Transforming Technical Services through Training and Development

Technical services departments are facing increasing demands to do more with less, making it challenging to balance service demands and develop staff knowledge and skills. Libraries can adopt methods such as TWI, lean management, and instructional design methodologies to create a learning culture that continuously improves service delivery. This collection showcases creative and practical training development and organizational strategies used by libraries and consortia to address skills gaps, remote work, student worker turnover, reorganizations, technology migrations, and more.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 168 pages
Publication date: 11 October 2022
Publisher: American Library Association

Technical services departments face the challenge of delivering high-quality services with limited resources, making it essential to find a balance between meeting service demands and developing staff knowledge and skills. The next-generation catalogs, evolving cataloging rules, and diverse formats and delivery models require technical services professionals and paraprofessionals to stay updated with the latest best practices. Libraries can adopt various methods, such as Training Within Industry (TWI), lean management, and instructional design methodologies, to foster a learning culture that continuously improves service delivery.

This collection showcases a range of creative and practical training development and organizational strategies used by libraries and consortia to address skills gaps, remote work, student worker turnover, reorganizations, technology migrations, and other challenges. It provides insights into techniques for establishing a positive training and learning culture, project management tools and business methodologies like the Deming approach and just-in-time training for continuous improvement, reactive and proactive approaches in the training program for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Acquisitions Unit, how the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) leveraged remote work to undertake a library services platform migration during the pandemic, applying concepts from information literacy instruction to e-resources training, reinventing student worker training, collaborative initiatives like cross-organizational learning through Community of Practice (CoP), and assessing metadata competencies by transforming records for a multi-system migration in an academic setting.

By adopting these strategies, libraries can enhance their service delivery, improve staff productivity, and remain competitive in the ever-changing information landscape.

Weight: 111g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780838948774