Yesterday at Library Council, Judy brought up the issue of workshops, especially those being offered by UF HR that now have costs associated with enrollment (e.g. the Office Suite training classes). Those classes now cost around $75 to take and the library will be charged for the ‘tuition’. Her view is this: staff can take the classes when it is justified for their duties; but, staff will have to get approval from their supervisors and dept. chairs, and ultimately from the division director. Yes, it’s complicated now to take a class that costs the library money. I’ll back any staff who has a good reason, so please don’t let this policy deter you from requesting a workshop if it’s important for your job.

The other thing Judy stated as a reminder was that staff needed to check with their supervisors before they enrolled in any workshop, whether the library is charged fees or not. Judy says this policy is not intended to keep staff from taking workshops; she just wants to make sure staff are taking workshops appropriate for their duties. Again, don’t let this policy keep you from taking useful workshops. Thank you, Steve