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1. Present
2. Apologies
3. What have you been reading? (Standing Item)
4. How are people using RA generally, at their library? (Standing Item)
5. Focus of the meeting is staff training/getting and keeping staff skilled and motivated
6. Reports on Training (5 mins/ presentation)
7. Overcoming barriers
8. Keeping up
9. Training strategies and content
10. Structure of training
11. Creating a staff reading culture
12. Points for communication

NSW Readers' Advisory Working Group meeting minutes

7 August 2018, Ryde Library

Chairing: Monique Akauola

Minutes: Helen Cowen

Acknowledgement of Country

1. Present

2. Apologies

3. What have you been reading? (Standing Item)

4. How are people using RA generally, at their library? (Standing Item)

5. Focus of the meeting is staff training/getting and keeping staff skilled and motivated

6. Reports on Training (5 mins/ presentation)

Jessica O’Reilly -report from recent Rewarding reading on training.
Vanessa Henderson - RA training at Ryde library
Monique Akauola - RA training at Sutherland Library

7. Overcoming barriers

Time and scheduling restraints
Budget
Space
Staff resistance/ lack of commitment
How to get and keep staff involved.

8. Keeping up

An important part of Readers Advisory is keeping up with what’s hot, in terms of books, trends and genres. What are your favourite tools, and how do you motivate and help staff to keep up with these?

How does your library use social media , newsletters and websites provide their staff with up-to-date information on new titles and trends,
Professional development tools-Share your favourite RA resources
Motivating and encouraging staff to use these resources. Incentives, rostered time for training?

9. Training strategies and content

How do you identify and address gaps in skill set?
Identify staff expertise and how do you use this?
Selecting content for inclusion in training – including fiction and non-fiction training
Evaluate success

10. Structure of training

In person training or online?
Formal vs Informal: Planned training sessions, Emails about articles, book talking, sharing books, RA training at staff meetings
Broad vs Specialized. Do staff get basic RA training? Refreshers? Do you undertake training in specific areas? Ie Genre /appeal factors/ Diversity in reading.
In-house vs Regional: Seminars, conferences, symposiums and scheduled time for planned discussion of RA topic at staff meetings.
Self- directed
New approaches
Training tools - What are your favourites?

11. Creating a staff reading culture

Have you done this? Any ideas on how to undertake this.

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