Digital Skills Training: Challenges and Approaches for Libraries

In October, 11 library authorities got together with Lorensbergs to share challenges and solutions for maintaining staff’s digital skills. When resourcing is low and training demands are high, keeping all staff up to speed is a tough nut to crack. But it’s an important challenge to overcome.

Over half of libraries have been seeing an increase in demands for digital support in 2023. The need for help with online jobseeking, benefits and other services requiring digital know-how has grown significantly this year.

Over a third are seeing more users request advice for staying safe online. Plus extra skills support is needed for users to manage cost of living challenges more effectively.

In our discussions we made the distinction between new starter training needs and approaches to ongoing training. The following is a quick synopsis.

Digital skills for new starters

Inductions for new starters are taking elements of the following approaches:

• A combination of formal and informal formats
  Formal: demos, online modules, videos, manuals – mostly library specific, some council-wide
  Informal: hands-on including observation or shadowing
• A checklist of tasks and skills new staff should learn, usually combining customer-facing skills and systems related or office processes
• Time defined goals – e.g. knowledge after 4 weeks, 9 weeks, 12 weeks, 26 weeks

With the above methods in place, here’s what’s making new starter training more effective:

• One-to-one follow ups and Q&A after formal module completion helps identify inaccuracies and gaps
• Expecting staff to be proactive in ensuring their training checklist is all ticked off
• Placing importance on observation-based training as an essential supplement to formal and online formats

One area needing attention is that despite authorities tending to include council-wide training modules, there is often lack of foresight on how to make best use of library services. Time and again we hear how other departments direct users to the library but without important information e.g. customers are sent without advice on supporting documents for blue badge applications. Of course, these are exactly the sort of people who are less mobile and need to avoid wasted trips! So there is definitely more scope for stronger cross-council working which is one area that could be dealt with in council-wide induction materials.

Ongoing or top-up training approaches

Maintaining a focus and priority on digital skills as part of regular working isn’t easy for libraries. It’s an essential objective however with technology always moving and the constant need to ‘upskill’. A number of methods were highlighted for effective ways to keep staff up to speed with their skills. Here’s what’s working:

• Assess staff competence by conducting regular quizzes then providing refresher training where needed
• Disseminating know-how via ‘Digital Champions’ or ‘Digital Smarties’ – with visibility of each post holder’s particular areas of expertise
• Delivering training via Microsoft Teams to include as many staff as possible
• Conduct digital skills audits: typically, staff are given a list of digital skills and indicate their confidence level for each

Audits are important for understanding shared issues and needs, as a way to direct training for the most critical areas. It helps balance the high reliance on one-to-one induction training which isn’t so suited to identifying needs that are wider spread. A good example is from Digital Communities Wales which helps ensure training needs are understood across the country through their audits. At the same time, some authorities use quizzes to increase staff awareness of where they need to brush up and encourage more self-directed learning.

In conclusion, having the right training available is incredibly important. But with technology developing at an unstoppable pace, libraries have their work cut out.

Staff often need to wear several hats and so need to maintain a good and wide level of knowledge. A combination of the approaches discussed above are helping them to manage a difficult challenge as well as possible. To read the full discussion findings, including a series of mini case studies, download the summary document here.