WHEREAS the Community Library Training Program CLTP was a distance education model coordinated by the provincial governments Libraries Branch that provided professional training and certification opportunities for public library staff without the burden and expense of having to be away from their community; AND WHEREAS the provincial government has announced the discontinuation of the CLTP without identifying alternative training and certification opportunities, leaving current CLTP participants uncertain whether they will be able to complete the program or obtain certification, and would leave public library staff across the province with a lack of options for professional training and certification: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Ministry of Education share with BC public libraries the details from the CLTP program review and communicate as soon as possible its plan for establishing or identifying professional training and certification opportunities for library staff at a level equivalent to the Community Library Training Program.
Ministry of Education Accessible professional learning is important in all sectors, and the library community is no exception. While professional learning opportunities for library staff are primarily the responsibility of libraries themselves, the Ministry will continue to support professional learning in this sector by identifying and sharing a wide-range of training and professional learning opportunities currently available across BC, Canada and in the US. Many of these opportunities have been posted on the Commons website, which is an online community for library staff to connect, discuss, and share resources and best practices. The Commons will be updated on a monthly basis with current offerings. Governments investment in professional learning for public libraries staff is being directed in new ways to support cross-sector needs of all library staff, including those in school and post-secondary libraries, as well as to support the professional learning needs of library trustees. An example of this work is our collaboration with the BC Library Association BCLA on a survey of all of their members and contacts. This survey will include a set of questions on professional learning and training and will help identify the learning needs and interests across the library community, as well as the best ways to meet them. This survey will reach approximately 1800 of the library community. In addition, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Advanced Education are working with public, academic and school libraries to look for cross-sector professional learning opportunities through the Library Shared Services project. Ministry of Education staff look forward to continuing to work with libraries, federations and other partners to encourage the development and sharing of professional learning opportunities throughout the library sector.