1. TRAINING AND ORIENTATION Wilfrid Laurier University
FOR LIBRARIANS
Joanne Oud,
Head of Collection Development
Eun-ha Spiteri,
Reference and Collection Librarian
Angela Madden,
Professor
Wilfrid Laurier University

2. Session: :45 pm - 5:00 pm
How effective is your orientation and training for new librarians? Find out what works (and what doesn't), and what new librarians know (or don't yet know!). Avoid the most common training problems as you learn to improve upon the design of training and orientation programs.

3. Getting to know you What kind of library are you from?
What type of position do you have?

4. Getting to know us How did we get to this point? observation
the project
interviews/questionnaire
analysis
training issues

5. Survey Finding # 1
Facts and figures about training

6. Training received

7. Length of training

8. Availability of mentor

9. Trainee asking questions 87%
Training methods
One on one discussion 95%
Trainee asking questions 87%
Group session 36%
Practice exercises 25%
Training manual 17%

10. What training methods would have worked better?
Structured training
Hands-on exercises
Clearer job description
Training manual
Scheduled time for questions

11. Training content Job duties 94% Library staff introductions 92%
Informal expectations 57%
Library politics and culture 33%
Faculty introductions 30%  

12. Survey Finding # 2 What don’t new librarians know
and what are their barriers to learning?

13. Things people knew least
How to say no to projects
Faculty - outreach and interaction
Speaking in meetings
Expressing disagreement
Library politics

14. What was hardest to learn
Politics/culture
“how to navigate the bureaucratic jungle”
How to say “no”
Dealing with conflict
Lack of feedback and guidance
How to deal with resistance to change

15. What was surprising/different
Lack of feedback
Amount of independence
Flexibility/lack of structure
Initiative expected
When and how to make decisions
Library politics
Bureaucracy
Generation gap

16. Learning barriers Lack of feedback 58% Feeling you should know 54%
Assume you know more 39%
Colleagues too busy 36%
Inadequate training 35%
Too much info at once 34%

17. Survey Finding # 3
What are the most common training problems?

18. Summary: Common Problems
Not enough training
Too informal
Too much initiative required of trainee
No overall goal, plan
Too much information at once
Methods too dry
Not enough practice
Content does not match knowledge gaps

19. Suggestions for improvement

20. Suggestions for Improvement
Staged /Structured Training plan over long term
Formally assigned mentor
Training manual, documentation
More practical exercises
Content: library culture and politics

21. Some real life experiences

22. Quality of Training: What actually happens?
Staged Training vs. All at once: Does anyone even think about the options?
Hours of Training: How do you know what is enough?
What other factors make training successful or fail? Why important?
Understanding Culture/Politics. How do we do that?
Resistance to Change and Generation Gap?

23. Our Top Ten Training Tips
Formal Education
Comprehensive Training
Time
Questions
Mentor
Feedback
Continuing Education
Manual
Follow-up .

24. Questions? The URL for our presentation:

25. Contact Information
Joanne Oud
Eun-ha Spiteri,
Angela Madden