Staff Development on a Shoestring: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians

Abstract

Not many libraries have unlimited funds for professional development, so this publication is a welcome handbook on how to provide continuing education opportunities that do not break the bank. As indicated by the title and noted in the preface, this work “offers library managers a one-stop guide to providing ongoing professional development activities using very little money” (p. ix). Emphasis is on designing in-house training programs that are easy on the budget. The author believes that a lack of robust funding is no excuse for failing to offer staff members opportunities to update their knowledge and skills. “The best way to accomplish good staff training with very little money is to design in-house programs that turn experienced staff into proficient trainers” (p. ix), and this practical book explains precisely how to do that. Marcia Trotta begins by defining staff development and stating why it is necessary for the staff members themselves and how it ultimately benefits the library's customers. Creating a staff development program is covered along with tips for accomplishing the aims of the program through in-house training. Trotta lists a number of benefits to offering cost-efficient in-house training programs, asserting that responsibility lies with management to assess needs and to identify those staff members who are best suited to training others. An entire chapter devoted to the manager's responsibilities in regard to training covers broad leadership principles that one might find in a general library administration book. Model training programs for effective communication, orientation, teamwork, time management, and customer service are offered with the caveat that these programs should be adapted to the individual needs of one's own library. Additional content is offered on topics such as mentoring, external sources for development opportunities, and technology as it relates to training. Some of the subject matter is unexpected, such as a chapter on using evaluation as a professional development tool and another on rewarding good performance. These concepts are often found in management texts but not usually presented in the context of staff education. This book is formatted similarly to others in the Neal-Schuman “How-To-Do-It” series. The first page of each chapter provides a list of topic subheadings denoting content in the chapter. Many figures are provided, varying from checklists to outlines and including samples of various documents, such as evaluation forms. The final chapter is a resource directory that includes lists of library journals, library acronyms, online sources, suggested readings, and others. Some sections of this particular chapter are more pertinent than others. For example, the sections on “Facts about Libraries” and the “National Resource Directory” are rather peripheral to the topic of staff development and seem superfluous to this reviewer. However, sections that list online resources on training and journals specific to training are helpful. An index follows the “National Resources Directory.” While the work seems to be a bit padded with rather peripheral material, the content is nonetheless useful. All in all, Staff Development on a Shoestring is a helpful guide for inexpensive staff development.