Evaluation of Library Initiative Training • 2003-5

A summary of events and evaluation has been posted after the completion of each training.

The University of Washington Information School did a K12 Library Initiative Research Study conducted by Dr. Betty Marcoux. For details of the results view this PowerPoint document.

One of the K-12 project goals was to train 1442 librarians over three summers. We trained 53% of our goal during the summers 2003-5 at 50 regional sites.
809 people registered
764 people attended

165 school districts sent someone to the K-12 workshops. This is 56% of districts in the state but 89% of the districts that report having library positions. Even a few districts without library positions, sent someone to the K12 workshops. The largest representation came from four districts: Kent with 41 people, Edmonds with 31 people, Spokane with 26 people, and Seattle with 20 people.

Participants were asked to fill out two different evaluations.

The first one was a customized form for librarians taking Clock Hours. 352 evaluations were returned. The Report Summary divides the participants into six categories and three levels.

1	Classified Support	128	Elementary
288	Librarians	64	Middle and High
5	Paraeducator	13	K-12
10	Teacher Regular Ed	156	Undesignated
2	Facilitator
45	Undesignated

The second one was a general evaluation of the training asking nine questions. 670 evaluations were returned or 88%. 312 people made additional comments or 47%.

There appeared to be common themes throughout most of the evaluations.

1. Lots and lots of Kudos!
2. Trainers were appreciated especially for their enthusiasm and hard work. They were well prepared and kept the group interested. The trainers were encouraging, knowledgeable, positive, easy to relate to, peppy, helpful and practical.
3. Majority of those requesting clock hours felt the workshop was useful.
4. Would highly recommend to other librarians in their districts. Even principals should attend.
5. Many would like a follow-up. (Two Follow-Up workshops were held in the Spring of 2004 and 2005.)
6. More time wanted for peer discussion and sharing of ideas.
7. Participants felt: inspired, empowered, energized, enlightened, connected, part of the loop and grateful.
8. Workshop was: "user friendly", informative, relevant, useful, organized, plus gave direction and purpose to the library program. It also provided an excellent balance of instruction and discussion feedback, provided great content and resources. On the whole well worth their time.