“Writing for the Profession,” the first in a planned series of “Weekend Workshops,” is being offered by the Polish American Librarians Association in Chicago. To be led by PALA Executive Director Leonard Kniffel, the intensive writing workshop will concentrate on the practical writing that library professionals are routinely expected to produce: news releases, publicity, web content, blogs, reviews, and reports.
“Writing for the profession” is a condensed version of a summer course that has been offered at the University of Wisconsin/Madison. Location, dates, and content will be based on the needs of those who express interest in registering. Workshoppers will meet one day for an in-person session at a convenient location, date to be determined; writing assignments can then be completed online. Those who sign up will be encouraged to bring current projects or writing samples to be critiqued. The cost of workshop is $20, $10 for PALA members.
“This workshop was suggested at the PALA Annual Meeting & Career Development Day at Dominican University in February,” says Kniffel, who has been working as a PALA volunteer since 2012, “and we need to gauge interest before we move ahead. A lot of librarians are apprehensive about the amount of writing that is required of them in the course of their work, especially if English is their second language, and I will attempt to take the mystery out of it and demonstrate that there are simple skills and techniques that you can learn quickly to make your communication skills more effective.”
Leonard Kniffel is the former editor and publisher of American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association. He is the author of many professional articles and three books, including the memoir A Polish Son in the Motherland: An American’s Journey Home. He blogs at PolishSon.com. If you are interested, or think you might be interested, in participating in this low-cost continuing education opportunity, send an email message to lkniffel@sbcglobal.net indicating your location and preferred dates. The workshop could even be scheduled @ your library. A certificate of completion will be provided.
Visit www.palalib.org for more information about the Polish American Librarians Assocition. “You do not have to be Polish!”