Building with Competencies at ALA

Staff Name: Jennifer Spriggs

Learning Event: Building with Competencies at ALA 2010

Library System: ACLS

Date: June 26, 2010

Summary: I was so pleased that I was able to attend this session, which was sponsored by the LearningRT. The two presenters were excellent - Betha Gutsche of OCLC and Sandra Smith of Denver Public Library. They engaged the audience by giving everyone a two-sided sign with a smiley face on one side and a frown on the other. They continually asked questions and asked the group to respond to their answers with their signs. Competencies can be a scary word - the presenters suggested that skill set might be a less intimidating term. The outcomes for session attendees were:
-A basic understanding of what competencies are
-A basic understanding of potential employee and organizational benefits to utilizing competencies
-Examples of how libraries are utilizing competencies to enhance their operations and missions
-An increase in willingness to explore the use of competencies in their work

The presenters walked through 6 case studies that showed how competencies were used in a practical way to benefit library systems and individuals. I took away quite a few good ideas, especially in regards in how to tie competencies to performance reviews, which I hope to implement in the next review cycle.

Aha! to share: On average, approximately 60 to 70 percent of library funding goes to staff - salaries, benefits, etc.

You can view the session resources at:
http://www.webjunction.org/conferences/-/articles/content/99973597