INTRODUCTORY WEBINAR
JULY 21, 2010
INTRODUCTION: SUZANNE FLINT
SLIDE 2: Welcome. I’m Suzanne Flint and I’m one of the principal architects of this Fellowship along
with my colleague Stephen Ristau. We’ve been assisted by a dynamic team of co-collaborators including
Analisa Svehaug who will also be a part of this webinar today. But many individuals with a vast array of
experience and skills will be participating in this Fellowship throughout the coming year as faculty,
facilitators and local mentors. We’re delighted to finally welcome you all to this Fellowship community.
In today’s webinar the three of us, Stephen, Analisa and myself, will be providing both practical
information about the Fellowship, its requirements and various activities over the coming year, as well as
some of the theoretical background information that is the rationale for this Fellowship.
We plan to cover all of our content points in approximately an hour, allotting the remaining time for
questions and answers to ensure that you all have sufficient time to clarify any issues that you may have.
Please post your questions as they occur to you, however, in the Q&A box in the lower right-hand corner
of your screen. We’ll gather them over the course of the webinar and respond to them all at the end. If
for any reason you have a question that does not get addressed, please don’t hesitate to contact (either by
phone or email) either myself or Stephen at any time after the webinar. Our downloadable handouts
contain all of our contact information and relevant URLS.
SLIDE 3: Let’s briefly review our agenda for today: I’m going to start us off with some background
about the Fellowship and an overview of our learning goals. Then Stephen will help us explore some of
the foundational concepts about aging and longevity that serve as the theoretical basis for this Fellowship.
Then we’re going to tag team the overview of the Fellowship structure itself. Analisa will start us off
with look at our social media strategy and Ning community, I’ll walk you through the activities we’d like
you to undertake between now and the Portland institute, Stephen will cover the Portland Institute while
I’ll provide an overview to the online learning courses that will take place following the institute. We’ll
conclude with Stephen and a brief summary of the Fellowship survey and evaluation process. Then we’ll
respond to all your questions.
SLIDE 4: To give you some context for how this Fellowship came to be, I’d like to provide some
background.
• From 2006-2009 a national initiative was undertaken by Libraries for the Future in which selected
library leaders from around the country where brought together to consider new ideas for library
service to older adults, based on what the latest research was revealing about the changing nature
of aging. From this initial endeavor, other efforts began to take shape led by State Libraries in
Arizona, Connecticut and North Carolina as well by some individual libraries in other US
communities. This then led in 2007 to a
• Statewide initiative spearheaded by the California State Library in which 88 librarians from 44
libraries were trained, 30 libraries went on to undertake community assessments, and of these, the
State Library funded 24 grants of up to $20,000 each. The State Library recognized the
importance of the work being undertaken by these early adopting libraries and continued their
investment in this initiative by helping to disseminate the lessons learned from these targeted
grants. The results of which now form much of the content on our Transforming Life After 50
website. The California statewide experience than led to a
• Regional initiative (2010-2011) designed by a collaborative partnership between the California
State Library, Idaho Commission for Libraries, and Oregon and Washington State Libraries that
resulted in this IMLS Fellowship opportunity. And now you are joining us – and we look forward
to your contributions and learning together in the coming year.
SLIDE 5: Our goals for this Fellowship are few but far reaching. Primarily, we want to inspire
• library innovation in serving and engaging the growing population of adults, ages 50+, and
• we believe that in the process we can transform libraries – helping to ensure that they remain
valued, relevant community resources well into the 22nd century – places and spaces that nurture
human connection and creativity, not just for midlife adults but for everyone. A lofty goal but one
we’ve already begun to see some evidence of.
SLIDE 6: Now here’s what we’ve gleaned from the pre-surveys regarding your own goals for this
Fellowship. With slight variations it seems that most everyone wants to learn how to



better serve your communities and the midlife adults, ages 50+ within them
you want to learn how to ensure community appreciation for your libraries, and
how to nurture your own professional development, gaining confidence, as one respondent framed
it, “to try, to fail, and to try again”
We believe our goals and yours are well aligned. We also believe, though, that the world is shifting, that
constant change is the norm. Traditional responses to this new paradigm will not suffice. The time is ripe
for unique responses to our respective goals.
Any entity that has a large number of users, substantial uncertainty, and potential for improvement is ripe
for transformation. Certainly libraries qualify as just such entities and we think it’s time to not just tweak
libraries but reshape them. The changing nature of longevity provides one inroad to this kind of
innovative transformation. If we can learn how to smartly make small moves we believe we can create big
shifts.
SLIDE 7: One reason we believe this transformation is possible now more than ever before is because :
• Individuals are increasingly reshaping institutions, rather than vice versa and this is a future trend
many predict to be long lasting
• But to take advantage of this cultural shift, transforming our libraries will also require
transforming ourselves. What does that mean for you?
• It means identifying your passion, what about this extended adult life-stage is most
intriguing to you?
• It means learning how to leverage – how to connect with others and mobilize resources
that already exist,
• It means finding a pace that enables you to be agile, and
• It means being willing to risk and try new things.
All of which will make it possible to more quickly move in response to change and opportunity.
SLIDE 8: We’ve designed this year as a true Fellowship in which we believe, YOU, as adults and as
Fellows:
• Are self-directed
• Have life experiences and knowledge worth contributing
• Are goal-oriented
• Are relevancy-oriented and
• Are practical
As leaders/facilitators, we believe our role is to:
• Create a conducive and stimulating learning environment
• Provide access to knowledgeable thought leaders and practitioners
• Keep barriers to your participation low
• Provide feedback and facilitation
• Offer inspiration and point to practical examples
SLIDE 9: For us, Fellowship means:
 An open exchange of information, ideas, and questions between peers – Fellows and Faculty alike.
• It means working together in pursuit of knowledge creation, not just knowledge sharing
• It will entail skill building
• Practical applications are its ultimate purpose
• Interactive participation – sharing your knowledge, asking questions, joining in conversations,
mentoring each other, and trying new things is essential.
Bottom line, we’ll be providing lots of stimulating content but ultimately you’ll get out what you put in.
SLIDE 10: What we hope is that we’re building a community and that you’re joining this
• community of library innovators, not just as learners but as leaders.
• As we embark on this coming year we invite you to imagine…really imagine what libraries could
look like and challenge conventional assumptions about what is required for success and
• We ask that you bring your passion and creativity!
This year will require that we all venture into arenas where there are few defined road maps, where risks
arise at nearly every turn, and where we’ll need to learn to trust and rely on each other and on people that
we do not yet even know. We believe the rewards, however, will be well worth it.
Now let me turn it over to Stephen who will explore what we now know about the changing nature of
aging and what the new longevity can mean for libraries.
LONGEVITY- STEPHEN RISTAU
SLIDE 11
Foundational Concepts: How Aging Is Changing
Hi everyone. It has been so exciting to help build this Fellowship and I want to welcome you all to this
year-long professional learning experience. You, your libraries and the communities you serve are the
reasons we created the Fellowship, and I look forward to working more closely with you all.
What are the Foundational Concepts About Aging?
Americans are living longer than ever before.
In 1900, life expectancy at birth was 47 years; in 2000 life expectancy at birth was 77 years. Over the 20th
century, the population of adults age 65 and over grew from 3 million to 35 million or 12% of the
population. During the same time period, the oldest-old population (those age 85 and over) grew from just
over 100,000 in 1900 to 4.2 million in 2000.
This growth trend will continue over the coming 20 years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the size
of the 65+ population in 2030 will grow another 70%; it is projected to be twice as large as the 65+
population in 2000, and it will represent nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. population. Additionally, it is
projected that the population age 85 and over will grow from 4.2 million in 2000 to nearly 21 million by
2050. And for those of you who are fascinated as I am with the centenarians among us, those who are 100
years old and older, it is estimated that by 2050 nearly 1 out of 5 (20%) older adults will live to the age of
100.
One of the foundational concepts underpinning the Transforming Life After 50 initiative is that due to
expended life spans, we are seeing a new life stage being formed. Much like the stage of adolescence that
was “created” due to longer life spans earlier in the 20th century to mark the extended period between
childhood and adulthood, we are now seeing a new life stage that some have called an “extended middle
age”- about 30 years added to the middle of one’s life, not the end.
Improvements in health status, healthier lifestyles that include a balance of work, learning and play
infused with a sense of meaning and purpose, and advancements in medical technologies are credited with
these trends towards longer lives. Longevity is going to transform our culture and the big question is
whether on individual, organizational and societal levels- are we ready for it? During the Fellowship, you
will be introduced to a number of national leaders on longevity, health and aging, including Dr. Laura
Carstensen, the Director of the Stanford University Center on Longevity, and Dr. Paul Nussbaum,
neuropsychologist and brain health expert who will help you understand the opportunities and challenges
of living longer lives and the implications for your libraries and communities.
And just a final word about communities. While we may emphasize particular subgroups of the aging
population, like the Baby Boomers, we believe that these trends towards longevity really mean that we
will have more generations that make up our communities. For the first time, it will be commonplace to
have 3 generations of “older adults” (adults 50+) living at the same time. This presents unique challenges
and opportunities. It also means our language and definitions of “old,” “older adults,” “aging” and
“retirement” must change as well so that we do not fall prey to outdated concepts and expectations. We
live in communities of multiple generations and must seek to engage, promote and sustain communities
for all ages.
SLIDE 12
Blue Zones - Keys to Longevity
Many of you are familiar with Dan Buettner and his popular bestseller Blue Zones. According to Buettner,
“the best science says our bodies are designed to live about 90 years, a little more for women and a little
less for men. And yet our current average life expectancy is about 12 years less.” He teamed up with
National Geographic and hired the world's best longevity researchers to identify pockets around the world
where people are living MEASURABLY better lives. In these Blue Zones, they found people who reach
age 100 at rates 10 times greater than in the United States, where people suffer a fraction of the rate of
heart disease and cancer than we do and where people are getting the extra 10 years that we're missing.
These are the lifestyle characteristics that they posit as the keys to longevity:
• Move Naturally – Find natural ways to move in your home, community and workplace. Focus on
activities you love, like gardening, walking and playing with your family.
• Right Outlook – Know and be able to articulate your sense of purpose, and ensure your day is
punctuated with periods of calm. Pray, meditate, reflect slow down and do inward. The two most
dangerous years of your life are the year you are born, because of infant mortality, and the year
you retire. People in the Blue Zone study have a sense of purpose and that adds about 7 years to
their life expectancy.
• Eat Wisely – Instead of groping from fad diet to fad diets, use time-honored strategies for eating
20% less at meals. Plant-based diets, avoid meat and processed food and drink a couple of glasses
of wine daily.
• Belong to the Right Tribe – Surround yourself with the right people, make the effort to connect
or reconnect with your faith practices and put loved ones first. The foundation of all this is how
they connect- they put family first, take care of their children and their aging parents. They all tend
to belong to a faith-based group which adds between 4- 14 years to your life expectancy if you
practice at least 4 times a month.
“Blue Zone” people add more years to their life and more life to their years.
SLIDE 13
Who are the Baby Boomers?
GI Generation
1905-25
50,000,000
Silent Generation
1926-45
35,000,000
Baby Boomers
1946-64
78,000,000
Generation X
1965-82
65,000,000
Millennials
1983-02
80,000,000
Much of the projected aging in our population is being fueled by the baby boomers, the 78 million of us
born between 1946 and 1964 who are now between the ages of 45- 64. The baby boomers are referred to
in many positive and some negative terms but what everyone recognizes is the sheer size of the
generation, what demographers refer to as the “pig through the python.”
SLIDE 14
One out of every three adults in America is a Baby Boomer.
To give you a sense of the Baby Boomer cohort size, one of every three adults in the US is a boomer.
Every 8 seconds another adult turns 50.
In many communities, boomers represent 25-30% of the entire community population although you will
each have to assess that in your own community. In the workplace, boomers are often the largest group of
employees- again- all of which come with unique implications for employers, employees and future
workforce trends.
In looking over the roster of Fellows, over 50% of you were born in the Baby Boomer years.
SLIDE 15
Boomer General Characteristics
Compared to previous generations, this cohort generally:
• Is living longer and healthier lives
They are the first generation to have these bonus years (30 years or more) added to the middle of
their life
• Have greater affluence with more options for work, learning, and leisure
Boomers currently possess ¾ of nation’s financial assets plus estimated $1trillion in annual
disposable income, yet 44% those 55-59 fearful of not having sufficient resources to live beyond
age 85 (SOURCE: “When I’m 64: How Boomers Will Change Health Care ”, American Hospital
Association, May 2007). According to some national reports, 25 million boomers have less that
$1,000 in their net lifetime assets. Whether by choice or necessity, the majority of boomers
approaching traditional retirement age report they plan to work well into their 60s and beyond
(recareer, volunteer service, encore career)
• Better educated, skills, and knowledge
Because they enjoyed more educational opportunities and attainment than previous generations,
boomers seek opportunities to learn and contribute
• Higher expectations
The Boomers are optimistic and have high expectations- they are characterized by their capacity to
experiment and evolve. Boomers look for activities that are meaningful and seek to make a
difference. Because they have often “led the charge” (and are currently hold many leadership
positions at work and in their community), they like to be “in charge.” At each life stage this
generation has reshaped traditions; as they age, the Boomers will reshape aging, work and
retirement, and lifelong learning.
But these are generalizations and it is important to recognize how diverse the boomer cohort is.
Boomers are not a monolithic group so it important to understand who the boomers are in your
community, which segments you wish to target and how you will tailor your engagement
strategies to connect with them. Through this Fellowship, we will inform and guide your steps in
this regard.
SLIDE 16
The “target” demographic?
While the target for much of the consumer products industry is on a younger demographic, Boomer
Consumer author Matt Thornhill insists that it is the 50+ demographic that will grow the most (by some
23% ) over the next 7 years and deserves our attention. This is another reason that we have titled this
initiative “Transforming Life After 50.”
SLIDE 17
A New Life Stage: Not Your (Grand) Parents Retirement
So, to review, why is this important? Due to increased longevity, boomers and the generations that follow
will “enjoy” 30 years added to the middle years of their lives (the 50+ years). This is uncharted territory
for boomers and for our society so we will be inventing as we go. As landmark cultural institutions,
public libraries must be part of the response to these trends and rethink how we will serve and engage
midlife adults 50+.
The media has been all over this phenomenon and we will be encouraging you to scan how your local
media and the national media have covered this issue. Some like this late 1990s NY Times Magazine
cover were on it early (“Funny, we don’t feel old”) …
SLIDE 18
70 is the New 50
…while you can hardly go a day without reading a cartoon or an advertising slogan like “70 is the new
50”
SLIDE 19
Optimizing Health
We’ve talked about the Blue Zones study and the keys to longevity…here are two other researchers, Paul
Nussbaum at the University of Pittsburgh and Marci Lachman at Brandeis University talking about the
keys to healthy lifestyles. Dr. Nussbaum will be with us in Portland and will convince you that public
libraries are excellently positioned to be brain health centers in your communities!
SLIDE 20
Spirituality and Aging
In all of these studies, having and practicing a “spiritual” life by whatever definition you use for that term
seems to add years to your life. Further, many lifespan development theorists, including Erik Erikson,
suggest that it is during the last two stages of life that one’s orientation becomes more “other-oriented.”
One’s view at age 50 and beyond, perhaps due to recognizing our own inevitable mortality, seems to shift
to thinking more about what we are leaving for the generations that follow. A similar “identity” crisis to
the one we had in adolescence emerges that focuses on what our legacy, our life work, will stand for.
Midlife adults 50+ and older adults become more interested in the purpose of their life, and perhaps, in
what their life wisdom is to be passed on. Bob Atchley, the author of Spirituality and Aging will also join
us in Portland and share more about these dynamics and how libraries can help adults 50 and older
navigate these life transitions.
Speaking of “generativity” and “giving back,” we would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the
significant care-giving role that boomers and older adults are playing in their care of their own aging
parents and their grandchildren. I posted Jonathan Rauch’s personal account of care-giving on the Ning
blog from Atlantic Monthly titled “Letting Go of My Father” that you may want to read. Most of us have
experienced the responsibility and stress of caring for a parent. As a group, Boomers provide a substantial
amount of caregiving:
 >70% have at least one living parent
 25 million live with an aging parent
 13 million provide parental caregiving
Again, public libraries are in the forefront of community institutions providing tools, resources and
support to people in these care-giving roles.
SLIDE 21
New Options for Life After 50
As we have said, this extended period of midlife affords people with the opportunity and perhaps the
necessity to seek new options for work, learning and service well into the traditional retirement years.
Unlike the old model, that emphasized learning in the childhood and early adult years, work in the adult
years, and leisure in the retirement years, the new model going forward will require flexible options for
lifelong, work, service and learning.
SLIDE 22
Spectrum of Social Purpose Work
In his books, Prime Time: How Baby Boomers will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America,
and Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life Civic Ventures founder Mark
Freedman has called for a new continuum of work options in the social sector. These include
opportunities to re-train, re-career into public and nonprofit service, and find meaningful service projects
in which to use their skills and make a difference. We will have a panel of national leaders in Portland to
walk through this new continuum of work after 50 and provide examples of promising models.
SLIDE 23
Implications
 Boomers consider themselves in early “middle age,” feel younger than they are, and are innerdirected. Don’t treat them like they are old or “seniors.”
 Knowing their age doesn’t tell you their life stage. Take age out of your thinking
 They have a myriad of life styles, talents, interests and needs. Not “one size fits all” programs and
strategies
 Midlife adults 50+ are optimistic, driven, transformational- they want leadership opportunities
where thy can put their skills to work. Rethink your volunteer and talent engagement strategies
SLIDE 24
Library TLA50 Innovation
As Suzanne has mentioned, this Fellowship has been build on the groundwork of the national Lifelong
Access Leadership project and the TLA50 initiative in California. The recently published book Boomers
and Beyond: Reconsidering the Role of Libraries was co-edited by Diantha Schull, the architect of the
national initiative and includes essays from a number of the folks I have mentioned today including yours
truly. We are planning to get you a copy of this resource and will distribute at the Institute.
The TLA50 initiative spawned library innovation in the following areas:
○ What new partners and new partnerships, including those with midlife adults 50+, might be
established as you transform life after 50 in your community?
○ What programs and engagement strategies might you employ?
○ How do you brand your initiative and how do you promote it? What new social media do
you use?
○ How do you use the physical and virtual spaces of the library? How is library as place
used?
○ How does this position your library in the community as a leader addressing this issue?
How does it expand your outreach to an important population segment in your community?
SLIDE 25
California Responses
These are a few examples of the TLA50 projects that the 24 funded libraries carried out in California.
There is more information about all the projects at the www.transforminglifeafter50.org website and we
will be adding links, tools, and examples of their work in the coming months.
Analisa is now going to show you where these examples of library innovation are found as well as our
other social media sites that you will be suing during the Fellowship.
SOCIAL MEDIA: ANALISA SVEHAUG
SLIDE 26
Demonstrate TLA50 website
Demonstrate Social Media links including:

Our Ning Community
- What is it?
Ning allows us to create our own private community online, a place to collect and share information about
the Transforming Life After 50 project. Features like blogs, forums, media sharing, groups and more offer
the possibility for many different kinds of conversation.
We have invited libraries to share their experiences and lessons learned from TLA50. This is also a place
for you- IMLS Fellows- to talk to each other about your experiences throughout the online learning
courses and beyond.
- How to use it?
Stay tuned for the live demo
- Hub of online presence.
We use other social networks outside of Ning, partially to spread our message but also to provide a place
for you to practice using social networks, if necessary. They are also another place for you to share info
and examples.
 Other Networks
Now I will briefly explain the difference between each network:
Facebook- A huge network= a huge audience. Great place for libraries to share info, connect with
patrons, promote events and programs, connect with other libraries and community partners. Facebook is
special because the potential for "viral" sharing is great. Your library could utilize this network to
effectively spread the word about work you are doing in your community.
Twitter- A network designed around short real time conversations. Some ideas for how to use Twitter:
Live chat with librarians? Monitor conversations about your library? Contests and updates about your
library?
YouTube- We have collected relevant videos, and projects from TLA50 Libraries. Also great for sharing
video tutorials (how to use Facebook, for example)
My Live Demo:
- How to access your page and move things around, post status, bio
- How to change email notifications
- How to access private group
- Social Media Survey
- Use the forum vs blog
- Michele's forum post: how to join this conversation
- Upcoming stuff
FELLOWSHIP OVERVIEW AND PRE-INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES- SUZANNE FLINT
Thanks Stephen and Analisa. You’ve given us a lot to think about. And for those of you in attendance,
remember to post your questions, we’ll be getting to them shortly.
SLIDE 27: Now that you’ve heard some of the theoretical background, let’s turn our attention to the
actual Fellowship and what the year ahead holds. Here’s the broad overview of activities and timelines in
which you will need to participate in order to fulfill the Fellowship requirements:
•
•
•
•
•
Attend or watch the archived version of today’s webinar
Do the pre-institute activities which we’ll review in a moment
Attend the Portland Institute
Participate in the 6 online learning courses
Fellowship concludes
July 21 – Aug 13
July 22 – Sept 14
Sept 15 – Sept 17
Sept 28 – May 9
June 2011
For now, we invite you to continue exploring our Ning community and “meet” your other colleagues, as
several of you have already begun to do. Guest contributors will also be joining us from time to time in
the Ning and we’ll be posting all updates and activities related to the Fellowship in the Ning’s private
Fellows group. Because we want to build a community, we will be relying less and less on emails and
more and more on communicating as a group in Ning.
SLIDE 28: Besides interacting in Ning, we have a few activities we’d like you to undertake between now
and the institute, nothing too complicated or onerous but activities that we think will be important
foundationally for the coming year. Complete instructions have been posted on the Ning in the private
Fellows group and so we’ll just review them briefly here:
• There are two required activities
 First, simply create an introductory PowerPoint slide for the institute, customizing the
provided template and emailing it to me by 9/3, and
 Second, have intentional but informal conversations with various stakeholders utilizing the
Intentional Conversations Exercise before, during and after the institute; you’ll discuss your
experiences with this activity as part of your first online course following the institute which
begins September 28th. We believe that this exercise can provide an important key to your
eventual success as you move from theory to implementation.
Then we ask that you select
• At least one 1 elective activity and complete it by the institute. You can:
1. Scan: Your local media for stories about the changes in aging and midlife; or
2. Read: one of three MetLife Research articles, or
3. Watch: CNBC Brokaw Report: Boomer$
Instructions and links for all these activities have been posted on the Ning Fellows group.
Now, back to Stephen to walk us through the institute…
INSTITUTE- STEPHEN RISTAU
SLIDE 29
PORTLAND INSTITUTE
• Starts September 15 at 2pm
• Ends September 17 at 4pm
The Institute program will start at 2pm with registration opening around 1pm at the hotel and will end
at 4pm on Friday. We ask that all of you make every effort to be on time and stay through 4pm on
Friday. We will provide all meals from dinner Wednesday through lunch Friday with the exception of
Thursday night’s dinner which is on your own.
All of you have enrolled in the Fellowship at this point and, in doing so, have reserved a room at the
Doubletree for the nights of September 15 and 16- that is, all except those of you who are local and
will not need a room. Some of you have discovered that your travel plans will require either an extra
night stay on the front end (September 14) or the back end (September 17) and we have approved that
as a Fellowship expense. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT YET MADE YOUR TRAVEL
ARRANGEMENTS TO PORTLAND, WE URGE YOU TO DO SO IMMEDIATELY AND TO LET
US KNOW BY JULY 30 IF YOU WILL NEED AN EXTRA NIGHT AT THE HOTEL. This is
especially important for those of you who will need a room on the night before the Institute starts
(September 14) as the hotel is fully booked. Do not attempt to contact the hotel directly unless you
desire to stay for extra nights for your own personal use. Contact Wendy Cao (caow@plsinfo.org) with
whom you have already corresponded or Suzanne or me if your transportation plans require an extra
night’s stay.
• On-time culture
We have a packed agenda and will rely on each of you to do your best to help us start and stop on
time.
• Welcome Committee
Local members of the advisory committee have been planning to make your visit to Portland
enjoyable. Information and options will be posted in August on the NING Private Fellows group
including information about the airport, light rail (MAX) transportation, restaurants, and local sites of
interest. Among the plans underway is to provide a tour of the Multnomah County Downtown Library
on Wednesday morning before the Institute starts for any of you who may arrive early and are
interested. (Marion Scichilone started a ning conversation about this interest just this week). We will
also provide restaurant options for Thursday night’s open dinner including the option to sign up for
small group dinners in the area with other Fellows.
• Cutting-edge theory and practice
We have assembled a faculty of thought leaders in aging, health, economics and finance, and work
and service as well as library leaders who have been innovating in TLA50 approaches. We have
attempted to blend content presentations with examples of innovative practice from the field and will
provide Fellows with time during the 3 days to talk with each other and begin to apply what you are
learning to your own library and community. The on-line courses that follow the Institute will further
that “real-life” application when you return to your communities.
• Futures Lab (prepare to walk 20 blocks)
On Friday morning (September 17) of the Institute, futurist Michele Bowman will facilitate a Future
Lab that includes a walking tour of about 20 blocks around the hotel. You will be asked to work with
a small team of Fellows on this walk. Please bring comfortable shoes and be prepared for inclement
weather (most Portlanders believe that September is the best weather month but you never know!) If
you are unable to participate in such an exercise, please contact me or Suzanne so that we can
accommodate your needs.
• Agenda available online
The specific agenda will be posted in August on the NING Private Fellows group.
• Questions/information - contact Stephen Ristau
And now, let me turn it back to Suzanne who will talk with you about the on-line learning component of
the Fellowship.
ONLINE LEARNING_ SUZANNE FLINT
SLIDE 30: Following the institute, the online learning component of the Fellowship begins. It will
consist of six three-week courses, on core curriculum topics, delivered via the Moodle online
classroom. Each three-week course will be followed by a two-week interval so that you have the time
to digest new concepts, explore practical applications, or catch up as needed. Although largely selfpaced, each course will include a webinar that is an opportunity to interact with the faculty and with your
Fellowship colleagues in real time.
The dates, topics and faculty are as follows:
 09/28 to 10/18: Strategic Facilitation – Mary Jane Naquin






11/02 to 11/22: Community Assessment – Cindy Mediavilla
December 2010: BREAK
01/04 to 01/24: Partnerships & Collaborations – Stephen Ristau
02/08 to 02/28: Volunteer Engagement – Carla Lehn
03/15 to 04/04: Evaluating Results – Cindy Mediavilla
04/19 to 05/09: Engaged Programming and Social Media Strategies – Jane Salisbury and
Analisa Svehaug
At the Portland Institute, you will be able to meet all the faculty, hear more about each of the courses, and
become familiar with the Moodle online classroom.
We have designed this online curriculum to build on the Fellowship concepts explored at the institute.
The curriculum will be of greatest value to you as you begin discovering, designing, and implementing
innovative ideas in your own library. In addition to theoretical knowledge, the online courses provide
opportunities to put skills into practice with the support and mentoring of the Fellowship faculty and each
other. The online courses, along with the Ning, will help you problem solve, brainstorm and innovate
together.
And now, last but not least, Stephen will review the Fellowship surveys that you’ll be asked to take over
the coming year.
SURVEYS & EVALUATION- STEPHEN RISTAU
SLIDE 31
Independent Evaluator
Joanne Marshall, School of Information and Library Science, UNC Chapel Hill
marshall@ils.unc.edu
• Pre-Survey
• Interim Survey
• Final Survey
June 15-July 7, 2010
Sept 22-Oct. 6, 2010
May 11-May 25, 2011
Over the course of this Fellowship you will be asked to complete three surveys. You have already
completed the first survey. You will not be asked to identify yourself by name in the surveys because we
want you to feel free to respond openly and honestly. However, it is important for our outside evaluator to
be able to track your responses over time so that she can measure the effectiveness of our training.
To achieve this objective, each Fellow has been assigned a "unique Fellowship Number" -- a number that
you will enter each time you take a survey. The number has been provided in your letter of acceptance. If
your number is lost or misplaced, you can obtain it by contacting Stephen Ristau as noted below.
By entering the same number on each survey, the evaluator will be able to track how a respondent's
thoughts and understanding of the Fellowship content have evolved over time without revealing the
specific identity of the respondent. Please complete the surveys using your unique Fellowship Number
whether or not you wish to have your three surveys linked. If you indicate that you do not wish to have
your surveys linked, your responses will not be included in that portion of the evaluation report that
discusses the linked responses. The evaluator will be combining all of the responses that are received,
both linked and unlinked, to provide a general overview of the project results. No individual identifying
information will be reported for any of the Fellows.
CONCLUSION – SUZANNE FLINT
SLIDE 32: So that concludes our main content areas. We know we’ve covered a lot of information today.
Going forward the Fellowship will be less about pushing information to you and more about our
interacting and dialoguing together. So thanks for YOUR attention and now we’d like to turn OUR
attention to your questions and comments, and begin the conversation!
SLIDE 33: READ EACH QUESTION ALOUD BEFORE ANSWERING
CLOSE WITH SLIDE 34.