Library Technician Programs: Skills-Oriented Paraprofessional Education

To BETTER L’XDERSIAND THE M-ORK THAT library technicians can and should do in libraries, the formal programs that train library technicians are discussed. Library technicians are trained to carry out much of the dayto-day operations of libraries. The curriculum from Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, the largest library technician program in Canada, is used to show that the training is largely skill based. Knowledge-based components are only included in the curriculum to provide the context for those skills and to socialize the prospective library technicians into the profession to ensure that they operate as paraprofessionals and not as clerical staff. Librarians, the workplace, technology, and the students that enroll in library technician programs all have influenced the nature of the programs as they exist today. Mihile there are many similarities and some differences between Canadian programs and those offered in Australia and the United States, all strive to resolve issues such as the definition of library technicians, role differentiation among staff, certification, and accreditation.