Core Competences

The ALA Core Competences of Librarianship reflect basic knowledge gained through LIS education, job on-boarding, and ongoing professional development early in a library career. It is essential that library professionals working throughout their careers in school, academic, public, special, and governmental libraries be life-long learners to acquire specialized and advanced knowledge beyond those specified in this Core Competences document. The ALA Committee on Education engaged in extensive consultation with numerous stakeholders over a five year period to revise and update the 2009 Core Competences policy.  The final version of the 2022 Core Competences of Librarianship policy was approved and adopted as policy by the ALA Council on January 28, 2023 during the 2023 LibLearnX Meeting in New Orleans, LA.  To review the statement, please see the link below:

Final Version of the 2022 Core Competences 

If you have questions about the status of this document, you may contact the staff liaison:

Lorelle R. Swader, MLS, CAE, IOM, CDF
Associate Executive Director (AED)
Human Resources and Organizational Operations
ALA-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
lswader@ala.org


For information within specialty areas, there is also a list of statements of knowledge and competencies developed by relevant professional organizations, developed by the ALA Office for Accreditation.