Improve Library Services With Consistent, Quality Training

Not everyone in a library will be familiar with its services and ethics. Staff may need training on core competencies. Some directors may come from other professions. Trustees may be completely new to what a library is—and does—in the community. And that’s where you can help. 

State libraries play a key role in training directors, staff, and trustees to meet and maintain state library standards.

Read on to learn how online, consistent, and trackable training can make your job easier—and your state’s library services better. 

Build Library Love—and Learning

At the most basic level, you can use training to introduce people to libraries. Core, reference, collection, and programming training lets new staff see how specific roles fit into the bigger picture.

Good training can also deepen connections with patrons. Staff work with a broad section of their communities; serving everyone takes patience and skill. From the reference interview to trauma-informed services, you can provide consistent training to prepare staff and directors to meet the needs of everyone who walks through the door. 

In addition to core topics and skills, you may also want to provide a strong foundation in library ethics. Boards and directors need a firm grounding in the ALA Code of Ethics, Freedom to Read and View Statements, and Library Bill of Rights. Regular training reinforces learning, so trustees and directors think of ethics when making decisions, not after a crisis.

Foster Growth and Confidence

Some staff may be interested in becoming managers. Directors may need help writing grants. And trustees need to get up to speed on budgeting and policies quickly. If you want to help people learn new things—from core skills like professional phone etiquette to important topics like diversity, equity, and inclusion—consistent training helps.

You can also look at ways to expand on traditional training models. Unlike in-person sessions, online training is always available, so learners can develop confidence by revisiting tricky subjects. Repeat access to tutorials, handouts, and reading lists is useful when learners need a quick reference or want to refresh their knowledge.

And online training can save you time! Instead of answering the same questions over and over, you can refer people to tutorials for just-in-time help, which benefits everyone!

Ensure Compliance and Reporting

Has someone ever asked you, “Does this training count?” With the right platform, you can deliver training you trust, removing stress and easing everyone’s minds about what “counts”. Professionally-developed tutorials provide ready-to-use content for librarians and staff. And a platform that lets you create your own content ensures you share information that best meets the needs of your state’s learners.

If you work in a state where learners track their own training, you’ve probably had to remind them to record hours. Wouldn’t it be great if you could spend time on other things while ensuring learners comply with training requirements? When you automatically track training, you’ll easily see who has taken training—and when. 

And while it’s great to know people have taken training, how do you know it made an impact? Incorporating activities and assessments lets you see what’s working—and what isn’t—so you can reassign content until people show competency. Or, you can look for trends and patterns and provide bespoke training to directors, staff, and boards across the state.

Ready to Create a Learning Culture?

Libraries are about learning—and not just for patrons! Directors, staff, and trustees need to keep up with rapid change. Consistent training helps make learning a habit. Instead of setting a day aside for on-site training, online, on-demand tutorials let you help people take advantage of learning opportunities anytime. 

At Niche Academy, we know online, consistent, trackable training can shift organizations. Our platform includes: 

• Hundreds of professionally-developed tutorials made by librarians and instructional designers 
• A seamless content creation tool that lets you develop training tailored to your state
• Built-in assessments to track learner progress
• The ability to assign training and track completion so you can easily match training with new board members or directors
• Reporting dashboards that help you gather data to track compliance
• Outstanding support from real people

We love libraries. And we’d love to tell you more about how we’ve helped state libraries deliver consistent, quality training to library professionals. Book a free demo today to learn how we can help make your job easier and improve library services in your state!