Survey of library support staff certification competencies sent in March

Contact: Jenifer Grady


ALA-APA


(312) 280-2424


jgrady@ala.org

For Immediate Release,


February 29, 2008

Survey of library support staff certification competencies sent in March

On March 3, Library Support Staff (LSS) and librarians are invited to offer their opinions about which competencies are important for public and academic LSS. The competencies will become the foundation for the Library Support Staff Certification Program. This survey is being widely distributed to ALA members, and other potential respondents can access the survey at
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=MzGbewA5qX6oiCzXtODPcA_3d_3d. The deadline is March 24.




Invited respondents will be asked to rate one or more competencies areas, which describe what support staff should know and be able to demonstrate in Foundations of Librarianship, Supervision and Management, Access Services, Reference, Communication and Teamwork, Youth Services, Technical Services, Public Programming and Reader's Advisory -
http://www.ala-apa.org/certification/supportstaffcompetencies.html.




In 2007, the American Library Association and the Western Council of State Libraries received funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Service's Laura Bush Librarians for the 21st Century Program to establish a national, voluntary Library Support Staff Certification Program (LSSCP). During the first phase of the three-year grant to develop the Library Support Staff Certification Program, the project Advisory Committee drafted eleven competency areas. The draft competencies will be modified after analysis of survey results.




To learn more about the LSSCP project, visit
http://www.ala-apa.org/certification/supportstaff.html.