ALIA National Policy Congress

Accreditation for library services

Brigitte Glockner, WA president

Accreditation is a major tool in ensuring a quality service. The health service industry has embraced accreditation for more than a decade and other service industries are following suit.

While ALIA is working towards accreditation of continuing education for librarians, there is also a need for library services to be accredited.

Managers of different organisations have quite often also different expectations of library services. Just as a landscape architect will consult with the owner of a property regarding his or her ideas of how the garden should look like and what features should be included, he will also take into consideration what kind of soil and environment he has to work with.

The same principle applies to library services. One can run the best possible library and information service, but if it doesn't reflect the expectations of management it is deemed to be a failure.

The Australian Library and Information Association can play an important role in helping managers to form a picture of what a library service should entail and we, the practicing librarians, should come up with a list of minimum requirements for a library and information service. From this platform we could then negotiate enhancements to the library and information service.

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is the voluntary system of evaluating the quality of a service, while institutional accreditation evaluates the institution as a whole.

• Institutional accreditation: Health libraries are usually accredited as part of the hospital's institutional accreditation. However, the accrediting organisation is the Australian Council of Health Care Standards (ACHCS) and not the Australian Library and Information Association.
  
  
• Personal accreditation: The term 'continuing professional development' (CPD) is often used instead of personal accreditation. Increasingly, members of professional bodies are required to undertake continuing professional development activities to retain their status.
  
  At present CPD programs are conducted by library schools throughout Australia and various sections of ALIA. There is currently no mechanism in existence whereby CPD participants can register their efforts and get credit on a national basis. However, in its Charter of Renewal ALIA has agreed - 'That there be formal recognition for accredited continuing professional development activities of librarian and library technician members'.
  
  By establishing a system for the recognition of continuing professional development activities, ALIA will recognise and reward continuing professional development efforts of members, as well as provide guidance to employers to identify members who maintain currency in qualifications.
  
  This initiative will re-vitalise the Australian library and information profession and bring it in line with other professions in Australia such as accountants and medical practitioners.
• Service accreditation: The American Library Association actively promotes the concept of service accreditation. It has set up an 'Office for Accreditation' where interested persons can find out what programs the American Library Association accredits. However, these programs deal mainly with the educational aspect of librarianship.
  
  In 1996, the Nebraska Library Commission produced Public library accreditation guidelines, which were to be phased in over a three-year period. Libraries that meet the basic guidelines are eligible for state funding to public libraries.

The Australian Library and Information Association plays a vital role in the accreditation of library and information studies courses via the ALIA Board of Education. However, there is at present no mechanism whereby a library service is accredited by its own professional organisation.

Service accreditation by ALIA

When an organisation decides that it needs a library and information service it usually has preconceived ideas of what it wants from this service. Therefore, it is vital to establish from the very beginning what the organisation's expectations are regarding:

• The information required and the format in which it should be presented. Will the information be mainly contained in books, journals, catalogues or audio-visual materials? Management may perceive that all information is available in electronic format. This is very much a layperson's perception. It is important to check if this is really the case.
  
  
• The physical environment. How large or small is the area set aside for a library service? If the information is contained in electronic format very little space is required, but books and journals need quite considerable space, as does audio-visual viewing equipment. The growth factor of the collection also needs to be considered.
  
  
• The budget allocated to this service. Unrealistic allocations may hinder the fulfilment of the organisation's expectations. It is vital to determine for what the budget allocation has been assigned. Is it for materials only, or does it pay for everything from pen and paper to salaries and electricity?

Many library and information services have been closed down because the librarian never asked management 'what information do you need?' When an organisation cannot see the benefits and relevance of a library and information service, it is likely to withdraw its support by cutting the library's operational budget - or closing the service totally.

Let us assume an organisation has decided it needed a library and information service. It proceeds by employing a librarian. This librarian may, or may not, be an experienced professional. In many cases it is a newly-qualified librarian with very little practical experience, as this person will not demand the salary a more-experienced librarian would ask for.

This is the scenario where the Australian Library and Information Association could play a vital role by providing an 'accreditation kit' a tool to set up a basic library and information service.

Such a toolkit could contain standards and/or guidelines for the service to be established. It also could contain a 'check list' of topics to be considered, such as the need for a statement of the philosophy and objectives of the organisation, a collection development policy and a procedure manual. In addition the kit could contain ALIA work-level guidelines and useful web sites.

Such a kit can and should be used by every library and information service, be it a one-person library, a special library, a health library, or a university library.

Once the librarian feels confident that she has fulfilled all major requirements contained in the 'accreditation kit', he/she could then apply to ALIA for accreditation of the library and information service.

This does not need to be a costly affair. Each state could have a register of accreditors. An accreditor would have to be an associate member of ALIA, preferrably with a postgraduate degree in information and library studies, and would have to be part of an accredited library and information service.

The accreditation team should consist of at least two persons, who would have to present a written report to ALIA. In case of one of the accreditors being not in favour of accrediting the library service, another accreditor from another state could be asked to review the service as well. ALIA's General Council should then decide if a 'Certificate of Accreditation' should be issued.

The 'Certificate of Accreditation' should be presented to the librarian at a function organised by a state's Branch Council of ALIA. The chief executive of the organisation should be informed of the librarian's achievement by ALIA National Office. This would ensure that librarians are seen in a more-positive, quality-oriented light and also ensure a much higher profile of the library and information profession.