Training Millennials: a practical and theoretical approach

Purpose – For student reference supervisors and trainers, it is crucial to understand the characteristics of the millennial worker and how we can effectively train student reference employees in virtual reference. The purpose of this paper is to present best practices for training the millennial generation of reference workers on virtual reference.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a combination of a case study and theoretical approach including a literature review of “computer mediated communication” (CMC) theory as well as Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) best practices. This paper describes the creation of a training manual for the millennial student who works in reference and are the primary respondents to instant messaging.Findings – This project describes why it is necessary to train millennial student reference employees differently than librarians or paraprofessionals when dealing with virtual reference.Practical implications – This paper presents practical training techniqu...

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