This presentation was given by Russell Michalak, MLIS and Monica D.T. Rysavy, Ph.D. at the 2018 DLA MLA Annual Conference in Cambridge, Maryland.

1. Online
onboarding
Russell Michalak, MLIS
Director
Hirons Library & Learning Center
Goldey-Beacom College
michalr@gbc.edu
Monica D.T. Rysavy, Ph.D.
Director
Institutional Research & Training
Goldey-Beacom College
rysavym@gbc.eduIncreasing the efficiency of library
workplace training in an online
asynchronous environment

2. Terms to Know
L1 = Individuals
who speak
English as a first
language
L2 = Individuals
who speak
English as a
second language

3. Training Student Workers
According to Jetton (2009)
“[t]raining student assistants
cannot be considered a new
problem” (p. 21).
Jetton, L. L. (2009). Selecting and using technology for student training. Technical Services Quarterly, 26(1) 21–35.

4. Value of Student Workers in the Library
Maxey-Harris, Cross, and McFarland (2010) pointed out that “the
library hires student workers and trains them to perform tasks crucial
to the functioning of libraries. Without the student workers the library
could not remain open as long; costs for staffing the circulation desk
would increase; document delivery and interlibrary loan services would
take too long; materials would not be re-shelved in a timely manner;
and processing new books would be slowed” (p. 148).
Maxey-Harris, C., Cross, J. & McFarland, T. (2010). Student Workers: The Untapped Resource for Library Professions. Library Trends, 59(1/2), 147-165.

5. Investing in the Future
Furthermore, Wallace (2009) asserted that after an employee has
resigned “. . . if employers become overly relaxed about the next stage
of the process—orientation—they may find the new hire’s performance
to be subpar or they may prematurely return to square one: advertising
for a new employee. Designing an effective orientation program helps
protect the resources invested during the hiring process and can pay
dividends for years to come" (p. 168).
Wallace, K. (2009). Creating an effective new employee orientation program. Library Leadership & Management, 23(4), 168-176.

6. Previous Iterations (pre 2011)
Printed manuals with some face-to-face training

8. Analytics
From the previous printed onboarding training guides

10. Early Computer-Based Training
In 1984, Guilfoyle stated “[c]ontrolled testing showed the computer-
based method of training [of library student workers] to be at least as
effective as the more traditional one-to-one tutorial approach used
previously. From the supervisor’s standpoint, computer-based training
precluded the necessity of repeatedly presenting the most basic job
information to a body of student workers almost impossible to
assemble in a group” (p. 333).
Guilfoyle, M. (1984). Computer-assisted training for student library assistants. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 10(6), 333-336.

11. 2nd Iteration
(2011-2017)
With a printed manual and regular face-to-face
interaction becoming increasingly more difficult,
library administration developed tabs in Libguides
for student workers and library staff, whose
schedules varied over a wide range of hours, to
consult.
The intent was to have consistent training that
was available upon demand since the manual was
now located online, and could be updated based
on the role with appropriate permissions.

12. 2nd Iteration’s Landing Page

13. Clocking in/out Training Guide

14. 2nd Iteration’s Analytics
in Libguides

15. An Iterative Process
Wallace (2009) asserted “[p]roviding a well-developed orientation
protects the investments of the hiring process, eases new employees’
anxieties, and enhances their work. The orientation process
communicates key information about the library and the employee’s
role in it. Ideally, the perspective of a new employee heavily affects
orientation design, and the resulting program attends to the
employee’s needs” (p. 175).
Wallace, K. (2009). Creating an effective new employee orientation program. Library Leadership & Management, 23(4), 168-176.

16. 3rd Iteration (2017)
The library administration wanted to train all employees in one place
that could integrate and embed multiple tools.
The interactive online tutorials in Office Mix were short, detailed and
provided data analytics about who completed the training, and how
long the employee took to complete the training.
We could embed the Qualtrics form seamlessly into Libguides.

17. Landing page
Landing Page

18. ARC Onboarding Page

19. An Embedded
Qualtrics Form
in LibGuides

20. A Screen Capture of
Office Mix Presentation

21. Duration of Training Captured in
Office Mix

22. Circulation Module
Pre & Post Test Results
All HLLC Student Workers
100.00% 100.00%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
HLLC PreTest HLLC
PostTest
Circulation
Pre & Post Test Results
ALL HLLC Student Workers
N=9

23. Comparison of L1 & L2 HLLC Student Workers--
Circulation
100.0% 100.0%
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
120.0%
HLLC L1
PreTest
HLLC L1
PostTest
Circulation
Pre & Post Test Results
L1 HLLC Student Workers
100.0% 100.0%
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
120.0%
HLLC L2 PreTest HLLC L2 PostTest
Circulation
Pre & Post Test Results
L2 HLLC Student Workers
N=3 N=6

24. ARC
Pre & Post Test Results
ALL HLLC Student Workers
72.80% 71.60%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
HLLC PreTest HLLC
PostTest
ARC
Pre & Post Test Results
ALL HLLC Student Workers
N=11

25. Comparison Between L1 & L2 HLLC Student
Workers—ARC
67.6% 70.0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
HLLC L1
PreTest
HLLC L1
PostTest
ARC
Pre & Post Test Results
L1 HLLC Student Workers
77.1%
72.9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
HLLC L2 PreTest HLLC L2 PostTest
ARC
Pre & Post Test Results
L2 HLLC Student Workers
N=5
N=6

26. CONTACT INFORMATION
Russell Michalak, MLIS Monica D.T. Rysavy, Ph.D. Trevor A. Dawes, MLS
Director
Hirons Library & Learning Center
Goldey-Beacom College
michalr@gbc.edu
Director
Institutional Research & Training
Goldey-Beacom College
rysavym@gbc.edu
Vice Provost for Libraries and
Museums and May Morris
University Librarian
University of Delaware
tadawes@udel.edu

27. Questions?