The librarian's salary was paid for by the city and included about 80-90 per cent release time from regular duties. A minimum of six to eight weeks lead time before the start of the training classes is recommended to carry out a successful recruitment program. Application requirements such as a letter of recommendation from a recent teacher, a brief essay as a part of the written application, and a 15-minute oral interview with writing sample were helpful in selecting the most mature and responsible candidates. Recruitment results varied at different points during the traditional school year. For example, we had the best response in January and a limited response in early June.
Training Managing the training classroom requires two people at all times during the sessions.
An instructor and an assistant are needed to troubleshoot computers, help maintain order, and keep the students on track with their work. Integrating these techniques into the traditional lecture, demonstration, and hands-on practice sessions proved to be very successful. Clear guidelines need to be established about referring reference questions to reference staff and should be reinforced with examples and feedback throughout the program. This program model could be extended to a wider audience. While teens may be better suited to assisting their peers or younger children who have similar or less complicated information needs, those college-aged and up are probably better suited to helping a primarily adult audience.