Issues for Support Staff Certification
Assessment of Learning
Assessment is actually two issues. The first is how to actually assess whether someone participating in a certification program is meeting the competencies. If the model used is that of the County Public Library Association program for public libraries, then the assessment of competencies would be done by the course providers and would be part of the approval process for providers. A second aspect of assessment that was raised by LSS is the idea of credit for time of service; however, the goal of competencies is clearly about meeting those competencies and not doing a job for a lengthy period of time. This does raise the issue of whether the certification is for how well you can do your job (which would honor past experience) or for learning something new (which would not). Clearly this program is about learning something new, so this issue has not come up.
The approach that has been used by the states of Iowa and Minnesota requires a certain number of competencies and a certain number of contact hours for LSS to be certified. A participant can demonstrate (usually through assignments or portfolios) that they already know something, and they get credit for the competency but they do not get any credit for hours. Participants still have to take the required number of hours for certification, but they can concentrate on areas where they do not have experience. This is one positive approach to dealing with the issue of time served.
Tangible Rewards
Another more difficult issue raised by LSS is tangible rewards. Some members of the LSS community have indicated that they would not support a national certification program because there were no guaranteed rewards at the end. Some persons also want ALA-APA to require that certification program participants be able to get a promotion or a raise at the end, but this is not possible. Because the whole ALA-APA program is intended to be voluntary, unless a state or library system chooses to make it mandatory, this issue is not one the task force will address. Still, this is a concern.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The advantages to an LSS certification program based on competencies is clarity of the known–persons taking and completing Course X will have competencies and skills A, B, and D. These competencies would move from one library position to another. The disadvantages are few and seem to hinge on the concerns about advancement and credit for time in position–issues the task force understands but will not address because they do not affect the development of competencies.
RUSA’s Role in Support Staff Certification
There are two opportunities for RUSA in support staff certifications: The first is as part of the advisory task force to define the competencies for certification, and the second is as purveyors of the courses that can be offered as part of the certification process. RUSA has much to offer in the way of expertise and potential education for certification. In addition, RUSA can reach out to support staff in a more significant way, make support staff issues more integral in RUSA programming, and also make sure support staff are represented as members of RUSA committees.
Conclusion
It is not often that the opportunity to get involved in something so important to our mission presents itself at just the crucial juncture. As RUSA reaches out to support staff, it will, at the 2007 Midwinter Meeting, consider a reduced dues category for support staff and explore further ways to deliver continuing education to this audience, both electronically and during ALA conferences. Currently, RUSA offers a variety of Web courses that could be adapted to meet certification competencies, such as “The Reference Interview” and “Readers’ Advisory 101.” The challenge is coming; how will RUSA rise to meet it? If you have opinions on this issue or insights to offer, please contact me directly or share your ideas and concerns with others on the RUSA Blog, www.rusablog.org.
Diana D. Shonrock, 2006-2007 President of the Reference and User Services Association, is Science and Technology Librarian, Bibliographer for the College of Human Sciences, and Coordinator of Staff Training for Reference and Collections at Iowa State University; e-mail: shonrock@iastate.edu.References and Notes
- Kathleen Weibel, “Issue Paper #1: Certification of Support Staff” Aug. 29, 1991 (accessed Nov. 2, 2006).
- State Library of Iowa–Continuing Education Certification Advisory Committee, 1985-1989. This committee was responsible for advising the State Library of Iowa on certification and continuing education for public library personnel.
- State Library of Iowa, “Certification Program for Public Librarians” (accessed Nov. 6, 2006).
- Kristine K. Stacy-Bates et al., “Competencies for Bibliographers: A Process for Writing a Collection Development Competencies Document,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 42 (Spring 2003): 235-41.
- ALA Conference Within a Conference, 2006 Annual Library Support Conference. June 24 and 25, 2006, New Orleans, during the 2006 ALA Annual Conference.
- Connecticut Library Association, Support Staff Section, “Competencies” (accessed Nov. 4, 2006).
- Nancy Bolt, “Overview of Library Support Staff Certification Project (LSSCP),” e-mail message to the author, Aug. 31, 2006.
- Nancy Bolt, “ALA Starts Work on a Certification Program for Library Support Staff,” Interface 28 (Fall 2006): 5.
- Nancy Bolt, “Welcome to the Committee,” e-mail message to the author, Aug. 31, 2006.
- American Library Association, “ALAhead to 2010” Approved by ALA Council June 28, 2005, (accessed Nov. 4, 2006).
- American Library Association. “3rd Congress on Professional Education: Focus on Library Support Staff, Final Report of the Steering Committee,” June 2003, 15 (accessed Nov. 4, 2006).
- Nancy Bolt, “Overview of Library Support Staff Certification Project (LSSCP),” e-mail message to the author, Aug. 31, 2006.
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