Liza & Joanna discuss being Mozilla Web Literacy Leaders, part 1
Joanna: So it has been nearly a year since we became Web Literacy Leaders! What would you say has been the most rewarding part of this experience for you?
Liza: It’s been that long?! Whoa. I think the most rewarding part has been getting out of my usual routine and flexing my web literacy muscles in a more thoughtful and intentional way. Teaching web literacy is kind of intertwined in everything I do at the library, but this was the first time I was really able to focus some time and energy on it. Plus, I got to work with you on this, which has been awesome, and meet the other WLLs online and off.
What about you? What’s the most rewarding part?
Joanna: The most rewarding part has been getting to know the other WLLs, including you! The opportunity to meet really smart, interesting people from all over the country who are working in libraries (and other public service) was really inspiring. It was great to share ideas and resources. (I’m still hoping to get to NYC one day to watch Davis train library staff.)
Liza: I also really loved meeting the other WLLs in person and learning about their perspectives based on where they worked… and how many of us have an appreciation for cats in common! 😺
Joanna: Cats forever!
I also really loved getting to attend MozFest, because I so rarely get the opportunity to talk about web literacy (or anything else) with non-library people. It was very good to get out of my comfort zone and learn from software designers, teachers, journalists…
Liza: I’m so glad you went to MozFest! My schedule and role at the library changed and I wasn’t able to go but it was really cool to hear about your experience and see the energy you came back with. Seems like libraries have a lot of flexing we can do outside of our typical spaces. What was one of your favorite memories of MozFest?
Joanna: We missed you, and photos of your cats! One MozFest memory that has really stayed with me is playing an Open Source tabletop game called Datopolis. Rarely is a game both educational and really fun, and it was a great way to get to know strangers.
What would you say are some of the challenges we’ve faced?
Liza: Datopolis looks neat! Great way to learn about technology through a sort of non-tech method.
I think our biggest challenge was working with different timelines between our library and Mozilla. Sometimes we would have deadlines for one that wouldn’t align with the other and it was challenging to keep communication flowing when we were waiting on something. It kind of reminds me of the pushmi-pullyu from Doctor Dolittle. I think there was also a balancing act between my WLL work and my regular work. Because our project involved a cohort of people here at the library it felt like we were juggling approximately 342 schedules and priorities at any given time!
What about you?
Joanna: I agree with everything you just said! Since I don’t really control my public service schedule and it changes day-to-day, it was hard to find the time to work on our project.
Communicating with Mozilla was sometimes challenging. I appreciated their flexibility and openness, but sometimes that translated to not enough detail as to what was expected of us and what resources were available.
Liza: I hear you. It’s almost like having the flexibility was more challenging in some ways. What’s funny to me, in retrospect, is that we gave our library cohort a lot of flexibility in creating their project and planning their meeting time but they ended up a bit like us in wanting some more structure. I’ve learned a lot from this process, both as a group member and facilitator!
Joanna: Me, too! One of the biggest surprises to me about the past year was how challenging it was for me to bounce back and forth between the times we needed to take initiative (our initial project proposal, negotiating with administrators, figuring out finances) and the times we needed to step back and let the library cohort take the lead.
Liza: Truth! I still think you were brilliant when you suggested we leave the room when meeting with our cohort so they could make decisions without us in the room. That worked really well.
Joanna: Thank you! That was a spur of the moment decision that could have backfired, so I’m glad it worked. It reminds me of my favorite tip for trainers (mainly myself): Shut up, get ok with silence, and leave space for others to speak. That does not come easy to me. ☺
