LIBRARY TECHNICIAN PROGRAMS - SKILLS-ORIENTED PARAPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE WORK THAT library technicians can and should do in libraries, the formal programs that train library technicians ar e discussed. Library technicians are trained to carry out much of the day-to-day operations of libraries. The curriculum from Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, the largest library technician progra m in Canada, is used to show that the training is largely skill based. Knowledge-based components are only included in the curriculum to pro vide the context for those skills and to socialize the prospective lib rary technicians into the profession to ensure that they operate as pa raprofessionals and not as clerical staff. Librarians, the workplace, technology: and the students that enroll in library technician program s all have influenced the nature of the programs as they exist today. While there are many similarities and some differences between Canadia n programs and those offered in Australia and the United States, all s trive to resolve issues such as the definition of library technicians, role differentiation among staff, certification, and accreditation.