LIS 5100 : Service awards and learning opportunities

In a discussion this week, I was asked to share my thoughts about a professional award for librarians that I could possibly apply for, as well as reflect on a source of continuing education.

Awards
One of the awards that appeals to me is the Distinguished Service Award, which is presented by the Association for Library Service to Children. This award honors an ALSC member “who has made significant contributions to, and has had an impact on, library service to children and/or ALSC” (ALSC, n.d.).

A “Distinguished Service Committee” evaluates each nomination on the basis of “outstanding contribution(s), innovative ideas, breadth of influence, and length of service” (ALSC, 2015, p. 20).

Earning this award would be meaningful, because in all the domains that my work in a library touches upon — circulation, technical services, collection development, etc. — I perform this work through the lens of library service to young people.

Learning opportunities
Among learning experiences for continuing my education, I am currently exploring offerings available through CALL Academy. CALL stands for California Libraries Learn, and it is free to all California library staff (CALL Academy, n.d.).

CALL Academy is “a collaborative project of the California Library Association and the California State Library” (ibid). It is supported “by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian” (ibid).

As a Library Technician at a school in California, I was allowed access to its courses. These include self-paced offerings, as well as scheduled events.

The courses are created by various content partners: including Infopeople, Library Juice Academy, PCI Webinars, Niche Academy, and professional associations, organizations and co-operatives: like the American Library Association, the Pacific Library Partnership, and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (CALL, n.d.).

I recently viewed a self-paced webinar called “Autistics in the Library : How Libraries Can More Effectively Serve Patrons and Employees on the Spectrum.” As someone who is on the autism spectrum, I am interested in strategies that optimize the success of autistic people in the workplace.

This training was originally produced in 2018 by the Massachusetts Library System, and includes an accompanying LibGuide (MLS, 2020). The webinar featured a presenter, Charlie Remy, who is an autistic librarian. I found the presentation very informative, and am looking forward to taking other webinars and courses through CALL Academy.

References:
Association for Library Service to Children. (n.d.). Distinguished service award. Professional awards and grants. https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/profawards/distinguishedservice

Association for Library Service to Children. (2015). Distinguished service award committee manual. https://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/DSA_Manual_4.15_Final.pdf

CALL Academy. (n.d.) F.A.Q. CALL Academy. https://callacademy.org/faq/

Massachusetts Library System. (2020, Feb. 28). Services for patrons and employees on the autism spectrum: Home. MLSguides. https://guides.masslibsystem.org/autism