[Libs-Or] ALA-Allied Professional Association

[Wyma Rogers]

I saw this on Council list today and thought it might be helpful to anyone who is wondering about the APA and what it is doing.  I highly recommend the e-journal "Library Worklife."  It's a quick scan to see what to read, and some of the articles have been right to the point of what I was dealing with that day.  I just used one on writing a position description, for example.

Wyma Rogers

........

from Jenifer Grady, Director, ALA-APA.

Hello everyone.  The ALA-Allied Professional Association is a "new"
organization with two missions.  

1. Certification of individuals in specializations beyond the initial
professional degree.
2. Direct support of comparable worth and pay equity initiatives, and
other activities designed to improve the salaries and status of
librarians and other library workers.
 
ALA-APA, also called APA (not to be confused with the American
Psychological Association), was created by ALA in 2002 as a service to
ALA members and others in the library community.  Librarians and library
support staff are its stakeholders, as well as others who are committed
to its missions.  It has no membership and, as such, depends on
donations and subscriptions to its newsletter.  A "Give $5 in '05"
campaign is beginning, and the library community is encouraged to give
$5 or a multiple of $5 either via the secure ALA-APA Website, ALA
renewal forms, or by mail.  Other sources of revenue are being
developed, such as the first certification program for public library
administrators.
ALA and ALA-APA are separate, independent legal organizations. They are
tied together by fully interlocked governing bodies. The governing body
of the ALA-APA is the ALA-APA Council, whose members are those
individuals concurrently serving on the ALA Council. Within the policies
established by the ALA-APA Council, the ALA-APA is managed by the Board
of Directors, whose members are those individuals concurrently serving
on the ALA Executive Board.
ALA-APA has many activities that will be of interest.  ALA-APA
initiated National Library Workers Day (NLWD), on Tuesday of National
Library Week.  NLWD was first held in 2004 and participants celebrate
the theme "Libraries work because we do" by hosting parties, games,
and tours of the library for patrons and friends.  

ALA-APA publishes a monthly, electronic newsletter called "Library
Worklife: HR E-News for Today's Leaders" which includes career
advancement, certification, human resources practice, pay equity,
recruitment, research, work/life balance and a dedicated section for
support staff concerns.  All are invited to subscribe to and write for
the newsletter.  All ALA organizational members receive the newsletter
as a benefit if ALA has an email contact for the organization.

ALA-APA has produced a 10.5-minute video called Working @ Your Library:
For Love or Money, highlighting the work done by all library workers,
why it is important to raise our salaries and how this can be done.  We
have an "Advocating for Better Salaries and Pay Equity Toolkit" that is
full of ideas that staff can use to develop strategies, available at
http://www.ala-apa.org/toolkit.pdf.
 
Finally, there are subcommittees under the Standing Committee on the
Salaries and Status of Library Workers that would benefit from
volunteers.
 
If you have ANY questions or suggestions, please send them to Jenifer
Grady, Director, ALA-APA, 800-545-2433, x2424.