What should "librarians" know? Current data on support staff roles and competencies

Abstract

The responsibilities of MLS and support staff in libraries have always experienced change, especially in response to technological innovation. Currently, the American Library Association is involved in two separate but related efforts: the Library Support Staff Certification Project (LSSCP, http://www.ala-apa.org/certification/supportstaff.html), and a revision of MLS competencies, with possible incorporation into ALA accreditation standards for library schools (see McKinney, 2006 as well as documents from ALA/2008 Annual Meeting). Greater definition of either support or masters level library staff can enhance the professional identities of both. This paper describes the survey results and provide analyses of between-group similarities and differences. Some of the results could easily be predicted, for example that few academic-oriented respondents chose to even review youth services, reader’s advisory, or marketing. Other areas yield more detailed and specific data, such as: a) ethical aspects were rated as similarly important across types of respondents (MLS, support staff) and types of libraries (public, academic); b) while “metadata” issues were not very highly rated by any group, academic library respondents valued them more than public library respondents (both highly valued basic MARC knowledge); and c) while LSS themselves rated nearly every item more highly (more often in the ‘very important’ category) than did MLS librarians, library director respondents rated most items lower than even MLS librarians.