Director’s Thoughts – 02/19/2020

Staff training, two words that strike fear into the hearts of many an employee. But, that’s where I was yesterday, standing in front of staff leading my third-annual staff training.

Background

But first, a little background. I have a staff that ranges from 45-50 employees, ten of whom are full-time. The rest of my staff from very part-time to part-time working 25ish hours a week. Our library is open 66.5 hours a week which means that I don’t see all of my staff, all the time. So, as soon as I became director, I wanted to create a time where we could get together and all get on the same page. Because of the nature of public library employees, I actually offer a 3-hour training twice during the day – once in the morning and then a repeat session in the evening for staff who work elsewhere during the day.

Our training has always taken place in February on President’s Day. Traditionally we had been open to the public. But because it’s a federal holiday, it’s not unexpected for us to be closed which works in our favor. It gives us time to meet as a team but also allows staff to work on projects that get pushed by the wayside in favor of serving the public.

In our first year, I really focused on where I saw the library moving in the future. We spent a lot of time on my expectations and projects for the upcoming year. Last year, we spent the majority of our time discussing online resources. Specifically, how to learn about them and promote them to patrons. This year I wanted to do something a little different. I had everyone complete a staff survey in the fall with a question about training and used many of the ideas to create training that was fun and educational.

Scavenger Hunt

A few employees requested an escape room. And while escape rooms are so much fun, with only three hours for training, it just wasn’t doable. So instead, I created a scavenger hunt through the library. Many staff members work in one specific area and often aren’t aware of what’s happening elsewhere. So I took advantage of this and created clues about specific areas of the library – kids graphic novels, SAT test prep launchpads, etc.

I also forced each team of four to include at least one member of the adult department and the children’s department. This way they had to work together to learn about each other’s departments. It was so fun to see 25+ staff members sharing information and (literally) running around the library collecting their clues. Afterward, I overheard so many people exclaiming about something new they learned about. We’re even discussing it as a program for families to become more aware of all the library has to offer!

Frequently Asked Questions

The second part of the training was reviewing 20+ documents based on frequently asked questions by the staff. Things like what to do when the Internet goes down, basic information about regular programs, who to call with an issue regarding building maintenance and more. So many people have pieces of this information, but it wasn’t easily accessible to everyone. My hope is that the staff feel empowered with more information so that if something goes wrong, they feel comfortable dealing with minor issues themselves. These documents don’t replace department heads or myself, but they can help the staff feel more secure in their work every day.

Future of the Library

Finally, we spent a good hour or more on talking about the future of our library. Our library worked well when we moved into the building 30 years ago. But libraries have changed since then and the footprint has changed that much at all. We are in desperate need of space and updates. And we are currently working with an architectural firm on a feasibility study right now. The future is uncertain and that makes the staff nervous, so my goal was to empower them to be a part of the change, rather than just having it happen to them.

I had five different scenarios created and the staff was given the opportunity to find one that they felt strongly about and work together to brainstorm ideas. From creating one centralized circulation desk, to streamlining technical services, to marketing the library to more people. I was so happy to see the staff jump on board and take the exercise seriously. Of course, hypotheticals are easier to deal with when you’re a little more removed. But, staff had great ideas and I think they’re more ready for change than I was giving them credit for.

Recap

I am so happy with how well this training went. You never know how people are going to feel about working in groups and thinking outside the box. But the three hours went by so quickly, we probably could have worked together all day long. And with a little more work, our staff is ready for the future of our library specifically and libraries in general!