Current Trends in the Continuing Education and Training of Reference Staff

Changes in the library's environment and in the expectations of its clientele are related to trends in reference training. Those changes include less time for reference managers to prepare training packages for staff; more initial library contact of clientele with paraprofessional staff; increased expectations of users that library service will be the same in rural areas as in urban areas; and an increased need for non-traditional approaches to reference continuing education and training. This article describes continuing education and training programs that help library staff adapt to these changes, such as the California Opportunities in Reference Excellence project, Maryland's reference training based on unobtrusive reference research, peer evaluation of reference staff in Minnesota, and several other programs specifically for training paraprofessionals in reference.