My presentation on training Interlibrary Loan student assistants, which took place at the NW Interlibrary Loan Conference in Portland, OR in September 2013.

1. The Kids Are Alright:
Developing a
Comprehensive Training
Program for
ILL Student Assistants
Robin Milford
Access Services Librarian
University of California Merced

2. UC Merced at a Glance
• Merced is located in California’s San Joaquin Valley
• The 10th campus in the University of California system
• The 1st American research university of the 21st century
Three Schools:
Engineering, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences,
Humanities & Arts
2012 Stats:
Enrollment: 5760
Undergraduates: 5431
Graduates: 329

3. Faculty and Staff:
• Ladder-Rank – 153
• Lecturers – 153
• Full-and Part-Time Staff – 769
• Total–1145
Student Body:
• In fall 2008, 33 percent of students were Asian, 30.1
percent Latino, 24.1 percent white, and 6.5 percent
black.
• Certified as a Hispanic-Serving Institution in 2010
• In 2012, 65.5 percent of freshman students were first-
generation college students

4. Cows!

5. UC Merced Library at a Glance
• 10 librarians
• 12 staff members
• 45-50 student assistants; working over 500 hours per week
Collection
• Shares resources with other UC campuses (36+ million items in
the UC system)
• Electronic collection managed by California Digital Library (CDL)
• Approx. 70,000 online journals, 580 databases, 102,000 books,
3,965,000 online books (including 3,150,000 Hathi-Trust online
books)
Hours
• Open 94.5 hours per week
Space
• 180,000 sq. ft.

6. Interlibrary Services at
UCM Library
ILL Stats (July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012)
• 6789 items borrowed for students, faculty and staff
• 7268 items loaned to other libraries
• Processed 14 000+ requests in 2012
• Net Lender since 2006
ILL Staff
2 full time staff members:
• Denice Sawatzky, Interlibrary Services Coordinator Dolly
Lopez, Interlibrary Services Assistant
• 5-7 student assistants

7. ILL Platform: OCLC WorldCat Resource Sharing – Will be
replaced by WorldShare Interlibrary Loan by the end of
2013.
• Provides access to OCLC FirstSearch
Request Management System: VDX (Virtual Document
eXchange)
Integrated Library System:
WMS
(WorldShare Management Services)

8. Remember the interview process…

9. New Hire Task List
• Complete new hire paperwork
• Make library staff aware of the new student
• Clean and organize student work area
• Get orientation training materials together
• Arrange for the student’s photograph uniform, keys,
parking pass

10. Orientation: The process of introducing
new employees to the organization and
their positions.
vs.
Training: Occurs when an expert works
with an employee to share the knowledge
and skills required to complete the tasks
associated with a particular position.

11. Onboarding:
A systematic and comprehensive approach to
orienting a new employee to help them get "on
board."

12. Sample Group Orientation Schedule

13. Training Time! (Finally)
The First Day
• Review the Training Toolkit documents
• Introduce the Student Assistant to the library staff
• Go through the timesheet process
• Remember Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs – show
them where to eat, drink, and
store their stuff!

14. Training Toolkit Documents
• Library Mission Statement
• Library Organizational Chart
• Duties & Responsibilities List
• Workplace Expectations
• Workplace Ethics
• Patron Privacy Statement
• Grounds for Dismissal
• Job Description
• Important Contact Information Sheet
• Supervisor’s Card

15. Training Checklist
Helps to:
• Plan the training
• Check the efficacy of the training
• Keep track of what still needs to be accomplished

16. Sample Training Checklist

17. Sample Training Checklist # 2

19. Benefits of a student
assistant training manual:
• It lets the trainee concentrate
on and partake in the training during the training
session instead of taking detailed notes.
• It can serve as a reference document in the work
place.
• Identifies areas for improvement in current
workflow

23. What are the challenges of training ILL Student
Assistants?
• ILL work is often complicated – consists of detailed
workflows and multi-step processes
• Requires an ability to think abstractly and troubleshoot
• ILL units are often isolated from the rest of the library
• Some tasks can be repetitive and monotonous
• Can require high degree of technical proficiency
• Must transition quickly between working with physical
materials and technology to working with patrons

24. What are the characteristics of a successful
ILL Student Assistant?
• Detail oriented
• Works quickly and accurately
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Well organized, orderly
• Manages time effectively
• Customer service oriented
• Not afraid of technology
• Good communicator
• Team player
• Intellectually curious
and eager to learn new
skills

25. Training Approaches
Individual Group
Peer-to-Peer Job
shadowing

26. Training Tactics
• Manual/Guidebook
• Group Activities/Ice Breakers
• Quizzes (e.g., Quia)
• Cheat Sheets/Crib Notes
• Flow charts/Concept maps
• Video tutorials (e.g., Camtasia, Jing)
• Blog or wikis
• Games (e.g., Nuts & Bolts, Problem Child)
• Monthly learning theme/Tip of the Week

29. Concept Map

30. “Nuts & Bolts”
Purpose: Requested renewal practice, importance of details.
Question: An undergraduate asked for a renewal. Below is the VDX
information for the request. Should you ask the lending library for a
renewal?

31. Yes No
There is a “yes” and “no” pouch:
• Yes pouch will have explanation sheet and a note to open the No
pouch
• The No pouch will have the same sheet and the next game
Question: Should you renew?
Answer: No
What to do instead:
1. Change the local due date using the “local change request
details” in the actions available bar to the undergrad
renewal due date (on the whiteboard)
2. Update WMS and send the patron a “Renewal Approved”
e-mail

32. “Problem Child”
Purpose: Encourage better understanding of the VDX record,
expose students to common problems.
Instructions: We received
these requests in the
afternoon shipment.
Some of these requests
have issues we need to
highlight. Can you find
the problem child requests?

33. Christine Sisak & Lynne Marcus’ Tips on
Motivating and Engaging ILL Student Assistants:
• Points System
• Evaluations
• Special projects
• Peer-to-peer training
• Student of the Month Award
• MVP Awards
• Keep the lines of communication open by using weekly
emails/Facebook posts
• Make the office fun and friendly:
• White Board
• Home Away from Home Wall/Pet board
• Team Roster

36. Remember assessment…

37. Questions?

38. Thank you!

39. Works Cited
Baird, Lynn N. “Student Employees in Academic Libraries: Training for
Work, Educating for Life.” PNLA Quarterly. 67.2. (Winter 2003): 13,
23. Online.
Baldwin, David A. (2000). Effective Management of Student
Employment: Organizing for Student Employment in Academic
Libraries. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000. Print.
Bortles, Elaine and Alex Toth. “’I’ll Take Circulation Policies for 100
Alex’ Or, Fostering the Team-Based Approach Among Library Student
Assistants.” PNLA Quarterly. 67.4. (Summer 2003): 14, 20. Online.
Brandt, George B. Onboarding: How to Get Your Employees Up to Speed
in Half the Time. New York: Wiley, 2009. Print.
Farrell, Sandy L., and Carol Driver. “Tag, You’re It: Hiring, Training, and
Managing Student Assistants.” Community & Junior College Libraries.
16.3. (2010): 185-191. Print.

40. Krasulski, Michael J., and Trevor A. Dawes. Twenty-First Century
Access Services: On the Front Line of Academic Librarianship.
Chicago: Association of College & Research Libraries, 2013. Print.
Reale, Michelle. Mentoring & Managing Students in the Academic
Library. Chicago: American Library Association, 2013. Print.
Russell, Thyra K. “Student Employment Manuals.” Journal of Library
Administration. 21.3/4. (1995): 95-108. Print.
Sisak, Christine and Lynne Marcus. “Team ILL: Training, Engaging &
Motivating Student Assistants .” IDS Conference
2013. PowerPoint. 2013. 25 Aug
2013. http://idsproject.org/conferences/2013/presentations/TEAM ILL
2013.pdf
Sweetman, Kimberly Burke. Managing Student Assistants: A How-To-
Do-It Manual for Librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers,
2007. Print.
Weible, Cherie L, and Karen L Janke. Interlibrary Loan Practices
Handbook. 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 2011. Print.