This season we are focusing on topics that are important to library support staff. We will be discussing each of the ten competency sets in the American Library Association’s Library Support Staff Certification program. Some of these may overlap with our Library Basics series from Season Seven, but this season we will be looking specifically at the material the ALA has identified as important. We will link to the ALA’s program, if you want more information or want to sign up for one of their classes.

You can find our show notes page here, with links to everything we discuss today.

Earlier this season we talked about the three required courses in this certification program. This week we are talking about one of the competencies that is optional: Reference and Information Services. 

“These services support library users as they seek access to information in all formats, wherever these resources are located. These competencies require an understanding of basic information resources and of the user’s information seeking behavior and expectations.”