. This 15 hour course was extremely well recieved. It was designed with library staff in mind, helping participants learn Spanish words and phrases to enhance communication with Spanish-speaking patrons.