Conducting Your Own LAM Workshop

One of the greatest values that emerged from the five LAM workshops RLG Programs conducted at partner sites was the synergy and excitement generated simply by having staff from so many units across campus in the same room for a day. Many had never had strategic discussions with each other before—some had never even met before.

The discussions elevated from the parochial concerns that are often the focus of meetings to institution-wide mission, objectives and opportunities. Blue-sky ideals constructively boiled down to reasonable chunks to bite off and ways to get started in working together.

We think some of the magic of the day-long meeting was fostered by having an external facilitator (we highly recommend Diane Zorich, e-mail dzorich at patmedia dot net). Another important component of the meeting is the sponsoring committee, comprised of one representative from a library, an archive and a museum. Before the meeting, these individuals determine the right mix of attendees; after the meeting, they take the lead in disseminating outcomes to the administration as well as staff for buy-in. Speaking of outcomes, it is essential to have someone record what bubbles up. However you chose to proceed, use the process as a framework and let the ideas flow.

Resources

• Sample agenda for a LAM Workshop day (.pdf: 22K/2 pp.)
• PowerPoint Presentation for a LAM Workshop (.ppt: 2,914K/19 pp.)