Next Steps: Continuing Your Education and Pursuing Certification

1. 0 Next Steps:Continuing Your Education and Pursuing Certification John J. Burke, MSLS Ohio Library Support Staff Institute July 25, 2006

2. Next steps 0 • Fit training to your goal(s) and learning style(s) • Identify your opportunities for continuing education • Analyze your needs and create a plan • Justify your library’s investment in you • Understand support staff certification

3. The naming of the parts 0 • Continuing education (CE) • Professional development • “Continuous learning” • Beyond on-the-job learning • Certification • A recognition of achievement • A measurement to shoot for

4. Why do we pursue continuing education? 0 • We have to • Your job is changing • Your role is changing • Your library is changing • The world is changing • Because we want to: • Fight complacency • Hone skills • Add abilities • Refresh yourself • Share ideas with colleagues

5. What is your educational goal? 0 • Adding a specific skill(s) • Keeping up with new developments • Taking on new responsibilities • Moving into a new role/location/library type – future employability • Seeking promotion/reclassification/raises • Personal satisfaction

6. Where are you starting from? 0 • Measures of knowledge and ability: • Formal degrees (H.S., AA/AS, BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD) • Past (& ongoing) CE • On-the-job training • Day to day library experience • Non-library experiences • What’s your experience picture?

7. Learning styles 0 • How do you learn best? • Various ways to categorize/analyze: • Visual learners • Auditory learners • Kinesthetic/tactile learners • Identify your style • Find ways to strengthen your abilities • No learning method pigeonholing! • Take the test!

8. Learning styles & learning situations 0 • Face to face (F2F) • Lecture • Group work/discussions • Hands-on • Combination of the above (active learning) • Distance learning • Synchronous vs. asynchronous • Live videoconferencing • Web-based (various styles) • Video/correspondence courses

9. Learning durations 0 • One-shot workshop or meeting • Multiple sessions over days or weeks • Formal credit course • Self-directed learning • Learning communities

10. How committed are you? 0

11. Where do you want to go? 0 • Master of Library and Information Science • Bachelor’s degree or degree-completion • Associate degrees and certificates • Credit courses • CE grab-bag (workshops, conferences, etc.) • Informal CE options

12. MLS/MLIS/MSIS, etc. 0 • Kent State School of Library and Information Science • F2F: Kent or Columbus • Online: 12-12-12 Distance MLIS • Several other accredited schools (online) • Positives: recognized credential, promotion/job development • Unknowns: job openings, the job you want?, opportunities in current library

13. Bachelor’s degree/degree completion 0 • F2F: your local institution • Online: University of Maine at Augusta – BS in Library & Information Services • Online: Bowling Green State University – BS in Advanced Technological Education – AAS transfer • Positives: offered in convenient formats, could add needed specialty to library, new career?, needed step prior to MLS • Unknowns: cost?, time?, value to library?

14. Associate degrees and certificates 0 • F2F: your local institution • Online: Belmont Technical College – AAS in Information Services: Library Paraprofessional • Online: University of Maine at Augusta – AS or Certificate in Library & Information Services • Positives: preparation/extension of library knowledge, offered in convenient formats, could add needed specialty to library, new career? • Unknowns: cost?, time?, worth it?

15. Credit courses 0 • F2F: your local institution • Online: Ohio Learning Network – OhioLearns • F2F or Online: Kent State SLIS • Positives: definable outcome, solid grasp of topic, feedback, focused period • Unknowns: specific enough to need?, too much theory?, cost?, time?

16. CE grab-bag 0 • F2F and online: Workshops and conferences (many choices, including OLSSI; check organization sites) • Ohio Library Continuing Education – automated statewide calendar system • OHIONET • State Library of Ohio – F2F and eLearning • LibraryU – web-based training modules • OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries) • Positives: just what you need, small investment, offered often or regularly • Unknowns: not enough information, unknown quality

17. Informal CE opportunities 0 • Participation in electronic discussion groups, local/regional/state professional organizations, networking of all kinds • Having a regular source for updates, new concepts, sharing of successes and failures • Choosing ways to stay in touch with the wider world • Positives: no or low cost, ongoing, builds relationships, constantly spotting trends and developments, way to pick opportunities for deeper learning • Unknowns: too informal to keep you focused?, too much information?, too disconnected from daily work?

18. How to get more out of CE opportunities 0 • Plan ahead: have a goal! • Ask questions! • Networking – strike up conversations! • Exhibits are not just for pens! • Take good notes and review them! • Follow up on suggested resources • Look for the connection to your job • Share your story after (whether you’re asked to or not!) • See it as freedom from day to day pressures – not its own pressure

19. A plan comes together 0 • Your CE strategy: • Identify your preferred learning styles and learning situations • Name your goal • Choose opportunities to meet that goal • Make your case • Persevere • Write it down! Track your progress • Bring the breadth of your experiences into the library

20. How is CE supported in your library? 0 • Encouragement • Time off to attend • Flexibility in scheduling • Paid/reimbursed opportunities • Know your options and benefits: • How is CE funded/allocated at your library? • Does your larger organization offer funds or scholarships?

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24. Building a case 0 • ROI – what is the library getting for its investment? • Measure the impact of CE • Agree on long-term impacts • Look for case examples elsewhere • The 1.6% solution - James Casey • Regular maintenance of a larger investment • How is your desired activity relevant? • Going beyond in-house training

25. The certification story 0 • Recognition of ability and accomplishments • Typically voluntary • Existing certification programs: • Michigan • Minnesota • New York • Utah • Librarian certification programs • May exist elsewhere in larger organizations • Impact

26. What can you do about certification? 0 • Work with statewide library groups to establish an Ohio program • Work with ALA LSSIRT or COLT to institute a national certification program • Build a certification program within your own library

27. How’s the job market? 0 • Nationally: 260,000+ support staff, 136,000 librarians (ALA) • Ohio: Labor Market Information – % change from 2002 to 2012 (& number of annual jobs) • Library assistants, clerical – up 16.2% (528) • Library technicians – up 10% (281) • Librarians – up 5% (186) • Regular growth; changing nature of jobs; new expectations?

28. Questions, Queries, or Quizzical Quotations? 0 John J. Burke, MSLS Director, Gardner-Harvey Library Miami University Middletown burkejj@muohio.edu 513-727-3293 AIM: infomanjjb