After releasing an RFP to select the appropriate consultantto provide the communications training, La Torre Communications was selected asthe most qualified candidate.  Meetingsbetween the grant steering committee and La Torre Communications were held tocommunicate the needs of the district in terms of a curriculum andresources.  Two training sessions weredeveloped, the basic training focused on what attendees would need to knowabout effective communication, and the more advanced training focused onoutreach and providing awareness.

Appropriate venues were chosen, and a survey forregistration was dispersed for the first initial round of the basic training.  Surveys were administered district-wide tostaff, library board trustees, friends and volunteers of the libraries.  Participants were asked a series of questionsrelated to their experience with communicating services to the public, theirunderstanding of the mission of their library, and their level of comfortabilityin expressing their opinions.  Resultsfrom the survey were gathered and registrants were assigned to one of the five,2-hour training sessions available. 

Many of the attendees found the basic session to be helpful,and met their needs in being effective communicators in their workplace.  Others desired a more advanced type oftraining, and were offered the opportunity to register for the outreach training.  A registration survey was administered tostaff, Board trustees, friends and volunteers of the libraries who hadpreviously attended the basic session. Results from the survey were gathered and registrants for the advancedtraining were assigned to one of the four sessions that encompassed an entireday of learning.

The expected benefit of conducting these trainings was toeffectively meet a series of goals for the attendees.  The basic session was designed to assist attendeeson becoming a more effective communicator, help the attendees to identifyopportunities to improve their communication skills and assist the attendees inanswering difficult questions.  Theadvanced training was designed to help attendees continue to build on the basictraining, to assist attendees in becoming an effective program resource, and tohelp attendees in improving their level of communication concerning theirlibraries' services in real life scenarios.

During the basic sessions, training was provided on the development of a communications strategy, identifying communications 'channels' (including both traditional and social media outlets), the development of effective techniques to communicate services to the public, conveying a library's message, and how to handle a few of the tough questions posed by those who may not understand services the library provides.  Interactive discussion was encouraged among the attendees as they were instructed to work through various scenarios.  The development of a three-point talking strategy was encouraged, with the goals of speaking as one voice in an organization, understanding that one can be in control of a situation when it comes to talking about the services their library provides, and also understanding that these individuals are the face of their libraries at every moment when they are interacting and communicating with others.

During the advanced training session attendees were presented with topics to better their knowledge and understanding of the benefits of effective outreach, provide assistance in their development in becoming an effective library services resource, and learn how to effectively communicate their library's message in real life scenarios.  The schedule for the full day's session included an overview of program outreach, the development of a message, various communication tips and techniques, an on-camera communication component with various library-related scenarios, and the critique and review of those on camera interviews to better the skills of those who attended.  Topics from the basic training were also referred to, as many of the basic foundational concepts in effective outreach communications are relied upon.