Training
Ontario Library Service offers a variety of professional development and training opportunities, from webinars, to on-demand course, to certificate programs.
Explore some of the opportunities below. For the full listing, including on-demand courses and recording of webinars, login to your LearnHQ.ca account.
Don't forget to sign up for the Training Bulletin.
Certificate Programs
EXCEL is a practical, flexible, distance education program that provides an opportunity to acquire and develop core skills in areas of public library service
The Advancing Public Library Leadership (APLL) Institute is a two year certificate program designed to expand and advance the leadership capacity of public library CEOs and managers.
Programs in Partnership
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
The Ontario Library Service is thrilled to partner with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital and one of the world's leading research centres in its field, to provide continuing mental health education for library professionals with the specialized knowledge and skills they need to support mental health in Ontario public libraries.
Ontario public library leaders have the opportunity to purchase a license through OLS for staff and management to participate in training using library-centric experiences and scenarios that address identified mental health issues facing library workplaces:Managing Mental Health in the Workplace for Leaders Workshop (4 hours)
Learning Outcomes:
- Recognize your own biases and assumptions about mental health and addiction in the workplace
- Apply given framework for approaching an individual who may be suffering from a mental health or addiction issue
- Understand the role and responsibilities of a team leader when an employee is on leave and how to manage the return-to-work process
- Identify strategies for creating psychologically healthy and safe teams in the workplace
Customer Service and De-escalation Training Workshop (2.5 hours)
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify self-awareness and self-management strategies
- Describe the application of de-escalation skills
- Identify de-escalation principles and the appropriate de-escalation techniques
- Knowledge about why specific de-escalation skills are used
Once a licence is purchased, OLS will provide available session dates per quarter. Ontario public library administrators can register individual staff members for either, or both, sessions through the OLS LearnHQ registration portal.
Once a library's total number of registrations reaches 50, or a full year has elapsed from the date of purchase, the license will expire.
Attendance and assignment of each organizations’ seats is at the discretion of their CEO or designate and must be coordinated with the OLS. The OLS will schedule as many members of the same library system together in each session as possible, but does reserve the right to distribute groups according to our scheduling needs.
Centre for Equitable Library Access
Accessibility is a crucial consideration for Ontario’s public libraries. CELA is proud to partner with OLS to offer free, enhanced accessibility training for libraries to support Ontarians with print disabilities.
The “CELA Service in Ontario Public Libraries” certificate is open to library staff and volunteers at all service levels, and offered in both English and French. The program provides a comprehensive overview of CELA’s services in four, one hour-long recordings:
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CELA Orientation
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Educator Access Program
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Accessible Reading Technologies, Devices, and Apps
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Accessible Library Services for Kids and Teens
Participants will learn about:
- CELA’s services and collection of over one million items in audio, e-text, and braille formats
- Print disabilities and who qualifies to use CELA’s services
- How to register a patron for a CELA account
- Accessible reading technologies and how to order books on behalf of patrons
- Tips to support patrons with print disabilities including programming tips for kids and teens’ activities.
A certificate will be provided by OLS upon completion of the program.
2023 Virtual Conference
LearnHQ Learning Management System
LearnHQ is the exclusive learning management system (LMS) used by the Ontario Library Service for delivery of educational courses, training programs, materials and learning and development programs. It is a registration-based system that is only available to those working and/or volunteering in an Ontario public library system, including library board members, public library leaders and staff, volunteers, and students.
The content on LearnHQ is developed to meet the operational and governance needs of public library systems and to support and empower the professional development and networking skills development of Ontario’s public libraries to continuously adapt and improve services to their unique communities.
Please visit www.learnhq.ca to register for an account and view an orientation video on how to navigate the system. If you have any further questions, please contact: Lee Puddephatt, OLS Training and Events Coordinator, 647-264-7328, lpuddephatt@olservice.ca.
LearnHQ is the exclusive learning management system (LMS) used by the Ontario Library Service for delivery of educational courses, training programs, materials and learning and development programs. It is a registration-based system that is only available to those working and/or volunteering in an Ontario public library system, including library board members, public library leaders and staff, volunteers, and students.
The content on LearnHQ is developed to meet the operational and governance needs of public library systems and to support and empower the professional development and networking skills development of Ontario’s public libraries to continuously adapt and improve services to their unique communities.
Please visit www.learnhq.ca to register for an account and view an orientation video on how to navigate the system. If you have any further questions, please contact: Lee Puddephatt, OLS Training and Events Coordinator, 647-264-7328, lpuddephatt@olservice.ca.