Recently, WebJunction has been looking at how libraries deliver training to patrons – specifically through online delivery methods. To give you a peek at the work we have been doing and how libraries can successfully deliver online training, we’re offering two free webinars in March.

The first session will cover the results of a year-long grant project that was funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. WebJunction and our partners at the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) worked together to explore online patron training and how this service can be successfully delivered. The project included researching national trends for online patron training, completing a patron needs assessment, and designing and launching an online tutorial at SFPL. You’ll hear the results of the research, how SFPL launched the tutorial and their plans for pursuing and implementing new activities around patron training in the future.

We’re looking forward to sharing the results of this project and how other libraries can take advantage of the work that was completed under the grant. Please register for this free event.

The second session will be presented by trainers Dawne Tortorella and Lisa Barnhart and will explore how online patron tutorials can be used to direct your patrons to information of all kinds and will provide great tips for designing and implementing tutorials as part of your library’s offerings. A tutorial can be a quick 90-second video demonstration or an hour long training resource. The options are endless and there are many opportunities for creating resources that are specific to your patrons and that also help staff to highlight great resources even without face-to-face patron interaction. Dawne and Lisa will also share tips about the development of tutorials including patron needs and topic selection, how to promote and implement these resources and evaluating the effectiveness of the new resources.  Please register for this free event.

We hope to you can join us for these sessions, remember that registration is free and if you can’t attend the live session, we’ll be archiving them so you can watch them online at a future date.