46 · Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
With staff having access to the broader picture, they can contribute more fully to the library’s mission, either by
performing their specific job with a greater sense of purpose, or by contributing in other ways to the library, e.g., as a
volunteer docent or serving on extracurricular committees.
Additional Comments
19. Please enter any additional information that may assist the authors’ understanding of your
library’s activities to socialize new hires. N=17
Another area of related research that is needed is continuing socialization of all employees. For instance, we offer
periodic “Open Houses” for our branch libraries and departments that help all employees get to know other areas of
the library (and other employees) better. Also, we offer a quarterly “Mystery Meet” where employees volunteer to be
assigned in random groups of four to go out to lunch together.
As an employer, we should remember how few chances we get to make a good first impression with a new employee.
According to statistics, a person changes jobs roughly 10 times between the ages of 18 and 37. Effective integration of
new employees, therefore, becomes essential for good human resource management. Providing new employees with
adequate orientation and successfully integrating them into the organization, known as on-boarding, involves making
sure employees have the tools and support they need to do their job—from the moment they are hired until they are up
and running in their job.
In addition to the Libraries’ specific efforts, the university conducts a broader new hire orientation. This addresses the
institution’s mission, history, and culture, as well as policies, benefits, and resources.
Most of our activities are informal, except as it relates to promotion, contract renewal, and tenure. We have nearly
completed a newly designed orientation program for new staff that we hope to implement soon, and would like to
develop a similar program for faculty.
On our campus, all new faculty can join the new faculty development program. In this formal program, for the first
few years they have regular training seminars on how to essentially be successful in the rank and tenure process. New
faculty choose a formal mentor. This mentor is paid a few hundred dollars as an incentive.
Our current socialization programs/activities have developed organically and we will begin approaching their design and
delivery in a more formalized fashion.
The Archivist Development Program (ADP) is a developmental program that orients new archivists to NARA and
provides opportunities for them to network with each other and meet senior leaders in the agency. As a group,
participants attend two training classes each year of the two-year program which helps them understand NARA’s
mission and vision, what NARA’s archivists do across the different program offices and the challenges they face. The
initial training introduces them to the office heads and each other. Prior to the class, we hold a conference call where
the participants informally meet each other and share their backgrounds. At the training, they receive nametags and a
class roster. Throughout the week, we encourage them to switch their seats each day, so as to facilitate meeting more
of their peers. The training also includes time for table and class discussions where they begin the sharing and exchange
of knowledge and information. Participants also identify and complete observational assignments/job shadowing and
a 30-day rotational assignment of their choice, either within the agency or outside to broaden their understanding of
With staff having access to the broader picture, they can contribute more fully to the library’s mission, either by
performing their specific job with a greater sense of purpose, or by contributing in other ways to the library, e.g., as a
volunteer docent or serving on extracurricular committees.
Additional Comments
19. Please enter any additional information that may assist the authors’ understanding of your
library’s activities to socialize new hires. N=17
Another area of related research that is needed is continuing socialization of all employees. For instance, we offer
periodic “Open Houses” for our branch libraries and departments that help all employees get to know other areas of
the library (and other employees) better. Also, we offer a quarterly “Mystery Meet” where employees volunteer to be
assigned in random groups of four to go out to lunch together.
As an employer, we should remember how few chances we get to make a good first impression with a new employee.
According to statistics, a person changes jobs roughly 10 times between the ages of 18 and 37. Effective integration of
new employees, therefore, becomes essential for good human resource management. Providing new employees with
adequate orientation and successfully integrating them into the organization, known as on-boarding, involves making
sure employees have the tools and support they need to do their job—from the moment they are hired until they are up
and running in their job.
In addition to the Libraries’ specific efforts, the university conducts a broader new hire orientation. This addresses the
institution’s mission, history, and culture, as well as policies, benefits, and resources.
Most of our activities are informal, except as it relates to promotion, contract renewal, and tenure. We have nearly
completed a newly designed orientation program for new staff that we hope to implement soon, and would like to
develop a similar program for faculty.
On our campus, all new faculty can join the new faculty development program. In this formal program, for the first
few years they have regular training seminars on how to essentially be successful in the rank and tenure process. New
faculty choose a formal mentor. This mentor is paid a few hundred dollars as an incentive.
Our current socialization programs/activities have developed organically and we will begin approaching their design and
delivery in a more formalized fashion.
The Archivist Development Program (ADP) is a developmental program that orients new archivists to NARA and
provides opportunities for them to network with each other and meet senior leaders in the agency. As a group,
participants attend two training classes each year of the two-year program which helps them understand NARA’s
mission and vision, what NARA’s archivists do across the different program offices and the challenges they face. The
initial training introduces them to the office heads and each other. Prior to the class, we hold a conference call where
the participants informally meet each other and share their backgrounds. At the training, they receive nametags and a
class roster. Throughout the week, we encourage them to switch their seats each day, so as to facilitate meeting more
of their peers. The training also includes time for table and class discussions where they begin the sharing and exchange
of knowledge and information. Participants also identify and complete observational assignments/job shadowing and
a 30-day rotational assignment of their choice, either within the agency or outside to broaden their understanding of
