strengthening the foundation: improving support staff education for stronger libraries
DESCRIPTION
Presented at GaCOMO14 by Arne Almquist,Northern Kentucky University and Martha Birchfield, Bluegrass Community and Technical College.TRANSCRIPT
Strengthening the Foundation: Improving Support Staff Education for
Stronger Libraries
Arne J. Almquist, Ph.D. Associate Provost for Library Services Northern Kentucky University
Martha Birchfield Professor, Library Information Technology Bluegrass Community and Technical College
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Conference
Why?
• Shifting of tasks from librarians to staff • New tasks, new services • Adoption of new technologies
• Most staff come from non-library backgrounds
• Management issues • Compensation • Job satisfaction/enrichment
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Why?
Task Shifting
– Librarians taking on new, more advanced tasks
– Shifting former librarian tasks to staff—must keep critical services running even while adding new services
– Staff are being tasked with complex systems
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Why?
Acculturation
– Our staff come to us from non-library backgrounds • Misconceptions/stereotypes
• No understanding of the parts of library and how they work together
• Little conception of the role of librarians vs. staff
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Why?
Management Issues
– You may not receive or may not have sufficient professional lines to perform all services for which you need them
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Why?
Compensation
– Lack of flexibility in increasing compensation for increased duties
– Insufficient merit pools
– Creation of an advancement ladder
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Why?
Job Satisfaction/Enrichment – Allows us to make jobs more interesting
– Increased credibility/status
– Better understanding of how things work
– Increased sense of belonging – An important part of the team
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
What did we want?
– Certification program that would be easy to implement
– Acceptable to / Recognized by HR • Credibility
• Usable skills and knowledge
• Acceptable for a substantial increase in salary
• Ability to require/support periodic recertification
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
How?
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
1. Undergraduate Certificate Program in place 2. Online courses 3. Up-to-date curriculum 4. Faculty library professionals 5. Affordable for university employees
Undergraduate Academic Certificate Program in place : Bluegrass Community & Technical College (Lexington) 50 years of Kentucky Community College
undergraduate library science courses Certification required for Kentucky public library
paraprofessionals by state law Robust online program began in 1998 Enroll 120-150 students (headcount) each semester
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
BCTC Certificate in Library Information Technology
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Established in 2002 with funding assistance from IMLS
Certificate requirements: 15 credit hours (5 courses)
Flexibility in the certificate curriculum
Required courses
IMD 114, Information Literacy LIT 115, Intro to Reference Services
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 George COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Choices Library Procedures: select one LIT 124, Library Administration LIT 132, Technical Services
Library Services: select one LIT 243, Library Services for Children or LIT 245, Library Services for Young Adults or LIT 247, Library Services for Adults or LIT 248, Library Services for Preschool Children or LIT 280, Genealogy Services in Libraries
LIT elective: any LIT course above LIT 115
How?
Missing from curriculum
Academic/research libraries services
But possible to add, given sufficient enrollment
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
How?
Information Literacy Course--required
Basic types of information and sources for research Search strategies Evaluation of sources Use of databases and online collections Legal and ethical considerations Citation styles
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Results
• Expectations • Compensation • Number of graduates • Recertification • Certification equivalents
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 George COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Results
– Expectations • Separate “boilerplate” statement in JAQ
• Increased expectations in the area of mentoring, leadership, complexity of tasks
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Added Responsibilities
Results
– Numbers: • Graduates: 5 • Equivalent: 2 • Recertified: 3
– Compensation • 10% increase in salary, ongoing for 5 years
– Difficult concept!
• Required recertification to retain increase
$30,000/yr + 10% = +$3,000/yr $25,000/yr + 10% = +$2,500/yr
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Results
– Recertification • Required: 6 SCH each 5 years to retain salary increase
• Courses can be credit bearing or Continuing Education – Credit bearing courses can be taken at BCTCS or from NKU’s
Bachelor of Library Informatics Program
– Employees can take up to 6 SCH of courses at no charge at any institution in Kentucky
– Have had a question regarding graduate level library science courses – can they count toward recertification?
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Results
– Equivalent Certification • Specialized Certification is allowed in lieu of the standard
library certification program – Certified Archivist
• Must be a rigorous program with recertification options (can recertify as with the standard program)
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Contacts
Dr. Arne Almquist Northern Kentucky University
Phone 859 572 5483
Email [email protected]
http://library.nku.edu
Ms. Birchfield Birchfield Bluegrass Community & Technical College Phone 859 246 6288 Email [email protected] http://bluegrass.kctcs.edu/bcis/lit
Arne J. Almquist Martha Birchfield
2014 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint Conference
Copyright 2014 Arne J. Almquist and Martha Birchfield