LISNews: Librarian News

LiveStream #IL2009 Library 101. Right now!!

February 2010 might seem like a long way off...

...but if you're a bookmark collector, you won't want to miss the First International Virtual Bookmark Convention. Here's the link. More to come as we get closer to the date.

The Executive Board of the American Library Association approved
the establishment of a certification program for library support staff
at its Monday, July 13, meeting in Chicago. The LSSC Program is the
first national, voluntary certification program for library support
staff. Funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library
Services, the program will now enter a testing phase in five library
organizations across the United States.

Camilla Alire, ALA president, said, "This innovative certification
program demonstrates the value of all library support staff to our
national association and to our nation's libraries. LSS are critical to
the success of our libraries in meeting the needs of our users."

Candidates must demonstrate achievement of six sets of competencies. Three of the sets, Foundations of Library Service, Technology and Communications and Teamwork are required. Candidates must also demonstrate achievement of three sets chosen from seven additional competency sets. Candidates will either complete approved courses or submit portfolios that demonstrated their achievement.

Here is the document that was approved by the Executive Board.

OK you naughty librarians...you've been found out.

Amanda Hess from the Washington City Paper has been following you on Twitter, and found that:

When the American Library Association’s annual conference kicked off in Chicago last Thursday, some attendees wanted the world to know that librarian get-togethers aren’t all about shushing and stacking: There’s a lot of f**ing, too.

The nearly week-long librarian meet-up, which began July 9, delivers “over 300 educational programs” to professional bibliophiles each year—including workshops like “Collection Development: Decision Making With Data” and “When Is Nice Too Nice? Strategies For Disengaging From the Talkative Patron.” Some attendees, however, haven’t been entirely satisfied with the ALA programming. So they launched a “secret” Twitter account for librarians to share more intriguing professional insights. A typical anonymous ALA tweet: