The Libraries’ employees are encouraged to build their job-related skills, knowledge, and to stay up to date on current trends.
Have a question? Contact Christine Kshyna (x3729 or ckshyna@syr.edu) in Employee Services with questions.
Process
Libraries’ employees may identify a professional development opportunity (trainings, webinars, conferences, workshops, etc.) and discuss this opportunity with their supervisor. Upon approval, the below steps need to be followed:
- If the opportunity does not require funding, no further approval is needed. See No Expense Opportunities below for examples of these opportunities.
- If the opportunity requires funding due to expenses, then follow the below Expense Opportunities process to request funding.
No Expense Opportunities
An event that doesn’t require funds (no expense) only needs supervisor approval. It should not be submitted through the online request form. Below are examples of these opportunities:
- HR Workshops
- HR Wellness - Wellness Initiative
- HR SU Carebridge
- The University is committed to the total well-being of our community and to providing support and services to help the employee and their loved ones manage challenges at work and at home. The full suite of Carebridge’s comprehensive services and resources offer accessible and confidential support.
- LinkedIn Learning
- The University provides active users access to LinkedIn Learning to help explore thousands of business, tech, and creative courses to build skills they need. See LinkedIn Learning’s user's guide.
- Lyrasis Learning
- Lyrasis Learning offers professional development opportunities for Libraries’ staff, providing access to their entire catalog of archived training, and live and online classes. It specialties include digitization, electronic resources, evergreen ILS, metadata, open access content, preservation, repository services, training and consulting, technology for libraries and cultural heritage organizations, archives, special collections, hosting services, library services, library consortium, research. Below is information on getting started and accessing the live and online classes. If you have technical questions, please contact es@lyrasis.org.
- Getting Started - You must register for an account and then confirm your account through the email that is sent to you after registering.
- Live, Online Classes - Libraries’ staff may register for live, online classes. *Use the promo code llsyracuseu to register.*
- Past Classes - Libraries’ staff may view any of our past classes any time, on-demand, in the Learning Library.
- Online Community - Join Lyrasis Learning online community to keep the conversation going after classes, connect with other subscribers and stay informed on new classes.
- Mailing List - Sign up for our Lyrasis Learning mailing list to receive monthly updates on new live, online classes and additions to the Learning Library.
- Central NY Library Resources Council (CLRC)
- CLRC provides professional development opportunities for libraries and communities via on-demand learning classes. The classes are via the Skillshare and the Treehouse platforms. For access to classes, see the On-Demand Learning | CLRC page for the On-Demand Learning Request form. Access is rotated on a first-come, first-serve basis, for two weeks at a time. Below are some details on the platforms:
- Skillshare - Offers online classes in design, business, technology, photography, entrepreneurship, and writing, often taught by industry leaders.
- Treehouse - Offers technology education with classes in HTML, WordPress, Python, and more.
Note: CLRC also provides professional development awards. See the CLRC Grants and Awards page for more details.
Expense Opportunities
Submit an online request form FY26 to request funding to attend a professional development opportunity (e.g. fee for registration and/or travel expenses). Below are the steps in the process:
- Call for Requests
- In late spring, the Library Operations Manager (Christine Kshyna, ckshyna@syr.edu) will email a call for requests to all Libraries’ employees on behalf of the Professional Development Review Team. Generally, employees will have the next month to compile and submit their request(s).
- Supervisor’s Approval
- Before submitting a request, employees should first discuss all potential requests with their immediate supervisor and receive their approval before proceeding.
- Submitting Requests
Important to Consider
Below are a few *important* points to take into consideration when submitting a request(s).
- Submit Request(s) by the Deadline - Employees should do their best to submit all proposals by the deadline as the majority of funding is distributed early in the fiscal year.
- Funding Diminishes Significantly - Funding may not always be available later in the year.
- Estimate all Costs. Estimated costs should still be included if the final costs are not yet available.
- Early Events (July or August) - Requests submitted with a July or August event date will be reviewed and a response given as soon as possible.
- Multiple Requests - If submitting multiple requests (on separate form submissions), please give each request a priority ranking in order of importance (use each priority rank only once for the fiscal year). The employee is responsible for tracking the prioritization of the different requests.
- Email Confirmation - An email confirmation summarizing the request will be automatically generated. (Note: If an employee does not receive an email confirmation, the request has not been submitted.)
- Review of Request and Decision
- Review considers the requestor’s level of participation, prioritization of requests, the total number of employee requests, the amounts requested, alignment with employee development needs, alignment with strategic plan needs, funds available, among other factors.
- All requests, and their decision (approve/decline/hold) will be communicated back to the requesting employee and their immediate supervisor. Each semester, a summary of the status of requests will be emailed to the division and department heads.
- If a request receives a ‘hold’ decision, the request should be considered declined if an approval or decline notice is not received two months prior to the event. A follow-up email should be received confirming the decline.
- Approval and Next Steps
Employees who receive approval should follow the guidelines below:
- Purchase/Book Event - Move forward with registration and/or booking flight and hotel reservations.
- Review the University’s and Libraries’ travel and expense policies/procedures.
- Check Expenses Prior to the Event (in case an amendment is needed) - The Libraries will not automatically reimburse expenses over the amount approved. As the approved event draws closer and if the actual travel cost looks like it will be higher than what was approved, we strongly suggest employees submit an amended request. Employees should email a revised request to the Library Operations Manager which will then require an additional review for possible approval.
- Save the Approval Confirmation Email - Save the email with the unique request ID number. After attending the event, employees must follow the Libraries’ Travel and Expense Reimbursement/Reconciliation process. Be sure to include the unique request ID number from the original approval email. Account numbers may be found in this GL account listing.
- Provide Notice if Unable to Attend Event - If employees are unable to attend the approved event, they should inform their immediate supervisor and the Library Operations Manager as soon as possible so that funds can be released. Released funds go back into the Professional Development fund rather than remaining associated with a specific employee for other events.
Note: A training via MS Teams will be offered to Libraries’ employees. If additional training is needed, please contact ckshyna@syr.edu.
