While the dust settles on my ACLIP certificate – A look back and a look forward to new ideas.

Jim Jackson
University of Exeter

While the dust settles on my ACLIP certificate I can reflect on the past few years and look forward to further exciting developments in qualifications and competence based training.

It all started for me many years ago when I started my first NVQ in Business Administration. My University was just at the start of the process of starting up as a NVQ Assessment Centre, so in many ways we ‘grow up together’. After completing 3 NVQ courses I was more convinced that ever that this style of qualification was underrated and often poorly marketed. I did some research into the Australian approach to staff training and helped with several research projects out there. They were far more advanced than the UK, and seemed to offer a far more flexible and practical approach to qualifications. In 1999 I started work as the project coordinator for the Book IT project, being run by the Affiliated Members group of CILIP. It was over two year’s work which I had to fit in with my usual day job, and I learnt a huge amount from that hugely successful project. The most important thing I learnt from the Book IT project was that library staff have in general a huge amount of expertise, knowledge and management skills which go unnoticed. Not only that but that these same people had aspirations of their own, which needed to be fulfilled in some professional body. I then started to assist with the development of the ILS NVQ and helped where I could to promote the new qualification. NVQ’s then involved a huge amount of paper work so having the Business Admin NVQ certainly helped ! Having completed the level 3 ILS NVQ I was drawn into the debate over how the level 3 and 4 ILS NVQ could be recognised by CILIP. I repeated these concerns to CILIP and received a ‘ cool reception’ to the ideas put forward and accepted that it was going to take a while to have the ideas acknowledged.
However CILIP’s corporate plan for 2002 came to the rescue and new ideas were being accepted and developed. I was asked to join a Framework of Qualifications Steering Group to see if we could develop a new qualifications and career framework for the organisation. There was a wide ranging collection of members, academics, librarians and for the first time library assistants. We then spent 2 years putting together the Framework of Qualifications you now have before you. There has been a huge amount of discussion, research and reevaluating of what was needed, what was available and what could be accepted as creditable. The new FoQ is designed to meet the needs of all members, encourage new members and provide a structured career path. The importance of this is that those members of the organisation who have gained library school qualifications and possibly Chartership have previously had nothing to show that they have continued to keep themselves up to date with new developments and training. The new FoQ offers revalidation which will now offer this to them. This should assist them in their chosen career.

Paraprofessionals have long had a difficult time gaining qualification which are acceptable to the general LIS community, a community which is rapidly changing and having to meet a variety of new needs and users. Hilary Ollerenshaw wrote an article called 'Library Assistants Seeking Professional Status: Who Pays and Who Benefits?' (New Review of Information and Library Research, 2001 Vol 7 pg 157-184) She studies the position of non-professional staff from academic and public libraries seeking professional status through accredited professional LIS qualification. Which does bring us to the difficult question of what will library managers of today make of certified library staff? Initial reaction seems to be either confused over their status, or happy for the candidate but reluctant to react or reward in any other way. Being among the first for a new qualification is always difficult as you are in effect altering the status quo. Change needs thought, and some will at first be unwilling or unable to do this. One reason being that library services may have been structured and budgeted for on an ‘x’ number of qualified staff and ‘y’ number of non qualified staff. The sudden appearance of extra qualified staff will alter this arrangement. While qualifications never guarantee a pay rise, (much though we would love it too!) they can be used to support re-grading and status claims, and support new job applications. Which then leaves the libraries with the problem of do we acknowledge these new qualified staff, and if required to, do we replace then at a later date with qualified or non qualified staff? This is likely to become even more confused by the merging of services within organizations and the development of new ones.

Perhaps a look here at the new qualifications might be an idea. Full details can be found at http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership/FrameworkofQualifications/ where you will find a complete list of the Framework of Qualifications. It is worth remembering that this is now often referred to as the FoQ, and the Certification award is often referred to as the ACLIP award. Simple confusion at the start can start things of badly ! As time goes on the idea or concept of the web site is that new information is added as it becomes available and the number of pilot projects report on their experiences. The Hertforshire County Libraries Group have already written their own guide for the Certification award, which tries to explain procedures in a ‘plain english’ context. There should be a copy of this on the web site. Don’t forget to check on the Affiliated Members Group web site where there may be complementary information or additional resources. Look at 
http://www.cilip.org.uk/groups/amnc/amnc.html 

There are two methods of applying for the ACLIP, via category 1 or category 2. The first is for LIS staff who have worked in the LIS community for 5 years or more, while category 2 is for people who have worked for 2 years or more in a LIS community. Clearly category 1 is aimed at people with greater experience and access to in service training. This training is what they have to demonstrate to the assessment panel and the 
Chartership Board, and show how the training has been reflected in their work practice. There is a huge range of training which can be included here, not only training supplied by the work place but also training which the candidate has undertaken on their own behalf. This has a practical effect on their work practice, for example taking part in training which relates to disabilities. This could be a training session for sign language, or dealing with readers who have hearing loss. If you have taken part in a customer care course, for example the Customer Care NVQ courses, this can be included as part of your personal development. While category 2 is for relatively new members of staff in the LIS community with two years or more full time experience. The important point to remember is that you show you have received some form of training, that this training has had an outcome, and that it has some worthwhile benefits to your employer and to you.
There are a number of items which either need to be in your portfolio (as in compulsory items) or that you might want to additionally include. Title page, index, registration page, application form, personal development plan, personal statement, supporting letter from your line manager and your CV. It is essential that these are completed as per the instructions and word processed. Don’t forget that when submitting the portfolio to send your submission fee as well.

Forms often worry people, but once you have the basic idea of what each form needs then there should be no real problems.
The personal development plan looks like this:

CILIP - Certification (ACLIP) 
Personal Development Plan Template
Candidate Name:……………………………………………………………………
Membership Number:…………………………………………………………………
Job Title:………………………………………………………………..
Employing Organisation:………………………………………………………….
Key Tasks and Responsibilities:………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………

The key task bit is where you list and write about your job. It’s your opportunity to say ‘I do this…. Or I organize this…. Rather than I work with others to do this. Be clear, honest and show what extra responsibilities you have. Do you help with distance learners, part time students, disabilities or home visits, school libraries, ICT training on the Peoples Network. Now the personal statement form looks like this:

Here you have to be careful as this section is not to exceed four pages of A4, the boxes below will expand to allow you to enter your details.
You should ensure that you have addressed the specific assessment criteria when completing your application. These are:
• an ability to evaluate personal performance and service performance
• an understanding of the importance of CPD
• an appreciation of the role of library and information services in the wider community

Topic Reflections on my experience
Evidence of understanding of workplace and organisation 
Communication skills: teamwork, inter-personal skills, giving presentations 
Role and application of ICT 
Organisation of information resources in the workplace 
Finding information for the user 
Legislation and its impact 
Specific responsibilities eg. learner support, web development, reader development 

Its important here that you are as specific as possible, showing how you have evaluated the training you have received and what you have done to use this new knowledge. For example under ‘legislation….’ If you have been on disabilities training say so, and what you have learnt from it, and how this has changed the way you work. You may not have the authority to change library policy but you can ensure that legal requirements are complied with. More importantly be aware of what new regulations mean to you and those you work with. If someone reports to you that they need special assistance on a regular basis, make sure this is noted and that staff are aware of this. Make sure the information is secure in terms of data protection as well. These forms are not designed to make you make mistakes but to enable you to show how you have changed through training, and what you want in the future from training. 

When you have completed these forms you will need a letter of support from either your line manager, or perhaps Librarian. This letter needs to follow the guidelines which are available on the CILIP web site: The basic requirements are as follows:

 - Your details:- please include 
 - name of candidate
 - your job title
 - your relationship to the candidate – usually but not necessarily line-manager
 - your CILIP membership number (where applicable)
 - Confirmation of evidence: - please confirm that the candidate has supplied accurate information about their role and their achievements
 - Assessment criteria: - Candidates will be assessed on evidence within the portfolio which demonstrates
 - an ability to evaluate both personal and service performance
 - an appreciation of the role of a library and information service in the wider community
 - an understanding of the role of CPD and, where applicable, an appreciation of developing personal skills through practice or an evaluation of training received
Please comment briefly on the candidate’s abilities in these areas 
Future potential: - please indicate the capacity of the candidate for agreed future development.

Annual or even more regular assessment of jobs is now common practice, and it is often common practice for people to say why do I bother doing extra training when I don’t get any credit for it. It’s a difficult situation for library manager as they want there staff to receive the most current skills training but don’t have the budgets to reward people for extra training undertaken. This can be used by the employee as evidence for something like the ILS NVQ, or as evidence for the Certification award. This would allow managers to encourage staff to undertake staff training, be an active role model perhaps and help develop new services and improve existing ones. The completion of the forms would be made so much easier with this sort of evidence, and would be rewarding as well, both to the employee, and the employer. Such schemes would also please the assessors from the Investors in People organization, which again might benefit all concerned.
As with all things, nothing is perfect to begin with, and work will continue with the Certification award for some time to come. Its part of the overall new Framework of Qualifications, and as such is almost a ‘living thing’ , as it will grow and develop. What is discovered to be wrong now, can be changed and improved. The leap from Certification to Chartership is the next hurdle and will take some time to clear. But there is a desire there to do this, and there is also the knowledge to suggest change, and maintain standards. Careful wording will be required so that potential candidates for Chartership are not excluded by simple wording alone, but this can be solved by careful consultation and wording. The development of the FoQ is a positive approach to a changing library service, and the changing needs of its varied users.


Jim Jackson
C/O The Law Library
University of Exeter
Rennes Drive
Exeter.
Ex4 4RJ