« newest change agent | Main | Captain Kirk, a librarian? »
February 07, 2008
ALA Position Classifications - where do I belong?
When I renewed my ALA membership of late, one thing that confused me was the Activity Codes on the form. You get to chose an "Area of Work" that represents what you do. There are 28 categories. I am a Digital Futures Manager. The closest to my work are:
- Administration
- Automation/Systems
- Reference/Information
- Technical Services
I always have a hard time picking what to mark. My last job was an Web and Information Services Manager, and the one before that was an eServices Librarian. Where do any of these titles fit?
What I want to see is something that represents web services - something that says "I deal with technology but I am not a part of Technical Services or Automation/Systems." I am surprised that no such category exists. These jobs have been around a while, and will continue to grow in number. If we could add a new category that I would feel confident marking, I would be a happy librarian indeed.
February 7, 2008 | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/12541/25913372
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference ALA Position Classifications - where do I belong?:
Comments
As a Digital Initiatives Librarian, I feel your pain! It's been a while since I renewed but I think I chose something really descriptive like "Library Work - Other".
Posted by: skoochie | February 7, 2008
So true Sarah! I could be snarky and say that in order to create a proper category one would have to know there is a difference between web, automation and technical services. :-P
Posted by: Susan | February 8, 2008
Late to this thread, but wanted to let you know that we are undertaking a significant remapping of the position codes to bring them in line with a) new developments in the field since they were last revised and b) to help map to the ALA-APA salary survey. It should be ready by the new fiscal year (Sept 1 -ish). Sorry about the delay in catching up with you.
- John w/ ALA
Posted by: John Chrastka | February25, 2008
Thank you for replying John. I am very pleased to hear that position classifications are being moved around. Change = good. And ALA employee who takes the time to let us know about change = double good. Thanks!
Posted by: Sarah Houghton-Jan (Librarian in Black) | February25, 2008
