S TUDENT W ORKERS : T RAINING, E VALUATING, R ETAINING P ARTNERS IN I NFORMATION L ITERACY I NSTRUCTION Presenters Kat Barden & Cindy Schoolcraft Mobius Conference, June 2010

W ELCOME ! Introduction Overview Philosophy/Mission Structure Selection Training Evaluation Retention Refine/Reflect Discussion

S TUDENT W ORKERS AT R EEVES L IBRARY Library student workers are an important part of the circulation and reference team. Research has shown that the number one predictor of a patron’s likelihood of asking for assistance is a positive prior interaction/relationship with the staff member. For this reason, our student workers provide the primary point of service for user services and are an important value added context of the library’s information services.

S TRUCTURE

General Public Service Assistant Circulation Assistant Extended Late Hour Shift for Circulation Desk Resource Sharing Assistant Public Service Assistant Serials/Tech Services Internships PR Marketing

H IRING

Highly Desirable Student Workers are : Good communicators Inquisitive learners Problem solvers They are: Dependable Work well in a group environment Take direction well Are adaptable

T RAINING Staying on track!

S TUDENT W ORKER T RAINING A comprehensive skills assessment and progressive training for student workers in circulation, serials assistance, and informational assistance.

P UBLIC S ERVICES S TUDENT W ORKER T RAINING -O VERVIEW Reeves Library has approximately 46 student workers in the Public Services area. The procedure for hiring, training, and evaluating student workers is as follows: Interview Hire check list Orientation/Manual Online Library of Congress numeration library quiz Competency Checklist Mid-year Self Evaluation * note: non-returning student workers are given the formal Student Employee Evaluation Reception for Student Workers Orientation review for returning students End of year formal Student Employee Evaluation Student Feedback and Response Reception for Student Workers Senior book selection and plating

The student evaluation process provides information, training, and feedback. The 3 month self-evaluation gives the student an opportunity to categorize and to articulate learning, the staff an opportunity to underscore key points/ procedures /expectations, and the supervising staff member an opportunity to provide meaningful feedback to the student and to use the student comments to target training needs for the future. Student Receptions at the end of each semester give the staff an opportunity to thank the students for their hard work. Senior student workers are invited to select a book from the general collection and it is plated in their honor.

Orientation: Overview Introductions Review Expectations Includes a walk through of the library Intention: To raise comfort level To establish a rapport with the students To give students points of contact with staff for future need

Task specific training is done one-on-one and in groups during shifts depending on the position. The approach is mentor - style. This provides ongoing reinforcement, evaluation, and accountability. Staff in charge of the library are utilized. It’s a crazy first month! Every student documents their training using The Training Progress Report. As part of the training, every student completes the LC EZ training program to introduce or review Library of Congress ordering.

Periodical CarrelsPatron Assist Tally Mobius BooksPatron Count Sheet L C OrderTimesheet Book DropPeriodical Checklist Arthur CatalogDesk Sign ILLMicrofilm Reader VideosSpecial Collections Robinett RoomDue date Card IDS RoomInformation Desk Overnight CheckoutClick “Close” HeadphonesSchedule Calculators Pop up Box Change box Bell Confidential Laminating Fax Copy Machine Reserve Material This game is review, instructional, and group building.

Other ideas for ongoing training: Visual Instructional Reinforcement - To deliver information in a different media

E VALUATION : P ERFORMANCE & KNOWLEDGE BASE

On going feedback Ongoing communication and supervision; be present and available to the students.

LC EZ ON LINE INSTRUCTION PROGRAM RESULTS rewards the students who excel and Provides valuable information to the staff about who can fill in for the shelvers, do shelf reading, etc.

N ATIONAL L IBRARY W EEK S HELVING D RILL – winner Premchai Sushophit

Mid-Year Evaluation Within the academic year, worker retention is nearly 100% so rather than doing a full evaluation in December, we ask student workers to do a positive knowledge based personal evaluation..

A time to review and reflect, for the student and the staff Recognizing that evaluations happen just before exams, we ask how can the process review, summarize, and build up the student’s experience as they move into a very stressful time. Also, we want the process to help them decide if working in their present position is a good fit for them and for the library?

R ETENTION

H OW CAN WE HELP BUILD A COMMUNITY THAT PROVIDES SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGES MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY ?

R EFINE /R EFLECT We quickly realized that our student workers function as one of the largest active clubs on campus. Some of their /our “extra curricular activities” were: