All Staff RA Training Made a Bit Easier

Today is President's Day in America. It is also a very popular day for libraries to have their Staff Development Day. However, I am also seeing that the ability for libraries to close for an entire day of training is more limited now than anytime in the last 20 years. And, even if they do have a staff day, it is filled with state or local required safety training or used to get the staff trained on new procedures, tech, or databases.

The window to offer targeted training that will enhance patron service to larger groups of library workers, is rapidly shrinking. However, I am happy to report that at least for RA service, there is an option other than me to train your staff and it can be the same training, for all staff, on their time frame, with the option for Live interaction as well. And it is through a subscription to the Learn With NoveList Continuing Education database and their slate of courses.

[To be clear, I still do in-person and virtually training and have a very popular 3-4 month option for libraries to offer virtual RA training with exercises to be done in between. Click here for more information on my most popular programs and here to see my recent and upcoming schedule. But my time is limited and this is a database that can be access 24/7.]

NoveList offers multiple options for staff training. Click here to see them all, but today I want to specifically talk about a new, responsive, and cost effective way to offer staff training through Learn With Novelist

Many of you know that I have begun offering some training via the Learn With NoveList platform. But before, you could only pay for and then access a single class at a time. Now, they are offering a subscription model, with pricing based on your population. When you buy access to the Learn With NoveList platform through the subscription for your entire library, you have access to the Actively Anti-Racist Service to Readers Class Robin and I offer, as well as all of the Genre Crash Courses, other targeted RA training classes, and more, with new classes being added all of the time. In other words, you now have a full suite of on-demand and responsive RA training. Full details on all classes are here. 

With a subscription, you can replicate a larger staff day model of group learning by assigning a class to your staff to watch when they have time (on work time please) and then set up time to discuss all together and even attend live sessions. You can also help staff with their skills and learning by assigning specific classes to certain staff. All of the classes have activities for the individual learners, and some, like Robin's  and my class offer shared communication spaces where learners have an entire year to work together, share experiences, and even ask us questions.

But here is the part I am MOST excited about. When you buy a subscription, anyone on that library's staff can access the RA training.

Many of you know that I call my company RA for All because I believe that every staff member has a part to play in your service to readers. Yes, some parts are smaller than others, but all library staff have a connection to books and reading, or else they would work somewhere else for more money. One of the advantages to having me come to do the morning of an all staff development day is that I can speak to all staff, from maintenance staff to Director, at one time, and explain how everyone can be involved in your service to readers.

[Side note: I have a story many have heard, about the library where a janitor became their best book talker. Well, now I just heard from another library that after I visited their entire staff (after a few years of targeted training to adult staff), they now have a maintenance person as part of their service to readers.]

And now, it all circles back to the beginning. With less time available for people to have me do an entire morning on RA for all staff, the progress I have been making to encourage libraries to include all staff in their service to leisure reader is slowing down. I hear from library workers all of the time that they want to have me train their whole library, but they literally do not have the time to get everyone together, even for virtual.

Enter the Learn With NoveList RA Staff Subscription. You can now offer RA training to anyone on staff, at any time, with one login. Since you are paying for a whole library subscription, it shouldn't be hard to convince other departments to allow staff to access it during work time, especially if you frame it as a return on investment-- both in terms of dollars and in serving leisure readers. And if they tell you leaguer readers are too small a portion of your services, have them check the circulation stats. I haven't seen a library yet where books are not the highest circulating item. Add in digital materials and....well you get the point. Numbers don't lie here.

NoveList recently announced their very first library to buy this subscription, and it is one near me, initiated by a friend to RA for All.

NoveListRA

@NoveListRA

Congratulations to the staff at Champaign Public Library in Illinois for becoming the very first Learn with NoveList Annual Staff Subscription customer! Want a subscription for your library? Ask us for the details: https://m.ebsco.is/ugzXn

I am very excited that libraries now have this option for anytime RA Training from trusted experts. Please read the blog post announcing the service from last month and use the links below or throughout this post to learn more.

Staff Training Made Easy

Angela Hursh

23 January 2024

On a chilly March morning in 2019, I walked into one of my library systems’ largest branches for staff development day. I wanted to be open-minded about the day, but I was a bit apprehensive. 

One of my best “work buddies” was part of the team that spent the past six months planning and decision-making that went into this day. Before she shared this experience with me, I had no idea how long it took to organize this training. Most of the sessions I was required to attend had nothing to do with my job. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a more efficient way to deliver ongoing, continuous staff training on a flexible schedule with sessions that improved our job skills.

Arranging staff training shouldn’t be that hard or stressful. My NoveList co-workers and I have been thinking about this issue a lot (maybe obsessively!). We have been working on a solution that would make it easy for libraries to provide expert training on the core skills that library staff need: Working with readers, promoting the library, practicing inclusivity, and providing outstanding service. That sounds like a tall order, but I’m delighted to announce the launch of a staff access subscription option to Learn with NoveList.

The staff access subscription includes more than 20 courses totaling 45 hours of learning (and counting!), with new courses added every quarter. Experts in the field teach all of the lessons. And it solves the three big problems that libraries have told us they face when it comes to staff training:

“We have a lot of staff turnover, resulting in frequent new hires who need training.”

Staff access subscription provides training for the library’s entire staff. You can add new users at any time during your subscription period. The subscription is also a benefit your library can highlight when recruiting new employees. It shows your commitment to continuing education.

“We want all our staff members to be able to provide outstanding service to readers.” 

 Learn with NoveList courses are designed for all library staff, regardless of their position, education, or previous experience. They emphasize that outstanding service to readers creates happy, loyal, and engaged patrons.

“It’s hard for our staff to get together all at once to attend a training session."

Staff access subscription includes flexible scheduling. There are self-paced courses that staff can take on their schedule. There are also combo courses, which have several self-paced modules and a live session. And those live sessions are offered on various days and times so staff can choose one that fits into their work schedule.

What I love most about this new offering is that it makes the valuable Learn with NoveList training accessible to libraries of all sizes. Here’s what two Learn with NoveList customers had to say about their experience with the training.

"Learn with Novelist training changed how the library staff performs their everyday job. Not only did we learn how to engage patrons in conversation about books, but we also learned ways to enhance our service by recommending books that patrons may not know about." 

--Paula Smith Circulation Supervisor Knox County Public Library

"Our California library learners had overwhelmingly positive feedback for (Learn with) NoveList learning opportunities. Participants felt overall that the training provided tangible tools for increasing accessibility and incorporating DEI principles into library communication, programs, and services. They appreciated the high-quality, engaging presentations, presenters' expertise, timeliness of the topics offered, and excellent resources for follow-up." 

--Tamar Kirschner Senior Project Coordinator California Library Association

The Learn with NoveList team is so proud to offer libraries this new solution. Arranging staff training on a large scale is hard! We’re here to help.

Want to learn more about the Learn with NoveList staff access subscription?

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Angela Hursh is Manager of Library Engagement, Marketing, and Professional Development. She just finished Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann.