NEW ARTICLE BY CPLA PROVIDER, NORTH SUBURBAN LIBRARY SYSTEM - Picture Yourself as a Leader

CPLA Graduate Susan Strunk tells what the program means to her (podcast, 15 minutes)

Certified Public Library Administrator Program Committee (CPLA CRC)

Certification Program Committee (CPC)

This committee is charged to (1) encourage and promote development of certification programs, (2) monitor and evaluate the progress of such programs, (3) encourage individuals to seek certification through such programs of the ALA-APA, and (4) make recommendations to the ALA-APA Board of Directors for general improvements to ALA-APA certification, based on evaluations and trends in certification practice. The committee shall consist of 5 individuals, including the chair.

Nancy Bolt (CO), Chair
Gayle Grantham (TN)
Mary Mallory (IL)
William Martino (OH)
Susan Pober (NJ)

The program will begin accepting applications and listing courses in January 2010, but feel free to read the Competency Sets and Assessment to understand the program's progress!

For Immediate Release
July 21, 2009

ALA announces approval of Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC)

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.