Biz of Acq - Training the New Acquisitions Technician: From Hire to Competence

More often than not, individuals hired into acquisition technician positions have no previous acquisitions work experience or education, and may even have no prior library work experience. Moving someone from knowing nothing or a little more than nothing to competence with work that may be quite complex is a monumental task, and this may be done mostly by trial and error by those who have to hire and have little experience with this. Once trained, new people usually know how to handle the majority of their work in accordance with basic procedures, and they also may not know how to organize their work, or prioritize their work. When training is done well, it requires a lot of time spent planning, working with people, and checking work. While the time commitment may seem monumental, a skilled and competent technician will save a great deal of time in the future, so whatever process you use for training, it's time well spent.