Starting and Sustaining a Coding Workshop for Librarians

Abstract

As academic practices are rapidly transformed by information technologies, many aspects of librarianship are increasingly inseparable from data manipulation and software development. This transformation is putting pressure on librarians to acquire coding skills and knowledge. This presentation describes a successful coding workshop at an academic library that provide an interdisciplinary, collegial, and sustained context for skills development and knowledge sharing. We describe our goals, logistics, participation, technical and social lessons learned, and provide best practices. We also demonstrate how librarians are consequently inspired to use their new skills and knowledge in their work.