General information

Training and conferences, if work related, can usually be paid by MCL if there is money available in the budget.

• Local and online training typically is paid for by Learning + Organizational Development. Check with your manager about attending, find out what cost center will be paying for the training, and complete the Local/virtual training request form. 
• Conferences are usually budgeted a year in advance and come out of a systemwide account. There are exceptions to this. Check out the conference information page for more info.

Conference costs

General costs: If an employee has received approval to attend a conference, MCL will typically pay registration fees, transportation costs, hotel, and per diem. 

Registration costs: MCL pays for registration at events for employees who are approved to attend. All conferences and training must be paid for on a travel coordinator card; NOT on a department p-card or personal card.

Membership costs: If an employee chooses to join an organization (i.e. OLA or ALA), the employee must pay for their own personal membership. MCL does not reimburse this expense.

Additional funding sources: Employees are welcome to apply for any relevant external funding sources (grants, scholarships, sponsorships, etc). Please indicate when you complete your travel forms if you plan to apply for funding, as well as the funding award date. If funding is awarded, please check with Business Services regarding how the funds would transfer over to MCL.

Using paid work time:  To have MCL pay for the training and to use paid work time, your supervisor must approve the request to attend the conference prior to registration. This is accomplished when the appropriate training request form is received by the library travel coordinator with the necessary manager and budgetary approvals. If your supervisor did not give prior approval, you may be required to use vacation time or unpaid time for any conference attendance.

Who manages my travel and training?

MCL has a Library Travel Coordinator who is responsible for booking all of the travel and registering people for the conferences. All reservations and changes need to be made through the travel coordinator, even if you have access to make changes on your end. For any questions, contact: library-travel-coordinators@multco.us.