Learning Services are always looking for innovative ways to increase engagement in staff development activities. We have a large and diverse team of staff and we are keen to ensure we provide opportunities for everyone to get involved and learn something new.

This year we celebrated national Learning at Work Week within our department. 198 places were booked on 20 different events over the week, and 65 members of staff engaged in our online course DigiQuest in the six weeks leading up to Learning at Work week itself.

Throughout Learning at Work week, we ran a fantastic and varied programme of events around the theme of ‘Curious and Creative‘. These included a session on Makerspaces in libraries, where staff explored technologies such as Raspberry Pi and Google Cardboard, a workshop on how to create a GIF from scratch and a session on using the more advanced features of Instagram. Staff also took part in a digital treasure hunt using the app Actionbound, learnt how to use their phones to create a stop motion animation, explored a virtual reality version of the plans for our new building, and discovered accessibility features on Apple devices.

Six weeks prior to the official Learning at Work week, we released our online course DigiQuest to Learning Services staff. The aim of this online course was to increase Learning Services’ staff confidence and skills in using a variety of digital skills for both personal and professional use. Staff took part in a variety of digital tasks over the six weeks and those who completed the course were placed in a draw to win a prize!

                  

The week ended with a collective break, where staff came together for a cup of tea and a biscuit, celebrated the prize winners of DigiQuest and joined in with our game to guess the merged faces of library staff!