A few years ago, I had the privilege of contributing to Trends in E-Learning for Library Staff, a snapshot of how library staff in the U.S. viewed, and used, e-learning in 2005.

This spring and summer, Jennifer Peterson and I interviewed libraries to develop a new snapshot of how U.S. library organizations are utilizing online training tools in their staff development initiatives. Our resulting report is less about how online learning is viewed … in fact, we started with the assumption that online learning is an accepted, even expected, component of training programs today. From there, we examined why online learning was incorporated into the training program, which tools were used, how learner collaboration and ownership were encouraged, what successes were realized, and asked the program coordinators/trainers to offer any advice for other library organizations pursuing similar programs.

The paper we wrote was accepted for inclusion in this year’s IFLA program, and I’ll be presenting our findings this coming Friday, after immersing myself in the international library community for a few days.

I’ve also posted the paper, with practical approaches for adding online learning to your training program, and case studies about the training programs profiled on WebJunction, in our Training Program Management section.

Read the entire paper, or check out the case studies for each of the training programs profiled:

• Arizona Library Institute, Virtual Extension (ALIVE!)
• Baltimore County Public Library Virtual Orientation
• Cohort Learning Program: Colorado State Library/CLiC/High Plains Library
• Everyday Ethics: State Library of Kansas and the Kansas Regional Library Systems
• WebJunction Online Conference

And on a related note, be sure to join us on September 1 for a free webinar with the folks from Baltimore County Public Library on Creating A Virtual Orientation for New Staff.