Learning more about current and emerging topics in libraries: WebJunction

 For the past 10 years or so, I have been studying the impact of technological change on libraries.  While my focus has been on disruptions in technical services, I follow all aspects of change in libraries.  Electronic resources in libraries are an obvious example of disruptive technological change and the shift to linked-data appears to be an emerging disruption.  However, COVID seems to have brought on a whole new slate of disruptions for libraries ranging from how we think about and plan our physical spaces and collections and the ways in which we can offer new remote services.  These disruptions seem to touch practically every aspect of library work.

When I want to learn more about current issues in libraries that represent challenges, if not outright disruptions, I often turn to OCLC's WebJunction.  It seems to me that in the past I had to be working at a library that was a member of OCLC to view their webinars for free. However, whether or not that was once the case, their recorded webinars appear to now be free for everyone.  You can access them here:

https://www.webjunction.org/events/archives.html

WebJunction is another website to keep bookmarked or, if you prefer, you can set up an RSS feed to be notified of when new webinars are made available.

If you want to get more serious about updating your skills and knowledge in a particular area of library work, WebJunction also offers various streams of "courses" for which you can get a certificate of completion.  When I last checked into this service, you need to get a free account to take the courses and get the certificates.  To browse through the topics covered by their courses, have a look at the pages for WebJunction courses:

https://learn.webjunction.org/?_ga=2.241857730.1935648994.1602248352-115620825.1602038124


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