ACRL Training & Equity in Library Work Discussion Group

This is a great place to start if you're wondering what this Training & Equity in Library Work Discussion Group (DG) is about!

Here are some excerpts from our petition materials to the ACRL Board of Directors to establish this DG:

Background

We are exploring pathways to satisfying library work. As a group made up of library staff from a variety of classifications, experience levels, and pathways to library work, we will be exploring questions such as:

• Who is being surveyed about what librarian skills are wanted? What do library users want their librarians to be able to do? What do incoming professionals want to get from their MLS/MLIS programs?

• What does it mean to be a librarian or have an MLS/MLIS degree?

We are seeking examples of professionals and institutions' making the MLS/MLIS affordable and accessible. These may include workplace initiatives like the Brooklyn Public Library's Pathways to Leadership program, which provides BPL staff scholarship and mentorship for completing their MLS/MLIS degrees. We also seek examples of MLS/MLIS programs with strong workplace training alignments.

One of our long-term goals is to explore an alternative credentialing system for librarian-classified positions. Our research will investigate skills and aptitudes for librarians as well as alternative credentialing systems in other professions (such as the APR 6 Law Clerk Program in the Washington State legal services profession).

As we explore these longer-term pathways to satisfying library work, we will consider more nimble and shorter-term practices for increasing equity between library worker classifications.

Proposed statement of purpose: 

To discuss, research, and envision the many pathways to satisfying and equitable library work. At the outset, our interest is multi-pronged:

• practices or programs for making the MLS/MLIS experience more accessible and authentic, particularly for underrepresented and marginalized populations;

• parallel pathways to (or alternative credentialing for) librarian positions; and

• increasing equity between library worker classifications (in terms of compensation, benefits, professional development funding, institutional and disciplinary power, & etc.).

If any of this seems like an interest of yours, please consider participating! We are excited to learn alongside you!

The ACRL Board of Directors approved the establishment of this DG at its January 26, 2024 ACRL Board I Virtual Meeting. You can find that Board I packet attached in this ACRL Public Community Board of Directors post, and our petition materials begin on p. 37 of that .pdf file.