The Executive Board of the American Library Association (ALA) approved the establishment of a certification program for library support staff at its Monday, July 13, meeting in Chicago. The LSSC Program is the first national, voluntary certification program for library support staff. Funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the program will now enter a testing phase in five library organizations across the United States.
Camilla Alire, ALA president, said, "This innovative certification program demonstrates the value of all library support staff to our national association and to our nation's libraries. LSS are critical to the success of our libraries in meeting the needs of our users."
Candidates must demonstrate achievement of six sets of competencies. Three of the sets, Foundations of Library Service, Technology and Communications and Teamwork are required. Candidates must also demonstrate achievement of three sets chosen from seven additional competency sets. Candidates will either complete approved courses or submit portfolios that demonstrated their achievement.
Education providers interested in applying for course approval and all those interested in more information about the LSSCP can visit http://www.ala-apa.org/lsscp. They can address direct questions to Nancy Bolt at nancybolt@earthlink.net, (303) 642-0338; Karen Strege, kstrege@msn.com, (206) 829 8821 or Jenifer Grady at jgrady@ala.org, (312) 280-2424.
