American Library Association Annual Conference–2008
Friday, June 27, 2008, 8:30 – 5:00 pm
Competencies for Your Staff: From Implementation to Integration and Implementing a Staff Development Plan
Summarized by: Safi S. M. Safiullah, Reference Librarian, The Salt Lake City Public Library System
The speakers discussed how to prepare a successful staff development day to train competent staff for the libraries. The staff is the foundation of the library; individuals need to improve their skills in technology and customer services in order to serve the public better. Therefore, it is important to measure their skills. The speakers discussed various methods for measuring skills. One of the methods was to organize a conversation café, either quarterly or bi-monthly, where staff will sit in a circle, get to know each other, exchange their knowledge through casual conversation, discuss issues with others, and propagate their success stories. Library management also can send a memo with a questionnaires or surveys to staff to assess their knowledge in various skills such as software packages, listening skills, telephone courtesy, and reference and customer services. The staff will have a chance to rate them as low, moderate or high in each category. Other assessment can also be done by interviewing individual staff, reviewing their performance plans, and observing their skills in the workplace. Continue reading ‘Competencies for your staff’
