About This Project
This page is part of a larger project focusing on how the Juneau Public Library, in Juneau, Alaska, provides digital literacy services to its community. This project is conducted as part of the course requirements of CIS 650 (Applying Diversity Leadership Theories & Praxis) course in Spring 2025. This project was developed with input from Juneau Public Library's Outreach Coordinator.
Douglas Branch Library
Strategic Action Plan
Given staffing and technology access limitations, the Juneau Public Library should continue to provide ICT training classes using their existing format, as they have no computer lab, providing technology training on Friday mornings before the library's 10:00 am opening time. The library's outreach coordinator plans to focus on digital library services as a starting point regarding training content, which provides the library with excellent exposure. However, based on the survey results, seniors 50 years and older are also interested in advanced technology applications that will enhance their quality of life. According to Geerts et al. (2024), investing time in providing motivational support (p. 7320) and helping senior class participants identify their personal ICT support network (p. 7325) should be part of the library's technology instructional planning.
Based on the research conducted for this project, the library's goals and objectives for ICT training should include the following:
• A curriculum outline, including dates and times of course offerings, for providing ICT training on existing digital library services through the library's current ICT training structure (Friday classes).
• A list of all possible ICT collaborative community partners, especially partners with a training lab that can be used for library ICT training.
• Branding of the library's ICT program, allowing for in-depth marketing to occur.
• A list of expanded ICT curriculum ideas, including coding classes, photo and video creation/editing classes, online application software training (Google Apps), social media and instant messaging use, phone and computer cybersecurity training, artificial intelligence use and applications, budgeting and financial investment classes, podcasting classes, maker and design software (Silhouette, Canva) classes, and specialty classes like CalTopo (Tomczyk & Edisherashivili (2024, p. 512).
• Develop an online technology training and support webpage on the library's website that features a calendar of the library's ICT class offerings and weblinks to online self-directed training options such as AARP's Virtual Community Center and Tech Life Unity (Bennett-Kapusniak, 2013, p. 217). This webpage should also feature technology training provided through the library's digital resources.
Projections
Senior citizens are either already active ITC users or depend on a proxy user (Geerts et. al. 2024, p. 7325), meaning there is a need to offer advanced technology training and to motivate senior citizens to use ICT, especially for social communication and access to social support in the digital economy (Tomczyk & Edisherashvili, 2024, p. 513). Juneau Public Library is just beginning to offer ICT training to its community and is currently focusing on using digital resources provided by the library. Given Juneau's adult population demographics, which indicate that there is a somewhat even distribution of the people in the differing adult age ranges of 2,000 to 3,000, it would be behoove the library to focus on providing ICT training to adults in general and move to seniors after their ICT program has been established for some time. The goals outlined in the strategic action plan can be applied to a general adult audience.
References
AARP. (n.d.). AARP Virtual Community Center. https://local.aarp.org/virtual-community-center/
Bennett-Kapusniak, R. (2013). Older Adults and the Public Library: The Impact of the Boomer Generation, Public Library Quarterly, 204-222, https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2013.818814
Geerts, N., Schirmer, W., Vercruyssen, A., Glorieux, I. (2024). Exploring Older Adults ICT Support: A Mismatch Between Needs and Provision. New Media & Society, 26(12), 7314-7330. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231166356
Tech Life Unity. (2025). Tech Life Unity - https://www.techlifeunity.com/
Tomczyk, Lukasz, & Edisherashvili, Natalia. (2024). Learning Objectives in Older Adult Digital Education - Redefining Digital Inclusion. International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering, and Education (IJCRSEE), 12(3), 507-520. https://doi.org/10.23947/2334-8496-2027-12-3-507-520