Staff training and development programs can maximize the potential and effectiveness of employees in the dramatically changing environment of proliferating electronic resources, budgetary crises, downsizing, outsourcing, restructuring and reorganization. Most of these institutions participate in training delivered by their university's human resources division. A small number rely exclusively on formal training provided at the university level.
Some libraries have no staff training and development budget at all.
Some also cover foreign language training. A few libraries assign primary responsibility to other various entities, including Head of Administrative and Facilities Support Services, Human Resources Coordinator, Staff Development Intern, Library Systems Department, Interactive Media Professionals, Electronic Resources Librarian, Coordinator of User Education, persons responsible for staff development in a particular area, the Human Resources Director, or someone who coordinates training for employees wishing to take their own learning and development initiatives. Primary responsibility for staff training and development frequently rests with more than one entity, in combinations that usually include a committee. The average committee has seven members and spends three hours per week on staff development. Eighty percent of those with an established program and those currently in the planning stages conducted a needs assessment as a first step.