ACCREDITATION AND MINIMUM SALARIES

Patricia Layzell Ward, Convenor, Library Link

Two points have come up in discussion on Library Link in the past week - accreditation and minimum salaries for library staff.

The accreditation and recognition process (it depends on individual countries which term is adopted) is based on courses or programs. It is operated by national library and information associations who set standards appropriate for their country, and nominate a team to �inspect� the programs. The ILS schools work to guidelines and prepare documentation in advance of a visit from the team. The visits are very thorough. The team issues a report which is considered by the decision-making group within the association who decides whether or not the course should be recognised or accredited. The decision of the national association is generally �final� and I am not aware of any ILS school being turned down which has taken a case into the law courts. But there have been some close calls. The process is separate from any internal quality control process operated by each university or national government.

In addition, national associations such as the (British) Library Association also have a further means of recognising the qualifications of an individual. Members can provide evidence of satisfactory professional practice and seek to become Chartered Librarians, which provides a set of letters after their name - as an Associate of the Library Association. They can also go further and provide evidence that can change an Associateship into a Fellowship. But the situation is not the same elsewhere, for example in Australia a Fellowship of the Australian Library and Information Association is awarded as a mark of honour. Some years ago there was debate in the USA about the need to introduce individual recognition but nothing happened.

The question of recognising the individual becomes more important today for at least two reasons. The first is the need to recognise that the individual is �fit to practice�. As yet no national association has taken the step of requiring individuals to participate in continuing professional development to hold their qualifications. This is now common in many professional fields. The second reason is that of international mobility. In moving between countries holding a qualification from a recognised program or an Associateship of a national association makes the recognition process much easier.

The role of IFLA to date has been to set guidelines for standards for library schools and to have examined the question of the reciprocity of courses. The Section on Education and Training undertakes this work.

Minimum salaries also lie within the �interest� of national library associations, although some insist that this lies in the province of the trade unions. There has been some recent correspondence in the British Library Association Record on this point. The problem for librarians is that their union membership is fragmented and librarians are often a minority of the membership, which makes it difficult to set a standard across the board. However, some associations, and this includes the Library Association, have guidelines on minimum standards and help members by providing information. In the case of the USA the American Library Association has not adopted recommendations for minimum salaries, but 19 state library associations publish minimum starting salaries in American Libraries. The ALA will also provide information to individual members.

So one of the great benefits of being a member of a national library/information association is that they can set a standard for courses and advise individual members about salaries. If your national association is not providing these services, then take action and persuade them that such a service is needed.

For information about the process of accreditation good models can be found at the American Library Association at www.ala.org, the Australian Library and Information Association at www.alia.org.au or the Library Association at www.la-hq.org.uk At the ALA and ALIA sites there are interesting documents about possible changes to professional education.

Patricia Layzell Ward
Convenor, Library Link

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