Flexibility and feedback: a new approach to ongoing training for reference student assistants

Scheduling conflicts and budget deficits forced the termination of a classroom‐format training program for student assistants serving at a university library general reference desk. In its place has arisen a year‐round alternative approach to training that combines individualized instruction, hands‐on learning, scavenger hunts, and regular review of reference desk policies, practices, and procedures. This reincarnated undergraduate student assistant training program now allows for ongoing practice and increased feedback. Additional benefits of this new training program include greater student‐student and student‐staff interactions, the flexibility to quickly address perceived problems, and the ability to rapidly focus on new reference tools and reference policies.