Cooperative Staff Development

Getting More Bang for Your Buck!

Amy Bond
Lonesome Pine Regional Library

Kelly R. McBride
Russell County Public Library
Cooperative Staff
Development
 1-day staff development workshop
 2-3 speakers
 Lunch for all participants
 10 public library systems participated
 Over 100 library staff attended
 Held Columbus Day in October (most libraries closed)
Planning

 3-5 hours of planning

 Delegation
 Trust
First Annual Wild Turk Staff Day
Budget

 $100 / library
 $10 / person for lunch
 $25 / library in kind
 ?? / library travel costs
equals
 $1000 speaker fees &
tchotchkes (mugs)
 10 raffle gifts
Budget
 $100 / library
 $10 / person for lunch
 $25 / library in kind
 ?? / library travel costs
equals
 $1000 speaker fees &
tchotchkes (mugs)
 10 raffle gifts
Russell Co. PL
$100 Participation fee
$100 (10 staff x $10)
$ 25 Raffle gift
$225 subtotal
$100 Travel (est.)
$325 TOTAL
$32.50 / person-lunch & full day
Tchotchkes
Staff Day 2002 @ EHC
Evaluations!
Feedback…Year 2002

What Worked Well What Did NOT Work Well

 Getting together with staff
from other libraries
 Personal/Professional
development speakers very
well-received
 Lunch was time set aside for staff to gather by type of
library work
 Color coding name tags by type of library work was
Too subtle
 Post lunch presenter “boring” (soft spoken & not
dynamic)
 Crowded space, poor temperature control, no a.m.
COFFEE

What We Learned
 After lunch program must be lively
 Snacks are a necessity
 Give staff more time to talk with peers in
their area of the library AND just interact
with their peers
 Some people will not be happy regardless
Second Annual Wild Turk Staff Day

 10 libraries
 1 city
 4 regionals
 6 counties
Second Annual Wild Turk Staff Day

 10:00 Welcome
 10:15 Bridging
Gaps: How to
Speak and
Listen Effectively
 11:00 Breakout Groups
 12:30 Lunch
 1:30 Personality
Colors in the Work
Place
 3:00 Evaluation
Planning – Year 2

 Food (Lunch)
 Drinks/Refreshments
 Discussion Groups
 Registration
 Door Prizes
 Freebies
 Agenda
 Evaluation
Budget

 No participation fee  Lunch $5.95 per person

 Note cubes $2.20 each
 Single speaker fee  $25 / library in kind
absorbed by one  2 - 3 bags of candy
partner  Travel to site
 $2515 total (facility  Average library cost $10 - $19
per attendee
expenses and note
cube promotional gifts )
Evaluations - How Well Did We Do?
Feedback…Year 2003
What Worked Well What Did NOT Work Well
 Getting together with staff from  Morning speaker did not engage library
other libraries audience
 Upbeat, interactive afternoon  Accessibility issues
program
 Breakout discussions positive
 Public services discussions too broad
overall  Evaluation time chaotic and rushed
 Less expensive second time around
What We Learned

 Costs not prohibitive due to planning, sharing

 Build on the informal mood
 Have upbeat, engaging speakers and programs
 Provide programs concrete to everyday library experiences
 Less direction and more peer interaction
 Give staff more time to talk with peers in their library area
 Give staff more time to just interact with others
Future Planning
 Include staff in planning committee
 Alternate years
 Choose speakers carefully
 Provide more choices and time for small group discussions
 Take more pictures
 Document the planning and execution
 Maybe …. t-shirts
Benefits

 Staff development in a relaxed and low-cost environment

 Morale booster
 Area-wide connections with others doing same work
 Provides a center of focus on the things we have in common
 More than just training
 Investment in better service for the future
Additional Resources

 PLA 2004 Staff

Development in Rural and
Small Public Libraries

Susan Hill – Paulding

County Carnegie Library

www.pauldingcountylibrary.org
Additional Resources

 Omaha Public Library Staff Day 2004.

Nebraska Library Association Quarterly 35 no. 2 14-15
Summer 2004.
 Staff Development Day.
OLA Quarterly 5 no. 4 14-15 Winter 2000.
 Staff Development Days at the Athens
Regional Library System.
Georgia Library Quarterly 37 no. 2 15-16 Summer 2000.
Contact Information

Amy Bond
abond@lprlibrary.org

Kelly McBride
kmcbride@russell.lib.va.us
Our Staff, Our Libraries
“So the America I loved still exists, if
not in the White House or the
Supreme Court or the Senate or the
House of Representatives or the
media. The America I love still exists
at the front desks of our public
libraries.”

Kurt Vonnegut In These Times 8/6/2004