The New Braunfels Public Library takes part in multiple professional staff training opportunities through the City of New Braunfels, numerous conferences, webinars, and other trainings specific to the library and information field. NBPL also supports continuing education for all staff. We currently have 2 staff members attending courses for library science degrees.
Conferences: Many of the staff attended and participated in professional library association conferences such as the Texas Library Association 2017 Annual Conference, Libraries & Literacy Workshop, Computers in Libraries Annual Conference, TxAEYC Conference, Research in Public Libraries Annual Conference, and more!
Seminars: Library staff also hosts 2, day-long staff training days every year. This year the seminars included topics such as How to Deal With Difficult Patrons, Best Practices in Customer Service, and Effectively Communicating with Colleagues and Patrons Based on Personality Types.
Webinars and Online Courses: The NBPL staff is heavily involved in attending webinars for various library specific trainings through organizations including Library Journal, TechSoup for Libraries, Infopoeple, School Library Journal, SpringShare, and the American Library Association. Some courses included Google Analytics and Graphic Design and some webinars topics included Effectively Responding to a Mental Health Crisis, Digital Skills We Need in Today’s World, Expert Tips For Choosing Adult Debut Fiction, Library Signage, etc.
City Training: NBPL staff participates in many training sessions offered through the City of New Braunfels. A few training opportunities that all library staff were encouraged to attend included Active Shooter Training and KnowB4 Training (keeping online data secure).
Database Training: Courses are made available to staff and patrons through our many databases such as Atomic Training and Learning Express. This year the library started a new staff training initiative and have implemented trainings through Niche Academy. Library staff are given off-desk time to complete these courses to become proficient in basic computer skills and the use of our databases. This makes our staff consistent in database knowledge to better serve our patrons with reference questions.
The NBPL staff are highly encouraged to join professional organizations in the library science field. Most of our librarians are active members of the Texas Library Association (TLA) and the American Library Association (ALA).
This list only exhibits a few of the many webinars, conferences, city trainings, etc. that the NBPL staff has participated in for the year 2017.
| Training | Date | Staff Attendance | Description of Training | Location |
| Effective Library Signage: Tips, Tricks, & Best Practices Workshop-ALA | 1/5/2017 | 7 | Mark Aaron Polger and Amy F. Stempler will provide you with the top ten tips to follow when preparing new signage for your library. | Online |
| Communication Styles Training | 1/11/2017 | all staff | Effectively communicate with colleagues and patrons based on personality types. | NBPL |
| Libraries & Literacy Workshop | 1/12/2017 | 1 | Literacy toolkit, accesss to professional development resoucres, overview of Learning Express Library, and best practices in partnership development | San Antonio, TX |
| Active Shooter Training | 1/26/217 | all staff | City-wide training, library safety. | New Braunfels, TX |
| Graphic Design for Librarians e-course | 2/6-3/3 2017 | 3 | 4 week course on graphic design for print and digital signage in libraries | Online |
| Computers in Libraries Conference | 3/27-3/31 2017 | 1 | Best practices, keynotes, exhibit hall, presentations, etc. | Arlington, VA |
| TLA Annual Conference | 4/19-4/22 2017 | most staff | Best practices, sessions, exhibit hall, workshops, presentations, etc. | San Antonio, TX |
| KnowBe4 Training | 6/5/2017 | all staff | Training on how to keep city data safe (citywide training) | Online |
| Google Analytics e-course | 8/7-8/31 2017 | 1 | 4-week course on how to best utilize Google Analytics for your library | Online |
| TLA District 10 Conference | 10/14/2017 | 3 | Best practices, break out sessions, etc. | San Antonio, TX |
| Tx AEYC Annual Conference | 10/19-10/21 2017 | 2 | Exhibit hall, keynotes, and best practices for educating young children | San Antonio, TX |
| Oversight Without Micromanagement Workshop | 10/25/2017 | all staff | How to effectively communicate with co-workers and angry patrons, manage your staff, and delegate tasks | NBPL |
| 2017 Association for Bookmobile and Outreach Services Conference | 10/25-10/27 2017 | 1 | Best practices, keynotes, seminars, etc. | Pittsburgh, PA |
| The Inclusive Library - Effectively Responding To A Mental Health Crisis Pt 1 & 2-Webinar | 11/17/2017 | 10 | How to deal with stressful/intense patron situations | Online |
| Mother Goose on the Loose Storytime workshop | 12/5/2017 | 2 | Best practices, tips, and techniques for presenting story times. | Brownwood, TX |