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Amongst its aims, LIASA includes "the promotion and provision of education and training for LIS workers" and "to encourage the promotion of service standards and acceptable good practice".
LIASA is committed to advocating the relevance of libraries and the types of services provided to the country and community, as well as developing foresight and strength of leadership within the profession. This is evident in its mission statement, which clearly states that:
"LIASA advocates and supports the provision of efficient, user-oriented and excellent library and information services that aspire to equitable access to information for all communities (literate and illiterate) in South Africa. To this end, the Association represents the interests of and promotes the development and image of library and information workers in South Africa".
The need and relevance of Continuing Education and Professional Development
The term Continuing Education and Professional Development (CEPD) is an overarching term for the means by which professions keep their practices current and relevant. In "licensed" professions such as the law, engineering and the health sciences it is mandatory. Thus it can be observed that CEPD process incorporates and focuses upon "learning to know" and "learning to do". Internationally, the American Library Association, the Australian Library and Information Association and the UK Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) have all taken the central and integral responsibility of CEPD for library personnel in their respective countries.
Challenges and current responses to CEPD
The South African Library and Information Services (LIS) sector is currently being challenged by the redefinition of its role and provision of services. The changing role and structures of public and academic libraries in South Africa, as evidenced by re-engineering and transformation processes, has critically increased the need for further workplace skills development and training of personnel. The redressing of former employment inequity; improving library leadership and management; the changing ICT needs and demands of users; and, the necessity of upgrading library related skills, has placed tremendous challenges upon library employers and employees to identify relevant training programs, which improve the quality and sustainability of their services.
The formation of regional consortia amongst tertiary institutions, and the consolidation of library structures amongst provincial and metro public libraries, have all elicited the need for continuing education of both professional and non-professional staff. In-house training programs within existing structures tend to be generic, overseen by human resource departments and are rarely library specific or related. The increasing numbers in attendance at pre-conference workshops at the LIASA annual conference, also serve as an indicator for the demand for training and skills enhancement.
Aside from the basic academic qualification programs offered by the 13 library schools, which are located at far flung national locales, further training tends to be costly and directed towards individual study, specialization (knowledge management & informatics) and post-graduate qualifications. They also tend to preclude the coordination or assessment of the needs of different librarians eg children's librarians. The closure of several library schools adds to the pressure of formal training. The challenge for the library schools is to be able to meet the practical demands and needs of the LIS workplace, given their current curricula and how it could be rewritten to address these needs eg project management, financial management, etc.
Private institutions such as Sabinet-Online and library related service providers such as EBSCO and Emerald provide product-specific and sector-specific training which excludes the general training needs of personnel.
The recent 5-year Higher Education Libraries Program, a joint initiative between the Department of Education and the European Union, successfully addressed the expansion of training and development of skilled professional staff to meet the growing needs of library and information services provision at 17 historically disadvantaged higher education institutions in South Africa. Library specific training programs were designed and a core of 9 peer trainers was developed. Within the context of a national need, this project was sector specific. Within the sector itself, it was perceived as being even more specific as it excluded formally advantaged institutions. The possibility exists for LIASA to become the custodian of these training programs, however the discussions need to be driven by LIASA once it has its Continuing Education facility in place.
Despite these challenges, South African library personnel are determined to build stronger libraries that serve the needs of all South African users.
LIASA's Response
A national survey of members in 2002 regarding training needs elicited the need for a centralized and focused initiative to address the issue of Continuing Education and Professional Development. The survey further reiterated from the members a strong need for a library association, the design and implementation of training and skills development programs, high expectations for LIASA to promote the image of LIS workers and to work towards improving library services in South Africa, recognize LIASA as the representative of the South African LIS profession internationally, and, the need to initiate advocacy programs at local, regional and national levels.
In response to these needs and challenges, LIASA has adopted Continuing Education and Professional Development (CEPD) as a strategic objective within its overall business plan and has embarked upon creating the Center for Information Career Development (CICD), a centralized initiative to make training opportunities available to all LIS workers irrespective of the levels of initial training.
Within this context, LIASA identified the following four focus areas, which encompasses current training needs:
- Personal Development
Examples of Training Programs - Conflict Management, Communication Skills, Career Pathing, Diversity in the Workplace, Train-the-Trainer, Time Management
- Professional and Support Skills Development
Examples - Reference Work and Front Desk Skills, Book mending & binding, Knowledge Management, Records Management, Shelving, Information Literacy
- Information and Communication Technology
Examples - Electronic Collection Development, System Hardware & Software Training, HTML & Web Publishing, Using the Internet as a research tool
- Management and Leadership Development, including advocacy
Examples - Performance Measurement & Evaluation Processes, Marketing & Advocacy, Policy Writing, Change Management & Organisational Structures, Influencing Skills
The idea is that the CICD will be able to access, offer and recommend a suitable spread of relevant programs thereby ensuring the trainee has access to a variety of courses that will enhance and upgrade skills pertinent to their personal and professional development. A suitable mix of programs may be agreed between the employer and employee. This empowers a participant to embark upon a program of self-paced learning that is mutually beneficial to the employer and employee.
The UK Chartered Institute for Library and Information Professionals clearly states that:
"The Library Association affirms that libraries are fundamental to a thriving democracy, culture, civilization and economy. The Library Association is therefore committed to enabling its members to achieve and maintain the highest professional standards, and encouraging them in the delivery and promotion of high quality library and information services responsive to the needs of users."
LIASA represents all library personnel in the country and is best positioned to take on this objective role.
CEPD within the context of the South African vision for training & development
Government Strategy
The National Skills Development Strategy of the South African government has, through the Skills Development Act, 1998, the Skills Development Levies Act, 1999 and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), identified the need for qualitative, relevant and appropriate training for the upgrading of workplace skills within the country. The processes of Outcomes Based Education (OBE), Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), and further skills development aim to equip South Africa with the skills to succeed in the global market and to offer opportunities to individuals and communities for self-advancement to enable them to play a productive role in society.
Role of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)
The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is a body that is responsible for overseeing the generation of standards for training program and for accrediting training programs and service providers that meet and adhere to approved minimum standards. SAQA is also responsible for overseeing the National Qualification Framework (NQF).
The former informal and ad-hoc training processes are now being closely scrutinized by SAQA to meet specific standards, outcomes and assessment criteria. SAQA has embarked on a national initiative to accredit training programs from registered service providers with quality assurance being the imperative. This means that LIASA will have to use only accredited service providers whose training programs meet SAQA approved standards.
Skills Levy
The compulsory monthly contribution of a Skills Levy (2% of the gross salary) by both employer and employee to the Department of Labour makes it incumbent upon the employer to ensure that every employee has a skills audit and is sent for relevant training and skills development. Employers are entitled to claim 60% of fees paid for training from the Skills Development Fund provided SAQA accredited service providers conduct the training. This means that employers receive a refund for the costs they have incurred for sending their staff members to these training programs. To solicit the support and buy-in of institutions and employers, it is therefore imperative that the CICD fully understands the processes of skills audits and claiming from the Skills Development Fund.
LIASA and SAQA
LIASA has initiated discussions with SAQA, which has indicated its willingness to embark upon a Joint Implementation Plan with LIASA. This Plan will be a formal working partnership. This will enable LIASA and the CICD to have access to its database of registered trainers and accredited training programs that address the identified four focus areas. This will then permit LIASA to market these training sessions as "SAQA Certified" thereby making them more appealing both to librarians and to their employers.
Nationally, LIASA has embarked on a campaign to raise its profile amongst employers and to solicit their support for the CICD. Thus far, both the public and academic library sectors have recognized the importance of CEPD and are willing to endorse the centralized activities of the CICD.
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