About The Staff (of one)

The Hollywood Version:

Baldgeekinmd is the Technical Trainer at a Public Library in North Eastern Maryland.  My job is to help our staff use new and existing tools and technologies to provide superlative customer service.

I also help our state libraries use technology to move library service into the future with an eye on customer value and service.

I host the podcast T is for Training at http://tisfortraining.wordpress.com and I write for the American Library Association’s LearnRT blog ALALearning.

This year, I was named Citizens for Maryland Libraries Davis McCarn Award winner and I was inducted into the 2010 class of Library Journal Movers and Shakers.

When not at my day job or podcasting, I provide digital consulting, training and life management services.

Present and Past Projects:

This year (2010) I have presented at the 2010 Computers In Libraries conference a presentation entitled Training In The Cloud (with Bobbi Newman)  and am scheduled to pinch hit for a colleague at an ALA preconference titled: Beyond Face-to-Face New Methods of Staff Training

Last year (2009)  I presented at the Maryland Library Association’s 2009 conference, Maryland Educational Enterprise Consortium and led sessions at the 2009 Pres4Lib Conference in Princeton, NJ.  In addition, I have been named a Library Society of the World Shover and Maker (well, I named myself.)

In 2008,  I was fortunate to design and deliver technology training for Minnesota’s  Library Associate Training Program; Maryland Statewide Staff Development meetings, the 2008 Computers In Libraries pre and regular conference, 2008 Maryland Library Association Conference, a WebJunction webminar,  and the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System Staff Development Day.  In addition,  I co-created and produced the  Learning 2.1 program for the state of Maryland,  delivered some statewide synchronous trainings; and was part of the team that redesigned the state library information website, MERLIN.

More about the Learning 2.1 program:

I  (along with another state staff dev person) created the Statewide follow-up to Learning 2.0 called Learning 2.1.  We had staff go into greater depth about the 10 tools we focused on and used Learning 2.0 tools (comments and wikis) to deepen the conversation about newer tools.

Where I work:

Harford County (MD) Public Library is an innovative, forward thinking mid-sized library system in Northeastern Maryland with a circulation of almost 5 million volumes of books, DVD’s, games, puzzles, and developmental toys, puzzles and games (Our Learning and Sharing Collection) circulated per year through eleven service branches (four with drive-thru circ windows) and two service vehicles. I have worked for HCPL for the last eight years and co-chaired our Learning 2.0 project kick off Technology Fair in 2007.

Somewhat longer yet shortish biography:

Baldgeekinmd is currently the Technical Trainer at Harford County (MD) Public Library located in the North Eastern corner of Maryland. My job is to help our staff use new and existing tools and technologies to provide superlative customer service; to provide group and individual training in a variety of areas to library staff; and to foster communication between geeks and non-geeks.  Over the last 15 years he has trained people of all ages on technology in the real world, software, organizational development, fundraising, community organizing and presentation skills.

He has presented at National, State and Regional conferences on technology and community development issues;  designed and delivered Library Associate Training in Minnesota,  co-created and produced the Learning 2.1 program for the state of Maryland and co-created one of the first library “Technology Petting Zoo’s”

Present projects include delivering in-house trainings, conference and other presentations, organizing/hosting a podcast about training called T is for Training and he somewhat actively blogs at The Chronicles of the (almost) Bald Technology Trainer.  You can follow daily “what’s going on” at my via twitter or friendfeed.

My Informal Resume:

I have been training folks on real world technology, software, organizational development, fundraising, community organizing and presentation skills for over 15 years.

While in living in New York City, I worked for two organizations, the Citizens Committee for New York City and PASA/IT4U, (gone the way of the dodo) and consulted for a number of other organizations.

I designed the first Citizens Committee for New York City website in truly hand crafted HTML. There is also a link to the old PASA and IT4U DYCD Training sites here on the Internet Archive’s Way Back Machine. (VERY COOL SITE!)

My first computer I became familiar with was the Commodore Pet in high school in Brooklyn, New York. I used one of the first generation of Macs in college. Later, the Headstart III, which came with approximately 20 pounds of documentation. I now primarily train on Windows-based machines and programs, with a serious man-crush on open source software.

A little more about me:

When not at work, I am always in school and enjoy traveling with my wife, golfing poorly, playing with my grandkids, home improvement projects (gutted a power room on my summer vacation,) gardening, hiking, fixing things and my second job as a bartender. And following the Yankees, New York Football Giants, Knicks, Aberdeen IronBirds, Maryland Terps Men’s and Women’s basketball and the Baltimore Ravens.

I have had a variety of first (and a few second) jobs including: messenger, jazz dj, bartender, bouncer, bathroom cleaner, cook, dishwasher, a night editor, day laborer, NC-17 bookstore clerk and craft show jewelry salesman.  Thankfully my life is never boring.