Welcome to the Library Support Staff website! Here you'll find information for and about library support staff and paraprofessionals.  If you have suggestions about resources that you would like to see included, contact Beatrice Calvin at bcalvin@ala.org.

Resources for Library Support Staff

• Events
  

  • SUCCESS IN THE WORKPLACE
    Friday, January, 23, 2009, 1:00 pm-5:00 pm
    Presented during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver, CO
    

    What does it mean to be successful in the workplace?  Participants will identify barriers to their success and consider ways to feel more motivated and satisfied at work.  Learn how to showcase talents, document progress, effectively communicate, and develop learning plans.  Techniques for improving your relationship with your supervisor will be discussed.  The workshop is interactive and will provide opportunities to share useful strategies and reflect on individual behavior in the workplace.

    Speakers: Debra Wilcox Johnson, Ph.D., Johnson & Johnson Consulting

    Tickets: Advance: ALA Member, $100; Division/RT Member (LSSIRT), $100; Non-Member, $175; Onsite: ALA Member, $125; Division/RT Member (LSSIRT), $125; Non-Member, $200   Register using Event Code: HR1.  Registration information available on the conference registration page.          

  • 2009 Empowerment Conference for Library Support Staff 
    Saturday and Sunday, July 11 & 12 
    Presented as part of the ALA 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago, IL.
    When we get closer to the conference, we will provide 'Helpful Hints for Navigating Your Way Through the Empowerment Conference'.
    

  • American Libraries Online Datebook
    Lists conferences and other library-related activities
    

• General Information
  

  
  
  • Overview
    
    • Who are Library Support Staff
    • What are they called
    • List of Support Staff Positions in Libraries
    • History
    • Bibliography
  
  

• Support Staff Work Environments

  • Library Assistant (from Bureau of Labor Statistics)  
  • Library Technician (from Bureau of Labor Statistics)
  • Library Assistant & Technician Videos (from America's Career InfoNet web site; scroll down to either title, click on view to see short videos; approx. 2 minutes)
    

• Career Outlook and Employment

  • Library Workers: Facts & Figures (from the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees)
    
  • 2005 Guide to Employment Sources
    
  • Job classifications, Wage information, Employment Statistics
    
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics
    

• Education and Training (Certification)

  The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association  (ALA-APA) in partnership with the Western Council of State Libraries has developed a national Library Support Staff Certification Program.  Information about the program can be found on the program's web site.
  
  

  Some states in the U.S. offer certification at different levels, or grades, for public and school librarians. Some of these levels may not require the MLS; some require varying numbers of graduate level Library Science coursework.

• LTA Survey Highlights (2005)
  A project of the Library Technical Assistant (LTA) Education Committee of the Community and Junior College Section (CJCLS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) - a division of the American Library Association (ALA)
  
  
• LTA Survey Purpose Letter
  
  
• LTA Programs Map (PDF File)
  
  
• Directory of Library Technician Programs by State
  Institutions Offering Certificate, Associate, and Bachelor Degrees Compiled by Council On Library/Media Technicians (COLT)
  
  
• Criteria for Programs to Prepare Library Technical Assistants  from the ALA Committee on Education, Task Force for Review of the Criteria for Programs to Prepare Library Technical Assistants, 1998.
  
  
• Indiana: Public Librarian Certification and School Library/Media and Information Technology Certification. Both of these links are to Indiana University School of Library and Information Science, Bloomington.
  
  
• Iowa: State Library of Iowa Certification from In Service to Iowa: Public Library Measures of Quality, 1997.
  
  
• Massachusetts: Certification of Librarians, Regulation 605 CMR 3.00 of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Page updated 2/13/98.
  
  
• Michigan: Michigan Public Library Personnel Certification Handbook. Revised May 1998.
  
  
• Minnesota: Minnesota Voluntary Certification for Public Library Employees, 1 3-year pilot program designed for non-MLS staff.
  
  
• New Mexico: General information on librarian certification in New Mexico
  
  
• New York State Library Assistants' Association (NYSLAA) Certificate of Achievement Program
  
  
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma Certification Manual for Public Librarians. The appendix includes Requirements for Support Staff. Approved by the Oklahoma Library Association Executive Board, November 1995, and by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries Board, February 1996.
  
  
• Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET)
  SOLINET has partnered with Lexington Community College (Kentucky) to bring its distance education paraprofessional certification program to libraries across the Southeast. Designed for individuals currently in paraprofessional positions or preparing for paraprofessional positions in libraries, the program grants an Academic Certificate in Library Information Technology.
  
  
• Texas: Requirement for Certification as a County Librarian, as provided in the Texas Library Systems Act and Rules for Administering the Library Systems Act, 1993.
  
  
• Utah Certificate of Achievement Program (Word document)
  

• Financial Assistance

  • American Library Association offers a number of scholarships for library support staff.
    
    
  • California Library Association
    The California Library Association provides the DEMCO Professional Award for Library Paraprofessionals is a cash award to a library paraprofessional who is making a significant contribution in a California Library and whose efforts further CLA's mission. CLA membership is not required.
    
    
  • Colorado Association of Libraries Paralibrarian Division
    The Paralibrarian Division will grant scholarship(s) to division members to attend a(n) CAL, ALA, MPLA conference or a CAL Paralibrarian Division Spring Workshop. The scholarships will be used to help defray the cost of registration, travel, accommodations, per diem.
    
    
  • Florida Library Association will offer two $500 scholarships to students attending the Library Technical Assistant Programs at Hillsborough Community College and Indian River Community College.   One scholarship will be offered for each college.   Contact: Chair of the Scholarship Committee of the Florida Library Association.   Contact info. available at http://www.flalib.org/committees/schocomm.html.
    
    
  • Nevada Library Association
    Two types of scholarship awards are available.  The first grants up to $5000 in support of graduate course work in an American Library Association accredited library science program.  The second grants up to $1000 in support of graduate course work leading to certification as a school librarian, or undergraduate or graduate course work, as appropriate, for an individual seeking rural public librarian certification in the state of Nevada.  In both cases, course work may be taken via on-site or distance education programs.  Contact person:  Jennifer Fabbi
    
    
  • Oregon Library Association Support Staff Division (OLA-SSD)
    Contact person: Diane Bolen.  Applications for scholarships must be received at least 30 days (one month) prior to either OLA's annual conference or SSD's annual Gateways conference. More information about the scholarships along with the form is available on their web site.
    
    

  • St. John's University Division of Library & Information Science announced in July '07 the funding of 40 full scholarships for MLS students through an IMLS Laura Bush Grant.  Through this special scholarship program St. John’s will recruit and educate forty very committed students through this degree program, which will emphasize engaging underserved children and their families and preparing students for employment in public libraries, school library media centers, and museums in the New York City metropolitan area. Designed with the working student in mind, this two-year, part-time scholarship program will offer evening, weekend, and online classes.  For more information or an application, visit the scholarship page linked above.  You can also send email to Dr. Stacy Creel at creels@stjohns.edu.  
    

• Competencies 

  •  Criteria for Programs to Prepare Library Technical Assistants (PDF File)
    
  • LTA Competencies (Compiled by the Connecticut Library Association Support Staff Section)

   

• Advancement/Career Ladders

  • ALA Library and Information Studies and Human Resource Utilization, Jan. 2002. (pdf)
    
  • Final Report from the ALA SSIRT Task Force on Career Ladders, June 1999. (pdf)
    
  •  Auburn University Libraries' Career Ladder Program
    
  • Library Career Ladders - Developed by Washington-Centerville Public Library, Centerville, Ohio
    
  • Turning Jobs into Careers: A Preliminary Report on Career Paths for Support Staff, from the Career Paths Task Force, Perkins Library, Duke University, August 1999.
    
  • Advancement for Support Staff   - Issue Paper #6 from the World Book-ALA Goal Award Project on Library Support Staff, 1991.
    
  • Responsibility Without Authority  - Issue Paper #7 from the World Book-ALA Goal Award Project on Library Support Staff, 1991.

   

• Issues/Issue Papers

  
  
  • 3rd Congress on Professional Education: Focus on Library Support Staff  (COPE III)  Held May 16-17, 2003 at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL
    
  • Addressing Paraprofessional Issues: 101+ Strategies
    
  • What are the Issue Papers?
    
  • Issue Paper #1 Certification for Support Staff
    
  • Issue Paper #2 Basic Education for Support Staff
    
  • Issue Paper #3 Continuing Education for Support Staff
    
  • Issue Paper #4 MLS Librarian/Paraprofessional Communication and Mutual Respect
    
  • Issue Paper #5 Compensation for Support Staff
    
  • Issue Paper #6 Advancement for Support Staff
    
  • Issue Paper #7 Responsibility Without Authority
    
  • Issue Paper #8 Terminology
      
  • Issue Paper #9 Role Definition
    
  • Issue Paper #10 Support Staff Morale
    
    

• Associations

  
  
  • American Library Association (Special membership offer for library support staff)
    
  • Library Support Staff Interests Round Table (LSSIRT) of ALA
    
  • ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR)
    
  • LSSIRT's National Directory of Paraprofessional Associations
    
  • Council on Library/Media Technicians (COLT), An international organization which works to address the issues and concerns of library and media support staff personnel.

Other Resources

North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association Blog

Library Support Staff.com

COLT Yahoo! Discussion List

Associates
The Electronic Library Support Staff Journal