Webinar: Preparing for and Handling Materials Challenges with Barry Trott

With complaints about items in library collections on the rise, it is essential that all library staff are prepared to engage with users who are upset about something they have found in the library.

A clear understanding of how to speak with users who have complaints is an important part of keeping these situations from becoming a major problem. But there is more!

It is also crucial that all library staff understand why libraries build diverse collections and how the Library Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics form a foundation for the library's commitment to the freedom to read. In addition, it is critical that the library have documents and procedures in place about how complaints will be handled—before the complaint happens.

Join guest presenter Barry Trott, adult services consultant at the Library of Virginia, for an updated, engaging and informative exploration of the whys and hows of dealing with challenges to library materials.

In this webinar, you will take away:

• An understanding of the value of building diverse collections and how collection building is guided by the foundational documents of intellectual freedom
• An understanding of the importance of preparing for complaints before they arise, including building relationships, creating policies, and developing reconsideration forms
• Guidance on ways to handle complaints that can help de-escalate the situation
• Skills for listening and responding to user complaints
• Ways to educate library boards about the importance of intellectual freedom and their role in the process of dealing with complaints
•  Suggestions for how to handle media inquiries regarding materials complaints

Guest presenter Barry Trott is the adult services consultant at the Library of Virginia, where he helps public libraries across the Commonwealth plan and develop services for adult library users. He earned his MSLS from The Catholic University of America School of Library and Information Science in 1997 and then worked at the Williamsburg Regional Library for 24 years, starting off as a reference librarian and then as readers’ services librarian. In 2001, he became Adult Services Director, and in 2012 was appointed Digital Services Director, where he served until 2014 when he was appointed Director of Special Projects and Technical Services. Barry is past president of the American Library Association’s Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). Barry has presented programs at the American Library Association annual conference, the Public Library Association conference, and the Virginia Library Association conference and for library systems throughout the country. In 2007, he was awarded both the Public Library Association’s Allie Beth Martin Award and the ALA Reference and User Services Association’s Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award in recognition for his work in readers’ advisory services.
 

EVENT NOTES

Registration Details | Not sure you can make it to a live webinar? Register anyway, and we’ll send you a link to the recorded version when it is available. Registration is limited. Deadline for registration is seven days prior to the event. Webinar access information will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.

Recording | When you participate in a SCKLS webinar, a photographic, video or audio recording may occur. If you want your image or voice removed from the webinar recording, you must notify in writing SCKLS Training Specialist Katherine Hughes at least 24 hours in advance of the webinar. Absence of written notification grants SCKLS all rights to the webinar recording for educational purposes.