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for OLA, 2016

Helping Job Seekers Expand Their Opportunities: Library Resources and Partnerships Jennifer Pedersen, Community Librarian Deschutes Public Library. for OLA, 2016. Source: Oregon Office of Economic Development. Recession Timeline:.

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for OLA, 2016

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  1. Helping Job Seekers Expand Their Opportunities: Library Resources and Partnerships Jennifer Pedersen, Community LibrarianDeschutes Public Library for OLA, 2016

  2. Source: Oregon Office of Economic Development

  3. Recession Timeline: • In 2009, the recession devastated Central Oregon’s main industry – construction and housing – which took down much of the local economy. • Our Board prioritized helping jobseekers. • Deschutes Public Library is a special tax district. Our funding comes from property taxes so our revenues shrank with the rest of the economy. • We had to leverage what resources we had -- both in the library and in the community. And this became our opportunity. • The recession really taught local organizations to work together rather than duplicating efforts.

  4. Technology Changes • At the same time, the process of finding and applying for work was moving completely online. • A large number of unemployed people who worked in non-technology jobs now had to learn technology to apply for jobs. Jobs where they wouldn't use technology. For example: • Janitors were now required to fill out a seven-tab online application for the local school district. • Construction workers had to apply online through a national website for Home Depot when before they could have just walked into the store and talked to the manager.

  5. Two-pronged approach To help jobseekers, we had to help at two levels: • Assistance learning technology in order to apply to jobs digitally. • Assistance with specific job seeking skills and techniques.

  6. Technology • In order to help jobseekers learn the technology skills they would need to apply for jobs digitally, we leveraged DPL’s resources: • Computer Classes • We already offered regular computer classes in basic skills from Computers for Beginners, to Word and Excel, to email and Craigslist. We also added a class on LinkedIn. • We used two subscription databases for those who couldn’t make classes or needed more advanced learning: • Learning Express Library – self-paced tutorials in the various operating systems and Microsoft Office programs. • Gale Courses – 6-week asynchronous teacher-moderated classes in the various operating systems and Microsoft Office programs.

  7. Technology Cont’d • GCFLearnFree.org and DigitalLearn.org also offer excellent, free online tutorials for beginners. • Open Computer Lab • The computer lab is weekly drop-in session for people with specific questions about computers, software or mobile devices. This became a solution for people needing help creating an email and/or filling out an online application. • We tried running Jobseekers-specific Computer Labs, but they never garnered a following so we discontinued them.

  8. Job Seeking – In House • Get a Job tip sheet • We saw a lot of people struggling with their job search in our public Internet computer area who would never come in to a class so we developed this tip sheet detailing things such as how to organize and store your work history; find local jobs; and referrals to local jobseekers resources. • Cypress Resume • We subscribed to this very easy to use resume building tool that became so popular our local partners began using it, as well. • Any resume-building tool is useful for customers who struggle with Word templates or online sites that charge for the service. There is a nice one in Learning Express Library, as well.

  9. Job Seeking -- Partners • The most important thing we did to help jobseekers was leverage the expertise of our community by partnering with those organizations whose main task is to help them.

  10. Job Seeking Help -- Partners • WorkSource: • We strengthened our partnership with our local WorkSource (unemployment) office by increasing communication (speaking at each other’s staff meetings), cross-training, and promoting and referring to each other’s resources and services. • WorkSource offers classes in such topics as basic technology skills, resumes, interviewing; one-on-one employment counseling and resume building; access to computers, phones and fax.

  11. Job Seeking Help -- Partners • Goodwill Job Connection: • Again, we strengthened our communication and sharing of each organization’s resources and services to make better referrals. • We created Jobs & Resumes workshops with our local Goodwill Job Connection offices. A librarian and a Goodwill career specialist share job searching tips resources and offer resume review sessions. • Goodwill Job Connection offers free one-on-one career counseling, referrals to local employers, resume help, interview coaching, and free access to computers, fax, and phones.

  12. Contact:

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