Using Library Skills Sets to Design a Staff Development Program

Abstract The objective of developing a tailored staff development program was to address the specific skills that library staff need to accomplish their jobs. At the Eskind Biomedical Library, all library staff are required to meet a common set of skills. These skills form sets upon which staff evaluations are based. The library staff, therefore, need time, opportunities and the means to develop the necessary skills. The Staff Development Committee-an all-volunteer inter-departmental committee-sponsored skills-based programs from training needs identified through a library-wide questionnaire. The result was a set of programs sponsored by the Committee that were well-attended and met the training needs of a large number of the staff. Tailoring a staff development program to meet specific training needs allows library staff to successfully develop skills needed in their jobs and to demonstrate skills competence in the evaluation process.