ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 8 1 C&RL News Training newly appointed reference librarians B y M ariol R. W ogam an Assistant H ead o f Reference Services Oregon State University Adequate orientation pays o ff in m any ways. A survey by K aren Y. Stabler o f newly ap­ p o in te d academ ic re fe re n c e librarians revealed th a t th e y felt a n e ed for w ell- training program s. R espondents re p o rte d having received training for periods ranging from one day to th re e m onths. McGill U niversity’s M cLennan Library has a com prehensive training program for reference desk staff which extends over th ree months an d is well d o cu m en ted (E D 175486), b u t th a t does n o t seem to be typical. At th e O regon State Univer­ sity Library, referen ce supervisors are convinced of th e im portance o f ad equate training. Since 1981 m any o f th e reference librarians h ire d by th e library have u n d ergone a stru ctu red training program , lasting th re e to four weeks, th a t in tro d u ced them b oth to th e referen ce d ep artm e n t an d to o th e r dep artm en ts w ithin th e library. T h e OSU R efer­ en ce Division currently has 14 referen ce librarians who share general referen ce duties as w ell as spe­ cific subject responsibilities for in -d ep th reference, collection developm ent, a n d bibliographic instruc­ tion. E ach o f th e librarians p articipates in training new m em bers o f th e professional staff, m eeting with th e m for an h o u r o r two (or longer if necessary) to show th em re feren ce sources and share inform a­ tion about th e type o f referen ce questions received and th e clientele served. T h ree p urposes are served by thus sharing th e responsibility for training: the subject librarians are able to share th e ir expertise in providing re feren ce service in th e ir subject areas; each new librarian spends one-on-one tim e with each o th e r librarian in th e dep artm en t, giving th em an opportunity to g et acquainted; th e p rim ary sub­ je c t areas in which w e provide referen ce assistance p are all covered. N ew librarians are given to u rs o f o th e r m ajor units o f th e library. H our-long sessions landnoend’ t allow for in -d ep th discussions o f th e o p era­ tions o f th ese d epartm ents, b u t do provide tim e for introductions to th e staff and b rie f overviews o f the functions o f th e d epartm ents. T h e th ird com ponent o f training is initiation into service a t th e reference desk. Ideally, new librarians a re in tro d u ced to ref­ e ren ce service gradually. A fter th ey have b e en in training for two o r th re e days, th ey are scheduled to observe a t th e referen ce desk, using th e tim e to browse in th e referen ce area, listen to th e questions being asked an d th e answers given, and ask ques­ tions o f th e librarians on duty. A fter six to eight sessions like this, th ey are scheduled to w ork a t th e referen ce desk w ith one o r two experienced librar­ ians. An a tte m p t has b een m ade to schedule new staff to w ork a t th e reference desk with different librarians th ro u g h o u t th e w eek, so th a t th e new people will have an o pportunity to learn from staff with different subject backgrounds. A lthough we p re fe r for new librarians to w ork a t least two weeks w ith two o th e r librarians on th e referen ce desk b efore they are scheduled to w ork regular shifts w ith only one o th e r librarian, w e som etim es have to com prom ise on this, dep en d in g on how urgently help is n e e d e d a t th e reference desk a n d w h eth er classes are in session w hen new librarians begin work. Developing a schedule As soon as th e starting date o f th e new librarian is known, th e coordinator o f referen ce training January 1992 / 9 begins developing a schedule. T h e list o f approxi­ m ately 35 areas an d topics to b e covered m ust b e co ordinated w ith library m eetings, holidays, and th e schedules o f trainers. T h e coordinator roughs o u t a schedule, th en contacts each staff person to g et confirm ation o f willingness to assist in the training an d availability at th e tim e scheduled. T he coordinator has always found staff in both th e referen ce d e p artm e n t and o th e r divisions to b e very willing to participate. After tim es and dates o f training sessions are confirm ed, a final schedule covering th re e o r fo u r w eeks is p re ­ p ared to give to th e new librarian on th e first day o f work. W h en w e first devised th is tra in in g program , w e m ade th e mistake o f n o t allowing sufficient free tim e for th e new librarian to browse th e re fe re n c e stacks a n d ab so rb th e in form a­ tion th a t was being presented. Experience has taught us th a t it is b e tte r to sp read th e training over a long­ e r p erio d o f tim e, w henever possible, allowing th e n ew librarian free tim e each day to review and digest inform ation. A training program like this req uires th e cooperation o f m any people; about 23 library staff m em bers p articipated in training th e latest group o f new referen ce librarians. U n­ foreseen conflicts can req u ire training schedules to be revised. Since this could result in inadver­ te n t omissions, th e training needs to be m onitored so th a t th e coordinator is su re th a t all areas are covered. Evaluation T h e program ju st describ ed has b e en used for 13 re feren ce librarians, ranging from new graduates o f library school to a form er public library adm inistra­ to r w ho was en terin g academ ic librarianship. No form al evaluation o f th e program has b een u n d e r­ taken, b u t conversations betw een th e training coor­ d in ato r and th e m ost re c en t trainees indicate th at th e training was helpful. W e know th a t w e n eed b e tte r training m aterials, especially a m anual cover­ ing c u rre n t policies and procedures. B rief weekly m eetings o f th e trainees w ith th e c oordinator have provided opportunities for m utual feedback. T he trainees have reiterated th e ir n e ed for up-to-date, w ritten policies a n d procedures and ad eq u ate free tim e to observe at th e reference desk a n d to learn th e referen ce collection. T h e im portance o f th o r­ ough orientation for new em ployees cannot be overstated. Even experienced librarians w ho pos­ sess th e skills an d knowledge necessary for re fe r­ en ce service n e e d an orientation to th e new w ork situation, in troduction to th e staff and th e physical environm ent, an d an u nderstanding o f th e w ider context in which they will b e w orking an d the clientele th ey will b e serving. A dequate planning and tim e spent in th e initial phase o f a new employee’s service will be rep aid through increased quantity an d quality o f work, less n eed for close supervision, and h igher jo b satisfaction. ■ ■ N ew Publications from ACRL ALA Order Dept. 1-800-545-2433, 50 E. Huron St, Chicago, IL 60611-2795 ▼ ACRL/Historically Black ▼ Read This First: An Owner's Colleges & Universities Guide to the New Model Library Statistics, 1988-89 Statement of Objectives for $35.95/A CR L m em ber $25.95 Academic Bibliographic ISBN 0-8389-7547-X Instruction $17.95/A CR L m em ber $14.95 ▼ Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in ISBN 0-8389-7548-8 Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing (2nd ed.) ▼Recruiting the Academic Library $19.95/A CR L m em ber $16.95 Director (ACRL) and The Search ISBN 0-8 3 8 9 -7 5 16-X Committee Handbook (AAHE) $16.95/A CR L m em ber $13.95 ▼ College & Research Libraries and ISBN (set) 0-8389-7484-8 College & Research Libraries News, Index for Volumes 41-50 (1980-1989) $29.95/A CR L m em ber $25.95 ISBN 0-8389-7487-2