By Regan W. Harper
Librarians reading through BCR's new Workshop Schedule will notice that we are now
offering Web-based training in OCLC Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan services. Over
the next few months, BCR will make available nine Web-based workshops that give
library staff access to the same information available in many of BCR's hands-on
workshops.
The Web-based workshops are self-paced, stand-alone courses that allow you to fit the
training around your own schedule. All that is required to participate is a computer with
an Internet connection and browser (Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer),
a user name and password and time set aside so that you can give the workshop your full
attention.
The first workshop, "OCLC ILL: Beyond the Basics," went online May 1 and is
equivalent to BCR's all-day workshop of the same name. In June, six more workshops
will be made available on the Web: Authority Control Issues, OCLC Authority File,
OCLC Cataloging Online, OCLC Cataloging Micro Enhancer for Windows, OCLC
Passport for Windows and OCLC Passport Macros. In July, the remaining two
workshops, Interlibrary Loan Issues and OCLC ILL Micro Enhancer for Windows, will
be unveiled. All of the Web-based workshops are modeled after existing BCR
workshops, but they allow you to complete the class in your own workplace and at your
own pace. Each workshop guides the trainee through the subject matter and provides
many opportunities to e-mail questions to a BCR staff member.
Although the workshops are designed to be self-paced, participants and supervisors must
realize that time will need to be set aside to complete them. BCR recommends that
participants arrange a schedule that will allow them adequate time to complete a
workshop module uninterrupted, the same as trainees attending any conventional BCR
workshop.
Library staff interested in taking the workshops should register online at
www.bcr.org/workshop/ wkshp-gud.html. Registration is accepted the first three weeks
of each month. After registering, participants will receive a user name and password that
provide access to the workshop for the current month. The workshop must be completed
during that period. At the end of each workshop, participants complete a short online
quiz and evaluation form. BCR will issue training completion certificates when the quiz
and evaluation are returned to BCR. For more details about the online Web workshops,
see the new BCR workshop packet or check out the distance learning page on BCR's
Web site: www.bcr.org/workshop/web-based.html.
