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Changes in the format of library materials, increased amounts of information, and the speed at which information is being produced have created an unrelenting need for training for library staff members. Additionally, library employees are retiring in greater numbers and their accompanying expertise is being lost. The purpose of this study was to document evaluation practices currently used in library training and continuing education programs for library employees, including metrics used in calculating return-on-investment (ROI). This research project asked 272 library training professionals to identify how they evaluate training, what kind of training evaluation practices are in place, how they select programs to evaluate for ROI, and what criteria are important in determining an effective method for calculating ROI.

From the beginning, Advances in Library Administration and Organization has sought to develop a body of research literature that could, at once, contribute to the base of organizational theory upon which library administrators rely. The intention is to bring to light good scholarship that strengthens and reinforces the base of knowledge library administrators have on hand. Librarians are very good at working pragmatically to solve difficult problems, but they have been less good at explaining to themselves and to others how and why they do what they do and what they contribute to the common good. That was why I jumped at the chance to provide an article for Volume 2 of the series, agreed to help edit ALAO beginning with Volume 13, and now, along with my co-editors, present to you Volume 28. Through these many years, I have enjoyed the opportunity to help make this series what it has become, in addressing the challenge it has presented to find people who think about how libraries and library administrators work and to bring their ideas to the public. This volume follows a pattern to which you have become accustomed. It includes seven studies from the United States and Canada on topics relating to problems library managers face and strategies that might be of value in addressing those challenges. As always, we the editors hope that you find them interesting and as thought-provoking as we have.

Stephen H. Aby is professor and education bibliographer at The University of Akron. He has an MLS from Kent State University, a Ph.D. in Foundations of Education from SUNY-Buffalo, and a B.A. and M.A. in Sociology from the University of Texas and the University of Houston, respectively. He is past president of the University of Akron chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), chair of the Ohio Conference AAUP Committee A on Academic Freedom, and a current member of the AAUP national Council. His books include The Academic Bill of Rights Debate: A Handbook (Praeger, 2007).