Bringing Late Technology Adopters into the 21st Century - Webinar (06/09/20)

By the mid 1980s, it was estimated that there were a million home computers in the United States. By 2016, 89 percent of American households had a computer. The iPod hit the market in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, and the iPad in 2010. And yet, there probably are people in your library’s communities and institutions who resist acquiring or, at the least, learning how to use new technologies, even though the potential value to their careers and in their personal lives has been long established.

Innovators create new hardware or software, and early adopters are the people who are the first to fall in love with those cutting edge new tech tools. They have different reasons for jumping to the head of the line to purchase and master a computer, mobile device, or e-book than do the people who will consider buying and/or using these tools only after their worth has been proven to their satisfaction. This third group are the pragmatic people, which are the majority of those who adopt technology or any newer idea. And, you need to understand a separate category of library users–the late adopters–and how you can convince them that it’s to their benefit to learn how to competently use the tools your library has to offer. And dismissing their concerns as “resistance to change” does not help them.

Topics include reaching beyond the innovators, reasons for hesitancy that have nothing to do with technology, and people who won’t or can’t adopt new tools, and why.

Virtual Trainer: Pat Wagner

Pat Wagner is a trainer and consultant who has worked with libraries, universities, and allied institutions since 1978 and has been a frequent visitor to Florida libraries. 

This is an online class. Access information will be emailed one week ahead.

Cost: NEFLIN classes are free of charge for Florida library staff. Registration is required for all classes and NEFLIN members get priority.