You invited the participants at IFLA Helsinki to shear their experiences about 23 things. I would very much like to shear with you the experiences from Norway. I am working as a library adviser in a county library south of Oslo in Norway and have done a lot of work with 23 things.
Your research conclusions is very similar to what we see in Norway. It is mainly a personal experience that has promoted confidence and curiosity in the participants.
A Timeline:
Autumn 2006 – we were four Norwegian librarians that found the American web page of 23 things. We started talking and planning for a Norwegian version of the course.
June 2007 – the translation and adaption was ready and we launched the page http://23tingom2null.blogspot.no/
In Denmark there is a conference called “Next library”. In June 2007 I attended the conference together with colleagues from two county libraries. We heard a talk given by Yarra Plenty in Australia explaining how they had done 23 things. One of us even got a grant to travel to Yarra Plenty to learn more. We found that the combination of e-learning and seminars would work well in our counties.
In our three counties nearly 200 attended the course. Nearly 80% finished all “the things”. The participants got a diploma and we celebrated with an unconference
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=30391409%40N00&q=23ting&m=text
23 things started in three of the 19 counties in Norway. Since then nearly every county has held the course. It is mainly the county libraries that has hosted the course. All together nearly 1000 library employees has been through the 23 things. In a small country like Norway with only around 4000 library employees, that is quite a lot.
Since 2007 I have spent a lot of time on 23 things, as an instructor and as a speaker all over Norway. I have even been in Helsinki talking for academic librarians. I few years ago I gave a talk in London together with a librarian from the University of Tromsø at Internet Librarian International in 2008. We did a survey together that we presented.
http://www.slideshare.net/janniro/what-difference-does-it-make-presentation
I have also been training teachers at an upper secondary school in a special version of 23 things.
In 2009 I was hired by the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority to make a special version of 23 things for the ALM sector:
To me 23 things has meant a lot professionally. The idea behind this kind of course is great.
Jannicke Røgler is Library Adviser at Buskerud County Library, Norway