This paper reports on a program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Library that was instituted to train library technicians to work at the Information Desk as Reference Assistants; the objectives of the program were to train library technicians to become reference assistants, to free up librarians' time for new work assignments, and to increase the job satisfaction of library technicians. Following an introductory section, the second section of the paper lists several useful points from a review of the literature on training paraprofessionals for work at the information desk. The third section discusses recruitment of trainees. The fourth section presents an outline of the training plan, consisting of nine developmental objectives, each having one or more developmental activities and resources. The fifth section describes the assessment of the Reference Assistants, which included a written evaluation by a mentor, a written test, and observation at the reference desk. The sixth section summarizes lessons learned. (MES)