Small, rural libraries often struggle with limited staff development opportunities and geographic isolation from peer institutions. This presentation proposes an innovative, low-cost solution: organizing field trips to visit other libraries.
Our library closed on a local festival day and visited three diverse institutions – Cumberland County Library, Midlothian Public Library, and the Library of Virginia. Staff toured facilities, observed operations, and engaged directly with peers about programming, procedures, and space utilization. Post-visit discussions sparked conversations about possibilities for our own library.
Benefits include:
- Networking and relationship-building among geographically dispersed library workers
- Exposure to diverse operational models and innovative practices
- Team bonding in a low-pressure learning environment
- Direct knowledge transfer through peer conversations
- Enhanced interpersonal and communication skills
- Inspiration for adapting successful programs and policies
This session will provide a framework for planning library field trips, strategies for maximizing learning outcomes, and examples of changes implemented after our visits. Attendees will leave with practical tools to create meaningful professional development experiences without significant budget expenditures – perfect for resource-constrained libraries seeking creative solutions.
Presenters: Cindy Scheu, Library Director, and MaKayla Harvey, Youth Services Specialist, J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library, Appomattox, VA.
Upcoming NCompass Live shows:
- Sept. 9 – Beyond the PDF: Publishing Open Educational Resources with Pressbooks
- Sept. 9 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK
- Sept. 23 – E-rate 101: Just the Basics for 2027
- Sept. 30 – Pretty Sweet Tech
- Oct. 7 – Letters About Literature 2026
- Oct. 14 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK – ENJOY NLA/MPLA!
- Oct. 21 – Nebraska Celebration of Books 2026
- Oct. 28 – What Are We Doing With Our Homeschoolers?
To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.
The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
