Too Big for One-Shots, Too Complicated for Videos: Insights and Best Practices for Train-the-Trainer Programs 

Ilana Stonebraker

Indiana University- Bloomington

Ilana Stonebraker

Research Interests�scholarship of teaching and learning, business information literacy, decision-making, groupwork, accreditation

Background�19 years in business libraries: Purdue (Krannert), University of Michigan (Ross), University of Washington (Foster)

Other Duties�Head, Sciences and Social Sciences (Education, Sciences, Health Sciences library)

Librarian

Head, Business/ SPEA Library, IU Bloomington

Business/ SPEA Library

Research Support�- 2 librarians, 2 full-time staff, 30 student workers�- 14 reservable study rooms�- 500,000 visits annually

Schools Supported�- Kelley School of Business�- O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA)�

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libraries.indiana.edu/bsl

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Faculty-Focused IL Approach or Train the Trainer

• “A faculty-focused, or teach the teachers, model of IL is one in which librarians would spend a significant amount of time developing, implementing or supporting faculty development activities or initiatives that are intended to teach faculty how to teach IL” (Hammons 2022)

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Examples of Train-the-trainers

• Faculty development grants
• Faculty development workshops
• Credentials for instructors
• Trainings for faculty in specific department (such as English composition instructors)

Situation originally- 5,000 students

• 50 sections of C104 (Business Presentations) and C204 (Business Writing) (required courses)
• Required courses for Kelley School of Business Students
• Both had assignments tied to real world case examples
• C104- class visits and videos for case assignment
• C204 assignment design and videos for case assignment
• Client for case example changes every semester

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Why the model wasn’t working

• 50 became 94 sections of each class. 10,000 undergraduates in Kelley School of Business
• Case assignment changed every semester, meaning new videos every semester
• Videos were used, but low video usage in C104 compared to C204

Approach Change- New Model in 2022

Approach Change

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How can librarians train faculty?

• Librarians work with students over multiple years, giving the librarians a longitudinal perspectives on student learning. Students often become quite candid with librarians as well.
• Librarians frequently bring together teams to amass the expertise needed for projects. They’re well versed in where to find specific expertise throughout the library and campus, and how to turn this into action
• Mindset. Librarians are collaborative and non-competitive. They believe in a culture of colleagues raising each other up.

Sobel, Karen. "Not So Different: Academic Librarians and the Art of Faculty Development." The Journal of Faculty Development 40.1 (2026): 58-60.

What makes a good Train-the-Trainer?

Stonebraker, Ilana, and Sarah LeMire. "Requesting Librarian-Led Information Literacy Support: Instructor Approaches, Experiences, and Attitudes." portal: Libraries and the Academy 23.4 (2023): 843-862.

“I was not the student that I am today. I think a lot of people say that, but I mean it . . . The most I recall from undergrad was that I was very hunt and peck and find on my own. I would physically walk in and start looking around at physical objects in my library. Searching was very hit or miss, very physical, very find what you can find with the resources available”

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“When I got to the dissertation with my PhD, the level of research and strategies got much more in depth, and that was working with each other as peers to try to find the best materials for what we were doing. Even as a PhD, I didn’t fully understand.”

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“I didn’t come from a long line of people being exposed to scholarship . . . I mean, I was talking to my mom today, and she said, “Now you sound like a professor.” Our students come from all backgrounds, and I think it’s important to do a little instruction and if you want to call it handholding. Because if we don’t know who has experience and confidence with how you engage research, those students [who had instruction] will continue to do well. And those students who haven’t had that, maybe they move a little bit closer towards being a more scholarly type person, but a lot is put on them to figure it out. I don’t like that approach. I don’t think it’s an equitable approach.

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• “critical reading, thinking, writing—in the sense of analysis—but it’s really connected to the idea of critical care.”
• “Someday you need to be that expert, but until then, you need to find experts.”
• “think it is beyond helpful, extremely great for our students. It’s the second voice of authority that they are getting exposed to.” A third declared, “I love when the librarians come in because it’s another voice in addition to my own.”

Topics for Train the Trainer

• What we’re seeing from your students
• What the literature says on information literacy
• Crash course in Business Reference
• Top databases
• Finding things in business databases
• Breaking down this semester’s case
• Managing the research process as a group
• Presentations by C104 and C204 presentations on information literacy topic

Best practices for implementing

• Importance of peer support
• Explaining the why
• Giving people options for discussion

Assessment

Example: one session had 25 instructors, who taught collectively 25 sections of 25 students each, 2,500 students avoiding 100 one-shots

Assessment

“I thought this session was useful and informative. I love the collegial atmosphere Ilana and Gary promote.”

�“Thank you for developing such an applicable presentation for us. I'm already retooling my team development content which happens next week, so perfect timing!”

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“What a wonderful training -- exceptionally organized and clear. Thank you!”

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Things I like about Train the Trainer

Drawbacks of train the trainer

Thoughts for further implementation for other disciplinary information literacy

• What types of things do subject specialists need to know before pursing train-the-trainer opportunities? In what ways are librarians under-prepared?
• Are our examples “too small” compared to full scale faculty development? (One class trainings with multiple instructors?
• What do we know or not know about faculty development and motivation for content integration, and how can we address those gaps?

Works Cited

Bowles-Terry, M., & Sobel, K. (2022). Librarians as faculty developers: Competencies and recommendations. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(1), 102474.

Hammons, Jane. "The Faculty-Focused Model of Information Literacy: Insights from the Faculty Development Literature." Journal of Information Literacy 16.2 (2022): 22-40.

Sobel, Karen. "Not So Different: Academic Librarians and the Art of Faculty Development." The Journal of Faculty Development 40.1 (2026): 58-60.

Stonebraker, Ilana, and Sarah LeMire. "Requesting Librarian-Led Information Literacy Support: Instructor Approaches, Experiences, and Attitudes." portal: Libraries and the Academy 23.4 (2023): 843-862.

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