How can we best train student employees for public service roles? At UC Berkeley, as in many academic libraries, a student employee is the first person that a user will see when entering the library; they are the "face of the library." A positive interaction will set a positive tone for the user's library experience, while a negative…

As the nature of public library services expands and transforms, continuing education (CE) for both degreed and non-degreed library staff is critical. An ongoing challenge for the LIS community is to identify the key areas in which to increase professional knowledge and skills. The purpose of this study was to identify what working library staff…

Since the late 1970s, the access services librarian or equivalent position has become commonplace in academic libraries, and degreed professionals have been sought for these positions since the beginning. In 2009, David McCaslin, California Institute of Technology, examined the place of access services in American Library Association-accredited…

The American Association for School Librarians suggests an important mission for school librarians is to ensure personal growth through ongoing exposure to conferences, journal articles, webinars, presentations, and membership in professional organizations. As professional educators, School Librarians should exemplify the vision for being…

This annotated bibliography recommends 58 readings in 9 categories from the training literature for reference librarians: (1) overviews; (2) establishing an atmosphere to facilitate learning; (3) assessing needs; (4) defining competent performance; (5) writing training objectives; (6) selecting training methodologies; (7) maintaining skill levels;…

Discusses the value of continuing education for staff members of special libraries as reported by information professionals in a study of excellence in corporate libraries. Background on the Special Libraries Association's Professional Development Program is also provided, and the importance of keeping current with the literature is emphasized.…

This selected bibliography includes articles on the management of library technical services published from 1980 to the present. Citations are divided among automation, education, personnel management techniques, managing external constituents, and the role of technical services in the library. (Author/CLB)

Six articles discuss the need for improved training of library personnel and strategies for attaining this goal. Areas discussed include training objectives, training methods, the role of library education, staff development at Indiana State University, the role of library management, and the creation of effective training methods. (CLB)

Describes a new staff library for corrections personnel at a New York State facility. Attention is given to the grant that funded this library and the background information that helped to build a consensus among state employees, which demonstrated the need to establish this continuing education resource. (Author/CT)

Discusses the decline of African libraries and concludes that African libraries must find their own role within an African reality. Discussion covers failed internationally funded attempts to stem the decline, including establishment of national information policies and systems; donation of books and journals; staff training; development of rural…

Reviews the Guidelines for the Education of Library Technicians approved by the Canadian Library Association Council in November 1981. The background and formulation of the guidelines, the functions addressed by the guidelines, the role of the library technician in the library environment, and career advancement for library technicians are…

Discusses the relationship between online searching and reference librarianship and the need to examine the educational theories of both together. The need to discover success factors of online searchers and apply that knowledge to the selection and training of reference librarians is also explored. Twenty-one references are provided. (EJS)

Discusses the need for a graduate degree in librarianship. Topics include differences between undergraduate and master's level courses; experience; in-house training programs; incentives for library support staff to get a master's degree; and professionalism, including the ability to build community, technological literacy, and a belief in the…

Focuses on "Bootstrap Training," a scientific literacy program for permanent non-science and part-time adjunct librarians at San Jose State University Library. Describes an initial training-needs questionnaire distributed to all reference personnel, the implementation of a staff development program with scientific literacy goals,…

Identifies factors to consider in creating and implementing an online public access catalog training program for library staff members. Form of program (lecture with demonstration, programed instruction, computer-based education, workshop), training materials, content of training, practical arrangement, training evaluation and feedback, and…