Special Library Association Revises Competencies for Information Professionals Document

The Special Library Association (SLA) has published a revised version of its Competencies for Information Professionals document that describes "core" and "enabling" competencies librarians and information professionals need to nurture and develop:

"The SLA Professional Competencies Task Force envisions that this document will be used by various audiences in different ways. Among those audiences are the following:

• Members of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and other librarians and information professionals, as a resource for articulating their own skills and competencies to employers and as a checklist for professional development;
• Employers, as a source for understanding what librarians and information professionals bring to an organization and how they can contribute to organizational performance;
• Students and prospective students, as a guide to the profession they are entering and a framework for choosing courses, programs, and careers; and
• Library and information science educators, as a framework for developing their curricula."

Today, Professional Competencies Task Force member Carolyn Sosnowski explained the purpose of the competencies on the SLA website:

"The competencies provide a broad-picture view of our body of knowledge. While we all won’t possess every skill mentioned in the document, it is necessary for us to understand the scope of what information professionals do and how our own work is connected to other types of work in the information sphere. At the same time, the competencies can help us describe the nature and importance of our work to those who want to understand the contributions of information professionals."

"The competencies are ideal to serve as a professional development road map for information professionals. Hone your expertise based on the skills outlined in the document. Are you seeking a promotion, or interested in refocusing your career? Reviewing the competencies is a good place to start exploring what you need to know. Use them to evaluate gaps in your training and education, and then seek out opportunities to deepen your knowledge in those areas."

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) has developed its own set of Professional Development Pathways. The Pathways, based on core competencies identified by the Association, now guide all programming at national conferences as well as continuing education activities. The full list of Pathway-related competencies is on the CALL website.