Transcript Title of Presentation

Proactive Approaches to
Improving the Salaries and
Status of Our Profession
ALA-APA and You:
A Winning Partnership for
Library Employees
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
A History of ALA-APA
Established in 2002
Provides services in two primary
areas:
1) Certification
2) Advocacy for improving salaries
for library workers
• Governance is independent but
interlocked with ALA.
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
Salary Advocacy
ALA-APA Salary Survey – Librarian:
Public and Academic
ALA-APA Salary Survey – Non-MLS:
Public and Academic (2007)
Library Salary Database
Library Worklife: HR E-News for
Today’s Leaders
The ALA-APA Better Salaries and Pay
Equity Toolkit. Download it free!
Pay Equity Bibliography
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
Newsletter
The ALA-APA Newsletter at
Your Fingertips!
Career
Advancement
HR Law
HR Practice
Recruitment
Salaries and Pay
Equity
Statistics
Support Staff
Work Life
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
Celebrate the Tuesday of
National Library Week
Submit a Star at
http://ala-apa.org/nlwd/
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
Now a few words about Certification
ALA-APA defines certification as:
usually offered by a professional association;
voluntary;
requiring that applicants meet minimum
criteria, such as experience or education;
granting the authority for graduates to use a
designation (e.g., CPLA®);
including an assessment covering a broad
range of skills;
ensuring the privacy of participants; and
requiring that certified professionals adhere
to procedures to retain the designation.
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
Certified Public Library
Administrator Goals
Professional development.
Practical professional experience.
Improve professional expertise.
Demonstrate that you have
acquired a nationally and
professionally recognized body of
knowledge and expertise
Improve the quality of library
service.
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
CPLA Competencies
Core standards
Budget and Finance
Management of Technology
Organization and Personnel Administration
Planning and Management of Buildings
Elective standards
Current Issues
Fundraising
Marketing
Politics and Networking
Service to Diverse Populations
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
Would you like to SAY THIS at your next staff meeting?
The technology plan I wrote for a
CPLA course has been adopted for our
library.
Our library received a grant based on
my project for a CPLA course.
I have discovered that there are
communities that our library is not
reaching.
I am more confident in everything I
do in the library!
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
CPLA Candidates –
Who are they?
134 Public librarians in the US
9 years of supervisory experience
Graduates of more than 40 library
schools
Directors and managers
Excited about CPLA courses!
There are 41 graduates already!
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
CPLA Providers –
Who are they?
University of North Texas LE@D
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
Public Library Association (PLA)
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
CPLA Process for Applicants
Apply at http://alaapa.org/certification/application/
Pay the fee
Take courses - http://alaapa.org/certification/courses-offered/
Submit Course Completion Forms
Complete four core and three electives
within 5 years
Enjoy the CPLA designation (until you have
to renew)!
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
Why is Support Staff Certification
Needed?
69% of all library staff are library
support staff
In a national survey LSS said they *
supported national certification
(87%)
supported national LSS standards
(76%)
believe certification would improve
public service (66%)
*Survey conducted by the ALA Library Support Staff Interests Round Table (LSSIRT) in 2004
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
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The Library Support Staff
Certification Program is:
 Affordable and accessible
 A mix of required and elective
competencies
 Establishes national, basic standards
 Evaluates prior learning and new learning
 Reciprocal at state level (if approved by
state)
 A valid assessment of competencies
 Not a guarantee of raise or promotion
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
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Competency Sets
Required
• Foundations of Library Service
• Communication and Teamwork
• Technology
Electives
• Access Services
• Adult Readers’ Advisory Services
• Cataloging and Classification
• Collection Management
• Reference and Information Services
• Supervision and Management
• Youth Services
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
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Competency Set Example:
Foundations of Library Service
Library Support Staff will know:
1. The mission and roles of a library in its
community and the mission of libraries in
general.
2. The ethics and values of the profession,
including an understanding of the Library
Bill of Rights, the ALA Code of Ethics,
freedom of information, confidentiality of
library records and privacy issues.
3. The roles of Library Support Staff and
other staff in libraries.
4. The responsibilities of and the
relationships among library departments
or functional areas.
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
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LSSC Program
Assessment Methodology: or How we
know you know the competencies
• Recognize prior learning and new
learning
• Two methods:
• Portfolios
• Approved courses
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All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
Portfolio Development
Suggestions
Suggested activities for
demonstrating each competency
(you can create your own)
Upload to portfolio when done
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
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Eligibility and Procedures
High school diploma or equivalent
One year of library experience,
from any type of library
Four years to complete 6
competency sets
Fee of $325 for ALA members
(includes subscription to online
portfolio)
Certification is for four years
Renewal will be required
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
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Library Managers can help!
Encourage staff to participate
Provide financial assistance
Grant time off to complete coursework/portfolios
Allow interaction with staff for assignments
Recognize accomplishments
Give candidates increased responsibility
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
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Top 10 Ways
to Get Involved With ALA-APA!
Sign up for membership on one of the
subcommittees of the Standing
Committee on the Salaries and Status of
Library Workers.
Subscribe to the ALA-APA newsletter,
Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today’s
Leaders.
Write for Library Worklife. Share what’s
going on in your library.
Celebrate National Library Workers Daythe Tuesday of National Library Week.
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
Top 10 Ways
to Get Involved with ALA-APA!
Donate to ALA-APA.
Improve Salaries using the Toolkit
Subscribe to Money Talks or Union Electronic
discussion lists.
Support ALA-APA at the ALA Midwinter Meeting and
Annual Conference
Learn the facts and initiate discussions about improving
salaries, pay equity, and certification
Spread the word!
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)
For more information
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)