The Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) Program is proud to announce that the Library Support Staff Interests Round Table (LSSIRT) as well as eleven state library agencies will be offering another round of financial assistance to library support staff applying for certification in the LSSC Program.  The LSSC Program offers library support staff the opportunity to achieve recognition for their existing skills and knowledge, to gain new skills and knowledge, and to enhance their library’s service to the public.

The eleven states participating are the: Idaho Commission for Libraries, Missouri State Library,  New York State Library, State Library of Kansas, State Library of Louisiana, Texas Library Association, Washington State Library, Colorado Association of Libraries, Tennessee State Library and Archives, California State Library, and the Wyoming State Library.

The Library Support Staff Interest Round Table will be offering 50 Registration Assistance Awards this fall. These awards are for $175, one-half of the LSSC registration fee.  Successful award recipients will pay the remainder of the fee. Apply for a Registration Assistance Award right here!

The state-level organizations have up to 10 awards to distribute.  To apply for an award from the participating states, please contact the participating state organization. Only library support staff living in that state are eligible to apply at the state level.

Applications will begin to be accepted on April 1^st and will continue until May 15^th at both the national and state level.  You may apply at both the national and state level, however you may only receive one award.

The LSSC Program is partially funded by a grant to ALA from the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services, and managed by the ALA-Allied Professional Association.

To be eligible to participate in LSSC and thus receive an Assistance Award, applicants must have a high school degree or its equivalent and have worked for the equivalent of one year (1820 hours) as a library staff member or volunteer within the last five years.

On Tuesday, December 13 at 2:00pm (CST), LSSC will offer an hour-long webinar on the program and how it works. The presentation will explain the value of this certification to Library Support Staff, employers, and library users. You will also have the opportunity to have all of your questions answered by program staff members. This webinar is open to all interested candidates. Register to attend at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/867921969

Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Time: 3:00 – 4:00 pm EST; 12:00 – 1:00 pm PST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

System Requirements:
PC-based attendees: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/867921969

These programs include the Community Care College in Oklahoma; NMSU-Dona Ana Community College in New Mexico; Central Carolina Community College in North Carolina; College of Lake County in Illinois; Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania; Fresno City College in California; Georgia Perimeter College; Palo Alto College in Texas; City College of San Francisco; Pueblo Community College in Colorado; and the Bluegrass Community & Technical College in Kentucky.

These programs and ALA-APA believe that college degrees or certificates coupled with the LSSC will benefit graduates, the library in which they work, and library users.  Lorelle Swader, Director of ALA-APA, said, “LTA graduates will be recognized for their acquired skills and knowledge with this national certification, which is becoming a standard for our profession. The LSSC will show employers of these graduates that they are serious about their work and their future.”

The ALA-APA will review these programs’ courses to find if graduates must complete courses that cover the majority of LSSC’s competency requirements.   If so, the LSSC will propose an agreement with the college.

ALA-APA is also working with the following colleges to review their courses and graduate requirements:  Ohio’s Belmont Community College; Three Rivers Community College in Connecticut; the Spokane Falls and the Highline Community Colleges in Washington; and Pasadena City College and Cuesta Community College in California.

The following colleges have agreements with LSSC:  The College of DuPage, Waubonsee Community College and Illinois Central College in Illinois; the Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana; and Palomar College in California.

LSSC is the national certification program endorsed by the American Library Association for library support staff.  The ALA LSSC competencies for library support staff work establish a model and a standard for the performance of support staff and LSSC recognizes the value that support staff bring to successful library service.

Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the American Library Association developed, established the LSSC Program, and support ALA-APA’s work with LTA programs.

To find out more about this degree or recognition agreements or about LSSC, please contact LSSC Program staff at lssc@ala.org.

A New Round of Library Support Staff Certification Registration Assistance Awards Offered by LSSIRT and Seven States

Trish Palluck, Chair of the Library Support Staff Interests Round Table (LSSIRT) announced today that LSSIRT is offering another round of financial assistance to library support staff applying for certification in the American Library Association’s Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) Program.  The LSSC Program offers library support staff the opportunity to achieve recognition for their existing skills and knowledge, to gain new skills and knowledge, and to enhance their library’s service to the public.

Seven states are also participating:  The Colorado Library Consortium, Idaho Commission for Libraries, State Library of Louisiana, Mississippi Library Commission, Washington State Library, and the Wyoming State Library.

The Library Support Staff Interest Round Table will be offering 50 Registration Assistance Awards this fall. These Awards are for $175, one-half of the LSSC registration fee.  Successful award recipients will pay the remainder of the fee. An application form to apply for the Registration Assistance Awards is available on the LSSIRT Website at www.ala.org/lssirt. The recipients of the Award will be chosen by a random drawing in late November.

The state-level organizations have up to 10 Awards to distribute.  To apply for an award from the participating states, please contact the participating state organization. Only library support staff living in that state are eligible to apply at the state level.

Applications will begin to be accepted on October 1^st and will continue until November 15^th at both the national and state level.  You may apply at both the national and state level, however only receive one Award.

The LSSC Program is partially funded by a grant to ALA from the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services, and managed by the ALA-Allied Professional Association.

Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) provides a path to recognition and awareness of the critical role that library support staff play in the delivery of quality library service.  To achieve certification, support staff must achieve six of ten competency sets either through development of an online portfolio or taking approved courses.  The competency sets are:  Foundation of Library Service; Technology; Communication and Teamwork; Access Services; Adult Readers’ Advisory Services; Cataloging and Classification; Collection Management; Reference and Information Services; Supervision and Management; and Youth Services.

Nancy Bolt, Co-Project Director of LSSC commented, “The LSSC Program is really pleased that LSSIRT is continuing the Registration Assistance Awards.  Library Support Staff will receive the recognition that they deserve by participating in LSSC.  We appreciate IMLS’ support in recognizing the importance of qualified library support staff in providing excellent library service.”

To be eligible to participate in LSSC and thus receive an Assistance Award, applicants must have a high school degree or its equivalent and have worked for the equivalent of one year (1820 hours) as a library staff member or volunteer within the last five years.

Detailed additional information on support staff certification is available on the LSSC website:  www.ala-apa.org/lssc or you can contact the program at lssc@ala.org.

ALA-APA believes that LTA degrees or certificates from colleges coupled with the LSSC will benefit graduates, the library in which they work, and library users. Lorelle Swader, Director of ALA-APA, said, “LTA graduates will be recognized for their acquired skills and knowledge with this national certification, which is becoming a standard for our profession. The LSSC will show employers of these graduates that they are serious about their work and their future.”

Over the next year, the ALA-APA will review participating college curriculums to find if graduates must complete courses that cover the majority of LSSC’s competency requirements.   If ALA-APA and the college sign an agreement, then ALA-APA will offer 10 college graduate reductions in the enrollment fee and assistance with promoting the LSSC Program.

Colleges with such agreements include the College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois; Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, Indiana; Palomar College in San Marcos, California; Illinois Central College, in East Peoria, Illinois; and Waubonsee Community College in Aurora, Illinois.

Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the American Library Association established the LSSC Program and supports ALA-APA’s work with LTA programs.

For more information, please sign up to attend the LSSC’s informational webinar being held on Wednesday, September 14^th at 3pm EDT, 12pm PDT; viewers will have an opportunity to learn more about the project as well ask any questions you may have. You can register for the webinar here. To find out more about this degree, recognition agreements, or about the LSSC Program, please contact Karen Strege, LSSC Co-Director, at kstrege@msn.com.

LSSC began accepting candidates in January, 2010 and we are now beginning to see portfolios submitted. We need portfolio evaluators in all ten competency sets:

• Foundations of Library Service (Required)
• Communication and Teamwork (Required)
• Technology (Required)
• Access Services (Elective)
• Adult Readers’ Advisory (Elective)
• Cataloging and Classification (Elective)
• Collection Development (Elective)
• Reference and Information Services (Elective)
• Supervision and Management (Elective)
• Youth Services (Elective)

In order to become a portfolio evaluator, you need to have an MLIS and five years’ experience in the competency set you wish to evaluate. You will receive online training (about 1 hour) when you are assigned your first portfolio. If you are interested please apply to be a Portfolio Evaluator and send your resume to lssc@ala.org.  It might be helpful to read the competency sets before you apply to be an evaluator.

If you have questions, you can contact LSSC Project Director Nancy Bolt at 303 642 0338 or nancybolt@earthlink.net.