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It is often difficult due to rigid organisational structures for library assistants, who may already have degrees, to break into the library profession. Do any libraries out there have programs that help facilitate the shift from 'assistant' to professional?
Steve Fleming
Anecdotal data: My friend has a degree in library science. The majority of non-assistant jobs she saw were for part time evening/weekend positions. It would seem that would be one way to break in. However, it has the huge disadvantage of not being a full time job and not having health insurance.
It also doesn't really address the question as it isn't about developing internal staff specifically.
While I can't vouch for other libraries, I can explain how I do it and how my system helps the "non-professionals" learn and advance.
The first thing to know is that I work in a large branch but with a very tight knit crew. We love working together and I don't see anyone at my branch who's a non-professional. We're all pros, simple as that. As the local tech guy, I wind up teaching the staff about tech and computer things like changes to the ILS, eBooks, and stuff like that. The thing to note is that I teach this stuff to everyone, including Pages. Why? Because I have two people who are now Library Assistants who stated as Pages. We like to "grow our own" people and one of the best ways to do that is to give everyone the information. When they get promoted or go on to a different branch, they've got some knowledge and skills that make them stand out from those who don't.
Beyond that, I hold one on one training sessions with anyone who wants them. Doesn't matter what they want to learn, I'll teach them. A few days ago one of my Pages came to me and asked how to search the ILS for specific books. As a Page, she really doesn't need to do that because Pages aren't working the desk or helping people with specific book queries. But as a staff member for a public library, at the very least she wanted to know how to find books for herself. So I showed her. Does it fall within her job description to know that stuff? No. Will it help her move up if she decides to be something other than a Page? Absolutely. Isn't that what professional development is for?
And finally, on the system level. Whenever there's a training that comes up, no matter what it is; something big at the Carnegie downtown, might be some informal session at Admin, or an all hands thing at the branch EVERYONE can go. We'll note it on the yearly evaluation that they've had training and education above and beyond and we explain to them that this kind of thing helps when other positions open up.
It boils down to this. We're a library, and we believe in sharing information, no matter what the relation is to someone's job description. After all, knowing how to do X and Y when no one else in the interviews knows how to do it makes a real difference!
I work in a smallish academic library -- three librarians and one full time assistant. The full-time library assistant is a member of the state library association and attends the annual conference with the librarians. She also attends workshops in the area on Interlibrary loans (which she is in charge of), and copyright since she works with reserves. We receive a monthly list of free webinars from the state library association that the library assistant may register for as she sees fit. The library assistant participates in annual faculty readings and all library training. Perhaps this seems excessive to some? Since we are a small library, we wear many hats and cross-train so that we can help each other as the need arises. The training, development and supervisory experience (of student workers) as well as time on the reference desk are helpful in moving into librarian jobs, as three of four of the last assistants have gone on to library school.
I am not sure whether you are asking this from a library assistant's perspective or management's. Are you a library assistant who would like his library to develop a program or are you a manager who wants to know how to develop library assistants to their full potential? I will try to answer from both sides, having sat on both sides in the last few years.
As the HR person for a library, I have to consider the needs of the library first when I hire. We try to keep a mix of part-time and full-time positions to allow for scheduling flexibility. The cost of benefits is also a concern - when your personnel budget exceeds a certain percentage of your overall budget, you become vulnerable to fluctuations in income (if our sales tax income drops, I might be forced to lay people off, and that is not something I ever want to have to do).
A third consideration is succession planning. Whenever we have a job opening, we start by looking at current staff job descriptions and what hats can be shifted from person to person so that each person's job gradually becomes a better match for his skills and interests. Then we advertise for someone with the skill set we are lacking. When I hire I am always looking for people who have skills beyond what I have asked for, and particularly in areas I know we are weak, even if those tasks aren't currently being hired for. I look for management interest/potential, because a lot of people I interview are not inclined toward an administrative future.
While the library does pay for some conference and workshop attendance, we expect that people with a professional degree should take primary responsibility for their own professional development. I expect the librarians on staff to do professional reading and to bring ideas and concerns to the table. I expect that they will contribute to projects as they are being developed, that they will apply their particular talents whenever the opportunity arises, and that they will also volunteer to do some of the grunt work when that's what is needed. I expect that they will find ways within our organization to continually hone their skills. I expect a cheerful disposition and exceptional customer service skills.
When we have a position open, it is sometimes an opportunity for a part-time person to become a full-time person (I should state here that we currently do not have library assistant positions - we hire part-time librarians and their job title is librarian - budget concerns may cause us to to shift from this in the future). If creating a full-time position is in the best interest of the library, that position is offered to a staff person who has talents we need, who has demonstrated initiative and leadership, who has embraced his or her work at the library, and who has expressed an interest in working full-time. If it includes management responsibilities, we will usually post the job and invite current employees to apply.
Some realities from the HR side of libraries:
We have a grow your own program that was also sponsored by the State Library. Library assistants would be reimbursed for attending library school. Once they finished their degree, they would be promoted to Librarian II. They could earn the Librarian I position without the degree if they had their BA, and II when they get their MLS. It's worked well for us as we don't often attract librarians wanting to serve in rural areas and we recognized we had talent to fill the gaps. We've had two so far with a third on the way.
The library I work in is primarily staffed by non-professional staff (10 of 12, all but one part time). Of those, perhaps four of us are interested in general professional development. Of those four, two of us (myself included) are interested in professional development for career reasons with the potential for seeking a library science degree.
In-house, professional development opportunities are limited; training is typically geared towards need-to-know skills, such as learning how to use a new database or software or how to work an eReader & show patrons how to download books to their own devices.
However, both the region-wide consortium my Library belongs to as well as the state-wide library association offer extensive professional development opportunities. These range from workshops on basics such as ILS use, Microsoft Suite programs to weeding workshops, from reader's advisory and hot picks to managing volunteers. There are also roundtables for various interest groups, including one specifically for paraprofessionals. Other roundtables include circulation, cataloging, directors & assistant directors. These workshops are held across the state, are often held in multiple regions so folks will have a chance to attend one nearby, and sometimes are held as webinars.
In addition, the state association has a contract with Lynda.com, which includes training for a wide range of topics. Staff don't have unlimited access to Lynda.com; rather, they can register for a 2 week time period in which they have access to all on the site. Staff are asked to wait 3 months between sign ups for Lynda.com to allow others a chance to use it.
All of the above workshops, roundtables & web training is available across the board to non- and para-professional staff as well as professional staff. The above workshops are also free to staff provided that their library is a part of the state association--which is free of charge to all libraries in the state--and to all kinds of libraries--public, school, private, medical, etc.
The state association also does advisory by email, phone, or in person.
And somewhat related, since it is fantastic for gaining experience and getting a foot in the door, the state association also runs a temp agency specifically for libraries. They place people in short- and long-term for non- & paraprofessional and professional positions.