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G2S Project Code: 2018-NV-81831
State: Nevada
Fiscal Year: 2018
Grantee
Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records

Project Director
Director Name: Sulin Jones
Director Phone: 775-684-3340
Director Email: sulinjones@admin.nv.gov
General Information
Title: Statewide Continuing Education
State Project Code: 18-09
Start Date: 10/01/2017
End Date: 09/30/2019
Abstract: The Continuing Education (CE) project supports the professional development of Nevada’s public, academic, special, and school library staff, volunteers, and trustees. All libraries support and advance lifelong learning opportunities for their stakeholders; in order to be fully prepared for this overarching community education mission, library staff themselves need to have access to professional development opportunities. The Nevada State Library has undertaken to provide professional development and promote national best practices for 21st Century librarian-ship through a number of avenues, including offering microgrants to trainings and conferences; procuring prepaid real time and asynchronous online course seats; providing support to the annual Nevada Library Association conference; hosting webinars on statewide initiatives, and grantwriting; implementing the Virtual Reality Emerging Technology Early Adopter Program (ETEAP)/Libraries=Education program, and creating a comprehensive curriculum to train Nevada library trustees. 


New for this year: an LSTA funded CE consultant was hired in January 2019, thereby more than doubling our institutional capacity and allowing for both a broader and deeper reach. The CE Consultant provided general CE guidance as well as in-depth consultation on Nevada’s statewide Extended Reality (XR) and Workforce Development projects.



State Goal: Goal 4: Build capacity of libraries to meet evolving information access needs.
Budget Information
LSTA
MATCH-State
MATCH-Other
Total
$87,868.98
$0.00
$0.00
$87,868.98
Intent(s)
Improve the library workforce.
Continuing Education and Staff Development
Activities
Activity Details
Title: Nevada Library Association Annual Conference Support
Narrative: The Nevada Library Association holds the largest professional development conference in the
state with a different region hosting each year. The conference consists of workshops, keynote speakers, breakout sessions, business meetings, networking opportunities, professional recognition, and exposure to industry services and products. It is attended by librarians
and library paraprofessionals from all regions of the state and across many types of libraries, including public, academic, and school. The conference also provides opportunities for trustees and other library stakeholders to learn about trends and best practices in the field. The workshops, keynote addresses, and breakout sessions provide the tools to help librarians and all attendees implement these programs and best practices in their libraries and communities.

The 2018 conference took place in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada on October 13 & 14. Diversity and inclusion were the main themes of the conference. To that effect, the main outcomes for participants attending the keynote speakers and breakout sessions included learning about creating inclusive environments for diverse populations including Refugees, Latinx, 

LGBTQIA+, and the disability communities. 


NLA session comments: 

"This keynote was remarkable. As someone who represents many minorities, I want to be a better conspirator and feel that I can actively work on this in my life and in my profession. Thank you for this!!!" - Keynote: How to be an Ally

"All of these programs are wonderful and I am so happy to be a librarian in Nevada during this time." - Embracing the Future

"What an important and necessary presentation. I'm going back to my library next week with the mindset of being more mindful of how I serve people with visible and non-visible disabilities. Also reminds me that I need to be more of an advocate and ally of this community in my personal work." - The Disability Community in the Library: A Social Justice Perspective

"I'm very excited to have learned about this project and continue to follow it! Very excited to see/hear the interviews." - Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada


Notes on the Participant Survey: Surveys were provided at each conference session. C
onference attendees provided feedback about the survey being a bit confusing and marking "strongly disagree" when they meant to mark "strongly agree."




Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: In-person


Quantity
Session length (minutes): 60
Number of sessions in program: 41
Average number in attendance per session: 30
Number of times program administered: 1


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 21
Academic Libraries: 9
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 1
Special Libraries: 16
School Libraries: 17
Other: 0
Question 1: I learned something by participating in this library activity.
Strongly Agree: 368
Agree: 187
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 10
Disagree: 2
Strongly Disagree: 26
Non-Response: 9
Question 2: I feel more confident about what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 278
Agree: 247
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 51
Disagree: 3
Strongly Disagree: 23
Non-Response: 0
Question 3: I intend to apply what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 296
Agree: 217
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 56
Disagree: 2
Strongly Disagree: 24
Non-Response: 7
Question 4: Applying what I learned will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 342
Agree: 189
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 42
Disagree: 3
Strongly Disagree: 22
Non-Response: 4
Activity Details
Title: NSLAPR Staff Professional Development
Narrative: Library Planning and Devlopment Staff as well as the new State Librarian attended 4 conferences to help shape understanding and build internal capacity to improve our consultation/mentoring relationships with the library community. The State Data Coordinator attended the Research Institute for Public Libraries (RIPL) Regional which examined the meaningful use of data through case studies and visualizations; the LSTA coordinator and Deputy State Librarian attended the annual Library Technology Conference (and presented the Nevada Libraries = Education Virtual Reality initiative); the State Librarian attended the LSTA All State Convening to better understand the federal LSTA program; and the Deputy State Librarian attended an XR Libraries Education/STEAM/Common Core all day workshop. 
Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Other
Format: In-person
Other: professional development conferences


Quantity


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records
Address: 100 North Stewart Street
City: Carson City
State: NV
Zip: 89701
Activity Details
Title: LSTA Webinars for Subgrantees
Narrative: NSLAPR staff conducted a series of grant writing webinars for the 2018 grant cycle. The intent was to make sure libraries who wished to participate in the LSTA subgrant program understood the entire process, from proposal to application to the final reports. Topics covered included outcomes, lessons learned, retention schedules, reimbursement requests, budget categories, the framework for final reporting, and the required surveys.


Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: Virtual


Quantity
Session length (minutes): 60
Number of sessions in program: 4
Average number in attendance per session: 10
Number of times program administered: 1


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records
Address: 100 North Stewart Street
City: Carson City
State: NV
Zip: 89701
Question 1: I learned something by participating in this library activity.
Strongly Agree: 16
Agree: 12
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: I feel more confident about what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 15
Agree: 13
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 3: I intend to apply what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 19
Agree: 6
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 2
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 1
Question 4: Applying what I learned will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 16
Agree: 9
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 2
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 1
Activity Details
Title: Online Professional Development Classes
Narrative: Nevada State Library professional development classes addressed Nevada’s geographic and library under-staffing challenges by providing “training at a distance” opportunities for our library workforce.  Although NSLAPR was able to expand its CE opportunities by hiring a dedicated CE Consultant, we still felt it was in the best interests of our library community to continue state level support of WebJunction and to supplement our trainings with prepurchased course seats from InfoPeople and Library Juice Academy (both leaders in the online library professional development field).

Online seats/courses topics (a sampling): digital preservation, primary source pedagogy, digital humanities, intro to XML, institutional racism, project management, cataloging, metadata, communication, public speaking, learning spaces, collection development, homelessness, ethics.

Professional Development Classes Summary
40 Library Juice courses (4-6 weeks, 18 hrs each=720 hours), 
10 Infopeople courses (4-6 weeks, 18 hours each=180); 
223 WebJunction webinars and courses (223 hours); 


Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: Combined in-person & virtual


Quantity
Session length (minutes): 60
Number of sessions in program: 273
Average number in attendance per session: 1
Number of times program administered: 1


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records
Address: 100 North Stewart Street
City: Carson City
State: NV
Zip: 89701
Question 1: I learned something by participating in this library activity.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: I feel more confident about what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 3: I intend to apply what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 4: Applying what I learned will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Activity Details
Title: Emerging Technology Early Adopter Program (ETEAP)/NV XR Libraries Training
Narrative: The CE Consultant was involved in managing phase 2 of Nevada's Emerging Technology Early Adopter Program (ETEAP), a program designed and deployed to help librarians develop basic skills and knowledge to create virtual reality programs. Participating librarians have advanced their own curiosity about, and interest in, virtual, augmented and mixed reality as a learning platform. The cohort understands the vital role of immersive education to the continued relevance of libraries in an increasingly digital world. The project included providing access to a curated XR collection and tech support for the equipment and smooth software functionality. 
The project included providing access to a curated XR collection and tech support for the equipment and smooth software functionality.  A series of professional development activities included one day long in person training wherein 100% of the participants (32) say they learned something from the training and 96% feel confident about using what they learned. 12 webinars were also held during this period for pilot member libraries. 
All day workshop: In August 2019, 32 library professionals were engaged at the Nevada State Library in Carson City with the tech team from XR Libraries.  Instruction focused on the legislative action that made the program possible (Nevada SB 549) and discussion about LSTA program requirements relative to data collection and LSTA Nevada goals was made clear. Expectations of the program and interlibrary partnerships were also addressed. 
Hands-on set-up with XR included how to troubleshoot, how to get help, how to put patrons into XR and how to offer the best interactive XR experience for patrons was demonstrated from 4 different VR set ups within the training space. FAQs from patrons surrounding what worked/did not in California libraries was explored.  Further how to build a sustainable program focused on what the plan should look like in relationship to target audiences and patrons. Instruction about setting realistic expectations and troubleshooting formulated roundtable brainstorming. Promoting and marketing the XR experience and pilot programs were discussed. The Nevada State Library developed promo materials for the member libraries and shared how-to promote tips through media, social media, posters, etc. A series of hands on opportunities to put "fake patrons" into the VR headset proved very worthwhile. 
The day long training concluded with instructions about keeping track of metrics and checking in with the Nevada State Library via weekly check-ins, how they relate to wider the collective program, what our final report will look like concluded the training. 
Twelve webinars from July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 continued engagement and instruction on the following topics: intro to the ETEAP program; first demonstrations about the tools; introduction into STEM content; describing the California pilot program as an example; update in the Nevada pilot; special needs outcomes; beginning success stories in Nevada; using Google forms; learning the Oculus Go; visually impaired uses; presence and learning.

Training comments: Patrons should enjoy interactive 3D learning more than a standard stationary book; Libraries are finally on the cutting-edge instead of trying to catch up; The content offers potential opportunities for programs to tie into education, science, biology and art; I believe this will introduce more technology into the country and will pave the way for the introduction of more technology in libraries; I imagine this will be very entertaining and can help (especially lower income patrons) develop greater digital literacy.

Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: Combined in-person & virtual


Quantity
Session length (minutes): 13
Number of sessions in program: 60
Average number in attendance per session: 11
Number of times program administered: 1


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Carson City Library
Address: 900 North Roop St.
City: Carson City
State: NV
Zip: 89701
Name: Churchill County Library
Address: 553 S. Maine St.
City: Fallon
State: NV
Zip: 89406
Name: Churchill County School District
Address: 1222 S. Taylor St.
City: Fallon
State: NV
Zip: 89406
Name: Douglas County Public Library
Address: 1625 Library Lane
City: Minden
State: NV
Zip: 89423
Name: Elko-Lander-Eureka County Library System
Address: 720 Court St.
City: Elko
State: NV
Zip: 89801
Name: Henderson District Public Libraries
Address: 280 S. Green Valley Pkwy
City: Henderson
State: NV
Zip: 89012
Name: Humboldt County Library
Address: 85 East 5th St.
City: Winnemucca
State: NV
Zip: 89445
Name: Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
Address: 7060 W. Windmill Ln.
City: Las Vegas
State: NV
Zip: 89113
Name: Lyon County Library
Address: 20 Nevin Way
City: Yerington
State: NV
Zip: 89447
Name: Mineral County Library
Address: 110 1st St.
City: Hawthorne
State: NV
Zip: 89415
Name: Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records
Address: 100 North Stewart Street
City: Carson City
State: NV
Zip: 89701
Name: North Las Vegas Library District
Address: 2250 Las Vegas Blvd. North
City: North Las Vegas
State: NV
Zip: 89030
Name: Pershing County School District
Address: 1150 Elmhurst Ave.
City: Lovelock
State: NV
Zip: 89419
Name: Tonopah Library District
Address: 167 S. Central St.
City: Tonopah
State: NV
Zip: 89049
Name: Washoe County Library
Address: 301 S. Center St.
City: Reno
State: NV
Zip: 89501
Question 1: I learned something by participating in this library activity.
Strongly Agree: 32
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: I feel more confident about what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 30
Agree: 2
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 3: I intend to apply what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 32
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 4: Applying what I learned will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 32
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Activity Details
Title: Emerging Technology Early Adopter Program (ETEAP) Virtual Reality Content
Narrative: Virtual Reality content places the user inside the virtual environment to give an immersive experience. Through this project NV XR Libraries have access to content and training through a curated resource portal, XR Learn. The content collection is a curated collection of vr educational experiences, selected by experts and made accessible through the portal.  It provides easy digital access to material. It discusses the role of 93 “community-embedded” librarians-in-training to develop contextually situated collections in a graduate course taught seven times in an information sciences program in a southern land grant university. Findings of collection management activity tasks completed during the course provide evidence of accrued tangible outcomes/benefits to motivate collection development librarians and their information agencies collaborate with librarians-in-training in future initiatives. Content acquired for this CE Activity: 16 VR systems, 22 educational titles, 1 database (Lifeliqe), 16 posters, and 30 lesson plans

VR program stats: Nevada librarians assisted at least 1,603 patrons into virtual reality across 15 libraries. Overall, the public’s response to the emerging technology was extremely positive, with over 90% of patrons reporting learning something, feeling confident about what they’ve learned, and likely to attend similar library programs or use other library services or resources. 

ETEAP/VR pilot stories: 

For one student at Churchill County High School, virtual reality has made an enormous real-world difference. Logan, an 18-year old student with autism, has been working with his speech pathologist, Justin Worthy, to use immersive XR programs to improve communication, articulation, and reading skills. When Justin first introduced XR to Logan he noticed a difference right away. “When he’s in the program, you get an instant response,” Worthy said. “It was amazing to me to see the difference.” When immersed in XR, it is much easier for Logan to answer questions successfully and speak in full sentences, and he is very curious about the world around him.  The improvement doesn’t stop when the headset comes off. Logan continues to show increased articulation in the real world, which helps at his part-time jobs after school. At home, Logan’s parents see improvement in his communication and are thrilled to see him so engaged with a subject. The value of XR for students with special needs was an unforeseen benefit of the Nevada XR Libraries project, and we are looking forward to continuing this work with other students who may benefit. 


 
Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Content
Mode: Acquisition
Format: Digital


Quantity
Number of hardware acquired: 16
Number of software acquired: 22
Number of licensed databases acquired: 1
Number of print materials (books & government documents) acquired: 16
Number of electronic materials acquired: 30
Number of audio/visual units (audio discs, talking books, other recordings) acquired: 0


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 21
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 17
Other: 0
Question 1: I am satisfied that the resource is meeting library needs.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: Applying the resource will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:
NSLAPR's goal is to ensure the library workforce has simple and accessible paths to continuous learning, which will equip them with the proper tools to be adaptable and well rounded, to understand and embrace evolving technologies, and be prepared to meet the needs of their constantly changing community landscapes. While it's difficult to measure learning outcomes from these CE courses in terms of job performance and effectiveness, our intent is that this CE support will provide a foundation for Nevada library staff to make choices, have options, and fully take ownership of their future career trajectories. Professional Development offerings address local, state, and national best practices for 21st Century librarianship and ensure competencies that are core to the field.
Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:
The State Library is facilitating the development of 21st century skills for all Nevadans by encouraging the adoption of extended reality (XR) in an anytime/anywhere learning space like the local library. By empowering teachers to integrate this technology into their classroom, we are ensuring that Nevada’s students have equal access to the technology necessary to keep pace in the current and future knowledge economy. Extended reality offers students the opportunity to see themselves in a future STEM career, which is impactful for all Nevadans, especially those too often underserved. Thanks to the Nevada Legislature-approved Senate Bill 549, a small portion from these state funds became seed money for a pilot program aimed at placing educational extended reality technology in libraries. Further leveraging SB 549, the Nevada State Library assembled a group of partners—such as Califa, XR Libraries and Lifeliqe—to assist in the implementation of Nevada XR Libraries. With help from these and local libraries, we were able to bring Nevada’s first extended reality program into being.
Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:
It is due to the commitment of our partners that the ETEAP initiative is succeeding beyond our most optimistic hopes. The key lesson learned is to get started with those who can tolerate ambiguity and value impactful teaching opportunities.
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort in managing this project:
Yes
Explain:
Thanks to the generosity of the Nevada Legislature, we have secured additional funding to ensure the longevity of the Nevada XR Libraries project and the Libraries=Education component through June 30, 2021. In the next two years, we intend to: 1) Continue the Libraries=Education program and find new ways to collaborate with teachers to integrate educational XR content into formal learning groups. 2) Bring additional libraries into the Nevada XR Libraries program. There is also a dedicated effort to bring XR equipment to rural Nevada’s bookmobiles. 3) Expand the technology and expertise available to participating Nevada XR libraries by adding 360 video technology and training. 4) Send additional VR equipment, Oculus Go devices, to each library as a supplement to the 360 video technology
Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
No
Explain:

Was an evaluation conducted for this project:
No
Was a final written evaluation report produced:
No
Can the final written evaluation report be shared publicly on the IMLS website:
No
Was the evaluation conducted by project staff (either SLAA or local library) or by a third-party evaluator:
Third-Party
What data collection tools were used for any report outcomes and outputs:
Did you collect any media for the data:
What types of methods were used to analyze collected data:
Other:
How were participants (or items) selected:
What type of research design did you use to compare the value for any reported output or outcome:
Exemplary: No
Exemplary Narrative
Project Tags: