The following training is provided by BC’s six library federations, through funding made available by Public Libraries Branch, Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Each course is free and available to anyone working at one of the KLF member libraries. Click on each training opportunity for more information and to register. You will need to provide the name of your library federation (InterLINK, IslandLink, Kootenay, North Central, North East or Northwest).
Safe Harbour: Introduction to Diversity and Inclusion course
Offered by the Affiliation of Multi-cultural societies and Service Agencies of BC (AMSSA), this workshop will help all public library staff in BC to build awareness of diversity, understand the value of diversity and inclusion and address issues of discrimination in the workplace. To Register: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CGC77K8
Customer Service Training
Offered through the UVic Gustavson School of Business, this training is available to all public library staff across BC. These popular courses include informative, actionable content based on easy-to-follow frameworks that are applicable whether you serve customers or colleagues locally or internationally. After completing a final quiz, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business. To Register:
Level 2: Moments of Power to Elevate the Customer Experience
Level 3a: Develop a Service Strategy – Create a Service Organization that Shows Results
Level 3b: Make Service your Advantage by Building a Strong Service System – Interlink
Indigenous Awareness e-Training
All public library staff in BC have access to the Indigenous Awareness training courses offered through the Indigenous Relations Academy. These courses offer a foundation of knowledge about the historical background of indigenous relations in Canada and students can expect to learn about history, culture, and relationships with indigenous people. Contact ndiebel@interlinklibraries.ca to register.
Please note: this course is the pre-requisite for the Indigenous Relations e-training.
Indigenous Relations e-Training
All public library staff in BC have access to the Indigenous Relations training courses offered through the Indigenous Relations Academy. These courses offer a foundation of knowledge about the historical background of indigenous relations in Canada and students can expect to learn about history, culture, and relationships with indigenous people. Contact ndiebel@interlinklibraries.ca to register.
Please note: library staff need to take the pre-requisite Indigenous Awareness e-Training before the Indigenous Relations e-Training.
This training is made possible with funding from the Covid Relief and Recovery grant program. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
Ryan Dowd Homeless Training
Homeless Training by Ryan Dowd is an online de-escalation training for public library staff across BC who interact with individuals experiencing homelessness. To Register: https://forms.gle/DnHA3hF8wqELKr4x5.
Librarians Course: Autism and Intellectual Difficulties
This course offers information about autism and intellectual disability for public library staff across BC. It offers communication techniques and strategies for supporting autistic people and people with intellectual disability. It also presents ideas for increasing a library’s capacity to serve the autism and/or intellectual disability community. Contact ndiebel@interlinklibraries.ca to register.
Homelessness Services Association of BC
Through their partnership with the Homelessness Services Association of BC, InterLINK is able to offer free access to in person workshops and online webinars for public library staff across BC. Topics include substance abuse awareness, work-life balance for front line workers and conflict, communication and listening skills. For a comprehensive list of upcoming training opportunities, please see the calendar: https://hsa-bc.ca/cgi/page.cgi/events_training.html. Contact ndiebel@interlinklibraries.ca to register.