Curtis Rogers Consulting, LLC

Providing training and consulting services to libraries and non-profits.

Join me for Onboarding New Library Employees: Setting Up Staff for Success

Posted by

Dr. Curtis Rogers

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January 8, 2026; 2:00-3:00PM Eastern

Bringing new staff on board is one of the most important investments your library can make. A thoughtful, well-designed onboarding process does more than cover policies and procedures—it shapes how new employees feel about their work, their colleagues, and your organization from day one.

On January 8, 2026, from 2:00–3:00 PM Eastern, I’ll be partnering with LibraryWorks to offer a practical, one-hour webinar focused entirely on building (or strengthening) an effective onboarding process for library staff. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

In this session, I’ll walk participants through proven strategies for welcoming new employees, integrating them into your library’s culture, and helping them feel confident, supported, and prepared to succeed. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining an existing onboarding program, this webinar is designed to give you ideas you can put into practice right away.

What You’ll Gain from This Webinar

Participants will leave with actionable tools and strategies, including a sample onboarding checklist, that can be adapted to libraries of all sizes. We’ll focus on both the practical and the human sides of onboarding—because successful onboarding is as much about communication and connection as it is about paperwork.

During the webinar, participants will learn how to:

  • Use templates and checklists to design or enhance a library onboarding program
  • Develop an onboarding process that fosters engagement, inclusion, and long-term success
  • Collaborate effectively with human resources and other departments to streamline onboarding
  • Apply key communication and time management strategies during the onboarding period
  • Conduct meaningful follow-up and evaluation to support staff satisfaction and retention

Why Onboarding Matters More Than Ever

Libraries are facing ongoing challenges with recruitment, retention, and staff well-being. A strong onboarding process sends a clear message to new employees: you matter, you belong here, and we want you to succeed. When onboarding is done well, it lays the foundation for confidence, engagement, and long-term commitment.

If you’re responsible for hiring, supervising, or supporting new staff—or if you want your library to be more intentional about how it welcomes employees—this webinar will provide practical guidance you can use immediately.

I hope you’ll join LibraryWorks and me on January 8 for this focused, hands-on conversation about setting new library employees up for success from day one.

Session moderator: Kathy Dempsey, Director of Continuing Education for LibraryWorks. She’s been around the library industry since 1986, serving as a paraprofessional in public and academic libraries, as a writer and editor for international publications, as a conference organizer, and as a marketing trainer at her consultancy Libraries Are Essential. Kathy has been giving webinars since the platforms became popular, and she started presenting for LibraryWorks in 2016. Find her at www.linkedin.com/in/kathydempsey; email her at Kathy@LibraryWorks.com; or call her at 856/366-5872. REGISTER TODAY WHILE SPACES ARE AVAILABLE.

Registration fee: $49/person.

Group Rates: Groups of four or more are just $25 per person! Everyone gets their own login link for the webinar, plus a copy of the recording the day after the live event. Please USE THIS LINK to purchase for your group and upload your list of attendees. If you have any difficulty uploading your list, you can send it directly to kathy@libraryworks.com.

Can’t attend live? All registrants will receive a copy of the recording the day after the webinar.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs): All attendees will earn 0.1 CEU and receive their certificate via email the day after the webinar.

About LibraryWorks
LibraryWorks’ mission is to help you make informed decisions about library technology, automation and software, collection development and management, facilities and furnishings, staffing, purchasing, and other areas that drive effective strategic planning and day-to-day operations. Our family of resources can enable you to identify best practices, monitor trends, evaluate new products and services, hone new skills, and even enjoy some library humor. Visit us at http://www.LibraryWorks.com

Dr. Curtis Rogers Avatar

About the author

    Dr. Curtis Rogers is a library consultant who has worked in the library and information science field for over 35 years. He has worked at the Union (SC) Carnegie Library, and the Charleston County (SC) Public Library, and retired as the Communications Director of the South Carolina State Library. He has also taught courses at the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, a Master of Library and Information Science, and a Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Carolina. In 2001, he completed the University of the Azores Summer Study Course in Azorean Portuguese Culture and Language and in 2002 completed the Certified Public Manager credential. In 2008, he was President of the SC Library Association. Rogers developed a national library survey on library use of social media for public relations and presented this survey’s results at the 2009 German Library Association Conference and at the State and University Library of Hamburg. He has served as secretary of the board of the Library Marketing and Communications Conference and as secretary of the SC Academy of Authors, as well as chair of the USC School of Library and Information Annual Literacy Leaders (ALL) Awards Committee. He has also served on the Friends of South Carolina Libraries (FOSCL) board and is a member of the ALA CORE Library Consultants group. He is a recipient of the 2015 F. William Summers Outstanding Alumni Award from the USC School of Library and Information Science.