Yale University Library

Staff Training & Organizational Development Committee
Minutes
10 January 2001

Present: Barbara Rockenbach, Curtis Orio, Karen Spicher, Erika Heinen, Obianuju Mollel, George Ouelette, Lynne Fors, Jim Scholler, Katherine Reynolds

Absent: Josephine Scalzo, Kim Tran, Judith Carnes, Diane Turner

  1. General Discussions/Announcements:

    • George Ouellette (WSG) was welcomed to the STOD meeting and invited to observe and choose a subcommittee.
    • Lucille Houde will deliver Intro to ORBIS on 2/28/01 from 9-5 at the SCML.
    • Discussed broadening the language database, similar to one developed at the Medical Library to include all libraries. Uju will take the lead on this and request volunteers from the library population. The purpose will be to offer assistance in resolving customer service problems with patrons as well as to colleagues who may need assistance in translating work etc.
    • Kate reported progress with the Good Neighbors group Jack Hasegawa is to facilitate a discussion with a representative group of patrons, faculty and staff re: the challenging service issues with our diverse patron population.
    • Barbara reported on the SQIC Retreat on 12/8/00 facilitated by Dr. Mike Morris.
      Kate Reynolds, also a participant, reported on the work of her subgroup re: training needs within the library. Three areas had been identified: customer service, service knowledge, and continuous upgrading of NT workstation skills.
    • It was noted that managers could do better in providing direction for employees in how to find help on specific problems. There is also a need to collect data on what skills are most often needed (for example: mouse skills, keyboard usage, cut & paste functions...etc. The primary focus there was on Training.
    • The prospect of how STOD might interrelate with SQIC with a focus on results without being subsumed under SQIC was also discussed. Erika suggested that STOD could be responsible for implementation aspects.
    • Barbara, Kate, and Kalee will meet to discuss he TLC/STOD sponsored workshop on Cascading style sheets using Nelinet. Whether webmasters should attend the workshop, whether or not they will actually perform the work after the training, or who the best alternates for this training was discussed.
    • The Professional Mentor "Getting Started" website at http://www.library.yale.edu/training/promentor/start.htm is operational and feedback on the download process is again solicited from all committee members. No faulty experiences have been reported to date (thanks George & Kate).
      Lhr intern Jim Scholler will soon issue YULIB messages encouraging the use of this staff development tool. Again, the ProMentor program is expected to promote alternatives to traditional instructor-led training and may spark interest in exploring a wide array of learning activities throughout a broad continuum of learning.

  2. Sub-Committee Status Reports:

    • SCML/Basic skill sets subcommittee is on track with the Start Button Workshop on 3/21/01 at 10:00a.m. in the SCML. Julie Linden will instruct, and she attended the Train-the-Trainer session that was last held (only one present) so it is all set up. Lynne discussed the possibility of Ernie from WSG making temporary changes to the SCML computer allowing for modification of the Start Button during the workshop to maximize learning. The SCML subcommittee website http://www.library.yale.edu/stod/scml/ is up and operational and documents current sub-committee minutes. The "projector use" website http://www.library.yale.edu/training/scml/projector.htm is being updated to reflect its current power strip configuration. Kate will also forward the Train-the-Trainer information to Lynne for web posting.
      The Print Jobs Workshop is not firmly scheduled yet but is on track for April; Lynne will instruct. After soliciting recommended topics from subcommittee members, the topics concluded to be most appropriate for this workshop cover the "Print Dialog Box," and "Print Preview." The Each one-Teach one database development was discussed, and George recommended visiting the WSG website for "how to create a form" to collect prospective volunteers. The subcommittee is initially targeting (e.g. Access, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Orbis). Lynne, Karen and George will meet separately to work out details of this web-based simple database including the number of fields required.
    • Staff Resource Library is now a reality. The SRL Development Flowchart outlines ongoing selection, acquisition, fund transition, priority flagging, receiving, cataloging, shelving and circulation. A copy of the flowchart will be forwarded to Lynne and posted on the subcommittee site.
      A web-based form for staff to provide recommendations to add to the list of titles (recently updated) and bibliography still need to be developed by the subcommittee. Much of the SRL process such as book plate issues fitting with fund codes have been worked out and Rebecca will flag. Rebecca will also flag the books for priority and the local Yale subject heading, Staff Resource Library, when she receives the titles. Approximately $300 has been spent so far and a report will be generated indicating the amount spent on an ongoing basis. Once URLs for form and bibliography are received by Kate the SRL can be announced on YULIB. STOD can then shift to developing a marketing plan and establish a link to the Learning Center.

  3. Learning Fair:

    • The STOD Library Learning Fair is tentatively scheduled for March. One component of the March fair will be the Each one-Teach one initiative and the SCML subcommittee is working on a keyword list and form/flyer in addition to the database form to attract potential teachers to sign on with this program. Other components include: food, a raffle and the objective of getting the word out on why continuous learning is so important.

  4. Learning Plan:

    • The University is moving toward a management performance appraisal system and the Learning Plan will include two paths as follows: career driven AND performance improvement. Both paths can be undertaken; Dan George and Kate are working on the design and development within a more holistic framework. Good questions were raised today concerning guidance for managers to feel at ease in letting people off for training especially if it is located outside of Yale, whether such training can be authorized, costs of training discussions between management and staff, and how much time off for training is sanctioned. The following release time for training website does not specify a specific number of hours: http://www.yale.edu/ppdev/PersPracWeb/603.html.
      The Learning Plan is will elevate all of these issues, but funding issues and their resolution should be a natural product of the dialogue that staff members have with managers.

  5. Other Comments/Notes:

    • Next meeting will be January, 31, 2001.

Respectfully Submitted by
Jim Scholler

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