ALA President Courtney Young selects 22 chapters to participate in career development facilitator training

For Immediate Release
Tue, 09/30/2014

Contact:

Lorelle Swader

Director

Office for Human Resource Development & Recruitment (HRDR)

312-280-4278

lswader@ala.org

CHICAGO — American Library Association (ALA) President Courtney Young will partner with ALA Chapters to provide training for a national cohort of 22 librarians from a cross section of libraries to become certified Career Development Facilitators (CDF).  President Young stated, "I am grateful for the strong interest from the chapters in partnering with me on this program. It was inspiring and heartwarming to read all of the applications. The thoughtful and creative ideas from each chapter, many of which include coordination with other groups or other government agencies in their respective states, will have a positive and profound effect on our communities across the nation."

Created by the National Career Development Association (NCDA), the CDF curriculum provides comprehensive training designed to address several facets of career planning and the job search.   This specific CDF training for ALA Chapters will be tailored with special emphasis on the role of the librarian in helping patrons and job seekers.  By offering this innovative training to those in state chapters, participants will be able to assist their peers as well as the numerous patrons at their local libraries. 

The 22 chapters selected to participate include: Arizona Library Association, California Library Association, Connecticut Library Association, Delaware Library Association, Florida Library Association, Idaho Library Association, Illinois Library Association, Iowa Library Association, Louisiana Library Association, Maryland Library Association, Michigan Library Association, Montana Library Association, Nevada Library Association, New Jersey Library Association, Ohio Library Council, Oklahoma Library Association, Pennsylvania Library Association, Tennessee Library Association, Texas Library Association, Vermont Library Association, Washington Library Association and West Virginia Library Association.

The program will commence with two days of intensive face-to-face workshops just prior to the ALA 2015 Midwinter Meeting in Chicago — Jan. 30 - Feb. 3, 2015.  Afterwards, the training will move to a virtual classroom format for an additional 14 weeks. The chapters selected for the program outlined creative plans to employ state-wide the knowledge and techniques that will be gained from their CDF participation.

Training will be conducted by Dr. Caitlin Williams, a highly skilled career development coach/trainer/educator with over 20 years’ experience facilitating individual and organizational growth and success through designing and delivering leadership, career development and executive education programs, and through assisting organizations in their talent management efforts.   Dr. Williams has been a long-time consultant for ALA members on career-related issues through the ALA JobLIST Placement Center.  

Staff in the ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR) will serve as liaisons to the CDF program.