Keeping up with trends in services and technology is an important part of working in a library. New knowledge and skills can be acquired through course work, reading, workshops, conferences, online training, and mentoring.

Parkland Regional Library provides professional development for library managers, staff, and volunteers through an annual conference, Professional Development Days, regional and topical workshops, publications, and access to the professional development (PD) collection housed at PRL headquarters.

For information on upcoming workshops, see our workshop registration page. If you are attending two workshops on the same day lunch will be provided.

Ask your consultant about topical workshops such as customer service, collection development, database searching, etc.

Additional learning opportunities beyond those offered by Parkland Regional Library

Various institutions and organizations offer training opportunities online, face to face, or through distance education. These range from free tutorials to full credit courses. Some are available on demand while others are offered only periodically.

The Partnership, a coalition of Canada's provincial library associations offers audio and web conferences through The Education Institute from September to June. Topics are diverse and timely; fees are reasonable.

WebJunction has an extensive catalogue of self paced, online courses geared to library staff, ranging from basic computer applications and technology to budgeting, programming, and human resources. These courses generally have a $40 fee.

Infopeople,the training arm of the California State Library, provides access to over 200 training events through archived webcasts and webinars as well as podcasts from library leaders. All podcasts and archived presentations are free.

TechSoup Canada has a Learning Centre which includes access to free webinars, blogs, and articles on technology for nonprofits.

Alberta Employment offers eLearning programs to increase awareness of health and safety policy in Alberta.