Embrace a Growth Mindset
The Capital Area Library District strongly encourages professional development for all staff members. Allowing staff time to learn helps them excel, grow, and feel invested. A more empowered library staff helps to create empowered communities.
Discover the professional development opportunities offered by the district below. Have a learning need and having difficulty finding the right resource? Reach out to staff at the Capital Area Library District with your request. Need a CE Certificate for attending a training that meets the Governor’s Advisory Council guidelines for CE? Complete this form.
Looking for training for your board members? Visit our Trustee Training page for resources and guidance.
LibraryU
With LibraryU, take courses at your own pace, track achievements, and build community with others around the district – all online and on your own schedule.
Online Webinars: A list of websites offering webinars and an archive of recorded webinars:
Webinar Website Highlights
- Maine State Library’s National CE Calendar — an excellent resource for free online training, with a calendar of CE topics arranged and color-coded by topic.
- Webjunction — presented by OCLC, is “the learning place for libraries.” Build knowledge, skills, and confidence through free self-paced courses, webinars, and idea-sharing blog posts. Webinars taken on Webjunction are eligible for CE credit.
- Niche Academy
- EdWeb
- OCLC
- Library 2.0
- Public Library Association
Public Libraries
- Webjunction
- Maine State Library’s National CE Calendar — an excellent resource for free online training, with a calendar of CE topics arranged and color-coded by topic.
- InfoPeople
- Public Library Association
- American Libraries Live
- Emporia State University
- Library 2.0
- Library Journal
- EveryLibrary
- OCLC
- National Institutes of Health Training
- National Network of Libraries of Medicine
- Niche Academy
- Demco
- EBSCO
- Georgia Library Association
- Colorado State Library
- Idaho Commission for Libraries
- Indiana State Library
- Nebraska Library Commission
- Southwest Florida Library Network
- Texas State Library and Archives
- North Dakota State Library
- Washington State Library
- Utah State Library
Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
Leadership
Training, Education, & Human Resources
Live Classes
*Empathetic De-Escalation Sessions:
For those who get anxious when handling broken rules? Who could use some skills for de-escalating situations when patrons are upset? Who would like to earn some CEUs? (3.5 CEUs).
DCLS is offering Empathetic De-Escalation Sessions at East Shore Area Library and Elizabethville Library in December. These sessions are in-person and are open to all district staff.
The late-2025 sessions of Empathetic De-Escalation are now open for registration. They will be held on December 4 from 12:30-4:30 PM at ESA in room A and on December 15 from 12:30-4:30 PM at EV.
To register, go to the Training SharePoint page and fill out the registration form (for DCLS staff) or email dweiman@dcls.org (for CALD staff).
Learning Kits
An eReader Petting Zoo is now available. This kit contains a variety of eReader devices (including Android, Apple, Kindle, and Kobo) to help your staff practice using library apps. It can be used at a staff meeting or temporarily placed in a staff-only area for practice during quiet periods. Request it by emailing Dustin Brinton-Wilson at dwilson@dcls.org.
Compendium
More information about these resources can be found here. The State also provides opportunities to attend live webinars with expert presenters. Keep an eye on their training schedule by following Compendium, the Pennsylvania Libraries’ news blog.
PANO
PANO is a hub for shared knowledge, experience, and expertise to help Pennsylvania nonprofit professionals grow better together.
Through online and in-person programs, we equip nonprofit staff, board members, and volunteers with knowledge, fresh ideas, and best practices to succeed. Scroll down for our upcoming events calendar to see what we’ve got on deck.
Niche Academy
The Office of Commonwealth Libraries subscribes to Niche Academy. Its staff academy hosts helpful tutorials on a wide range of topics, including accessibility, community engagement, director resources, human resources, and more. These trainings are eligible for CE credit. A public academy is also available; direct your patrons here for them to learn how to use common databases and a wealth of other useful skills
Ryan Dowd Trainings
The Capital Area Library District also subscribes to Ryan Dowd‘s training series. Any district staff member can request access to this academy; email Dustin at dwilson@dcls.org to let him know you’re interested, and he will set it up.