Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Version

preprint

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

Purpose - 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

Design/methodology/approach - 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 Users Services Association(RUSA) best practices. This paper describes the creation of a training manual for the Millennial student worker.

Findings - Findings: This project proves that a different style of training is necessary for the Millennial generation.

Research limitations/implications -

Practical implications - Practical Implications: This paper presents practical training techniques that are grounded in two major communication theories - - "Politeness" theory and CMC theory and applies these theories to the practical training of the Millennial student.

Originality/value - Originality/Value: This paper presents the benefits of having a specific training approach when supervising the Millennial student reference worker, particularly when it comes to training for IM/chat reference services.

Comments

Pre-print made available with the permission of Emerald publishers. DOI:10.1108/00907321211203612

Published Citation

Langan, Kathleen. (2012) "Training Millennials: a practical and theoretical approach", Reference Services Review, Vol. 40 Iss: 1, pp.24 - 48

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