Learning commons coordinators and supervisors from across North American shared how they train students (methods and content), approach ongoing professional development of student staff, and how they monitor or assess the overall quality and accuracy of their student service models. This article presents the findings of a study that investigated how training and assessment is approached with student staff in a learning commons environment. In such service models, students are the front line contact and the need for knowledgeable assistance and accurate referrals remains paramount. Many student-delivered services in learning commons compliment programs traditionally offered exclusively by professional staff such as librarians, IT professionals, learning specialists or student affairs personnel. How do you effectively train and assess student staff in a learning commons environment? How do you foster a student-led approach while maintaining accurate and high-level service? How do you create an environment where student staff are engaged and motivated to succeed? Peer-to-peer service models are fundamental to many learning commons environments and contribute to student success. The results of this study have implications for both library and information science educators and for the libraries that hire new librarians.
The results of this study indicate that while academic librarians are keenly aware of the instructional expectations inherent in their reference work, they are poorly prepared to meet these expectations by both their pre-service education and on-the-job training. The professional experiences of librarians at a research university are considered in the context of the current curricular focus of American Library Association-accredited degree-granting institutions, as well as of the training curriculum provided at the institution where they are currently employed. This study examines how the education and training of academic librarians prepares them for the teaching expectations of reference work.
For many academic librarians, however, the pre-service preparation for these teaching expectations is woefully limited.
In the course of a reference transaction, academic librarians are expected to help patrons both find the information they are seeking while educating the patron about the process of finding, evaluating, and using information.
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