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Library director: staff training day focused on resiliency, de-escalation and service growth
Summary
Library director Forrest Lewis reported a district staff training day that included resiliency and de-escalation training, partner presentations (Nevada Donor Network, Jobtimize, 3 Square) and highlighted a 10% rise in visitation and a roughly 20% increase in digital circulation year-over-year.
Forrest Lewis, library director for the North Las Vegas Library District, told trustees on March 24 that the district recently held a staff training day to align services, provide practical skill workshops and strengthen team building.
"We had a 10% growth in library visitation over fiscal 24/25," Lewis said, adding that one branch (the Aliante location) saw more than 20,000 additional visits. He also reported a significant shift toward digital materials, noting roughly a 20% increase in digital circulation in the last year.
Lewis described training that included resiliency exercises, personality-based team work, de-escalation scenarios drawn from Ryan Dowd’s work on serving people experiencing homelessness, and a hands-on painting exercise to encourage staff connection. Outside partners presented practical resources: the Nevada Donor Network spoke about organ donation awareness, PBS/Jobtimize demonstrated an online career tool for patrons, and 3 Square discussed library-linked food programming for children and summer service opportunities.
Lewis said the district created a staff-nominated 'Star Award' to recognize employee initiative and highlighted Melissa Robinson, a young people’s assistant at Alliante Library, for conceiving a collector-card idea tied to the city's 80th-anniversary summer learning challenge. City Manager Mikaela Moore attended the staff day and spoke about how library services fit into broader city programs, Lewis added.
