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Training for library staff

Through CLEO’s work with libraries, we’ve learned that many library patrons ask for help with legal questions. They may come to their library to ask where to get information about their rights at work, problems with their landlord, or other common legal problems.

Are you a library staff person in Ontario who wants to learn more about helping library users find accurate legal information? We’ve developed several resources, including workshops, a webinar, and an online course. 

For more information about CLEO's work with libraries, to find out more about how you can book a training session for your library, contact Michelle Cader, CLEO's Community Outreach Manager. Michelle can be reached at (416) 408-4420, ext. 826, or at michelle.cader@cleo.on.ca.

CLEO workshops and webinar for library staff

CLEO provides training workshops in person and through webinars for library staff and other community workers to give them the skills and confidence to help people with legal problems. See the end of this page for contact information.

CLEO’s online course for library staff: Building Skills in Legal Information and Referral

Our most recent initiative for training library staff is a free online legal information training course. The online course, developed by CLEO and the Ontario Library Association, gives library staff skills and confidence to help their patrons find legal and referral information.

Participants in the course watch a series of short, engaging video clips that explore the role of library staff in helping people with legal problems and offer tools for providing reliable legal information and legal referrals. Legal experts in housing, employment, family, and consumer law then discuss some of the most common problems library staff might hear about, and give suggestions on helpful information and referrals participants can provide in response.

This is a screenshot from an online course for library staff in Ontario called "Building Skills in Legal Information and Referral". The online course has been developed by Community Legal Education Ontario or CLEO, and the Ontario Library Association or OLA.

We first offered this course in the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018, and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the library staff who participated:

  • 98% of participants felt more confident in helping people with legal problems after taking the course.
  • 95% of participants would recommend the course to their peers.
  • 93% of participants gave the course a 4 or 5 star rating.
    • View a 3-minute video about the course.

    We are currently confirming the next dates that we can offer the course, which will likely be in the spring of 2019. Please check this page again in the late autumn for updates, or contact Michelle Cader at michelle.cader@cleo.on.ca.