Microcredentialing in Librarianship

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A group to talk about education requirements in the future of librarianship.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/librarianeducationreform/
Discord: https://discord.gg/QYk7PaMZnE
When:  Jun 8, 2021 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (MT)

Register here:   https://uwyo.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqdumpqD0iHtRiqHTikJgFEZcqofHdVbg-

Workforce agencies are increasingly investigating the value of microcredentials in upskilling. This brings forth a larger discussion of what a “credential of value” is. Professional librarianship recognizes the MLIS/MLS, yet the cost to obtain one for many interested in librarianship remains prohibitive. Are there more affordable and accessible credentials of value – microcredentials – that could be industry-recognized and “stacked” toward a master’s degree, such as edX’s Certificate of Public Library Management?

To think about:

Is the Associate’s and Bachelor of Library Science “industry recognized” as a credential of value?

Does the MLS/MLIS prepare students to be library directors?

What short-term, affordable ways are there to train people for the library field?

Can the cost of the degree be offset by wages in rural libraries?

Are library schools willing to count work experience and microcredentials as credit earned toward the degree?

Lisa Shaw is the Small & Rural Libraries/Workforce Development Specialist for the Maine State Library; Advocacy Committee Co-Chair for ARSL; a member of Maine’s Northeast Workforce Development Board Youth Services committee; a member of LibsWork; and Maine State Library’s representative to several state and nationwide workforce development inter-agency initiatives.

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Comments

Cynthia Parkhill
Jun 05, 2021 10:41 AM

I will be at work when this event is happening live, but I very much look forward to viewing a recording.

One of the things I hope can be considered is more widespread acceptance by employers for  “progressively responsible related experience” as a substitute for college coursework toward the MLIS.

To cite one example, the hiring policy of Berkeley Public Library recognizes “progressively responsible related experience” as a substitute for college coursework on a year-for-year basis (Job description for Librarian I with Berkeley Public Library, viewed March 26, 2017).

Ideally, this would be expressed in terms of hours, so that part-time work and volunteer hours could also be applied toward the total.

Assuming the convention that full-time work is 40 hours per week, every 2,080 hours logged could be considered “one year.”

Contact

Paula Martin

paula.martin@uwyo.edu