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

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

• 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. 

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 library science coursework. While others consider the number of years of experience. The ALA-APA has compiled lists of State/Regional Certifications (primarily for public library staff).

• Directory of Library Technician Programs by State
  Institutions Offering Certificate, Associate, and Bachelor Degrees Compiled by Council On Library/Media Technicians (COLT)
  
  
• LTA Programs Map (PDF File)
  
  
• 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
  
  
• 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.
  
  

Financial Assistance

• The American Library Association offers a number of scholarships for library support staff.
  
  
• Financial Assistance for Library and Information Studies Programs
• Published by the American Library Association's Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, this comprehensive guide includes financial assistance offered by state and provincial library associations, eductional institutions, and local libraries in the United States and Canada.  

Competencies 

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

Advancement/Career Ladders

• One Model for Creating a Career Ladder for Library Support Staff, Sept. 2009 article by Jane Fama and Elaine Russo Martin of the University of Massachusetts Medical School
  
• 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)
•  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.

•  Auburn University Libraries Developing and Implementing a Library Career Ladder (Click on Duke 06 in left-hand navigation -- PowerPoint)

Career Path Options for Library Support Staff (pdf) 

• 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