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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

University of North Texas LE@D
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign
Public Library Association (PLA)
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)

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)

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) 1
3

 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) 1
4

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) 1
5

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) 1
6

• Recognize prior learning and new learning
• Two methods:
• Portfolios
• Approved courses

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) 1
8

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) 1
9

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) 2
0

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)

to Get Involved with ALA-APA!
D onate to ALA-APA.
I mprove Salaries using the Toolkit
S ubscribe to Money Talks or Union Electronic discussion lists.
S upport ALA-APA at the ALA Midwinter Meeting and
Annual Conference
L earn the facts and initiate discussions about improving salaries, pay equity, and certification
S pread the word!
All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)

All about the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA)