Staff Development & Training Resources
The Library's staff is one of its key assets. Despite a decade of intensive and often stressful change, staff members have proven themselves to be exceptionally flexible, resilient, and inventive. Rapidly evolving technologies demand that staff constantly relearn their jobs and acquire the skills to manage new forms of information. Because of these constant efforts, library staff are able to help our users make the most effective use of the incredible variety of information tools available to them. Service quality is a core organizational value. - Jean and Alexander Heard Library Strategic Plan, 2005-2010
The Jean and Alexander Heard Library offers three types of staff training:
1) Library-wide training is defined as training that affects every department within the library system. It is either strategic in nature or training for new system-wide initiatives, and is organized by the Staff Development Committee. To propose a training program or to volunteer to teach or assist with training, contact anyone on the Staff Development Committee. The Committee also surveys library staff to identify training needs.
2) New employee training is overseen by the employee's immediate supervisor with the support of the Technology & Training Support Coordinator in that department. Please contact your supervisor to obtain new employee training. Supervisors should consult the new employee training list for more information.
3) Individual, job-related training is defined by each individual's job description and/or supervisor. Individual training resources are available through the library system, on Vanderbilt campus, and through off-campus opportunities.
Staff are encouraged to discuss their training needs with their supervisor. Also, staff development funds are limited and must be approved by a supervisor with budgetary authority. Individual conference attendance is the responsibility of each department or library, even for strategic initiatives.
An additional resource for the library system are the Technology & Training Support Coordinators (TTSC), who work with Library Information Technology Services to enhance communication between library and LITS staff, to facilitate the resolution of problems related to workstations and networks, and to identify training needs related to technology. In many cases, the TTSC members also work with supervisors and managers in their areas to provide new employee technology training and refresher/peer training for individual library staff members.