Paraprofessional
I had a really good chat with an urban library administrator at Midwinter. Here's something that she said that's stuck with me:
"I don't like the word paraprofessional. They're professionals in their own right."
Well said.
I mentioned starting as a paraprofessional in my "Statement of Professional Concerns" for the ALA election. I decided to use the word clerk instead. How do you feel about the word?
posted by Heidi Dolamore @ 5:30 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I always preferred the term "support staff" or else the specific job title. In MPOW that is "Library Assistant" with roman numerals (from 1 to 3) to indicate increased levels of responsiblity. There are other libraries which have "Library Clerks" and "Library Assistants." Still others use the term "Library Technical Assistants" which is this state implies courses and certification from one of the Community Colleges.
I'm not so sure how I feel about "support staff" either. It seems to diminish the work (and the worker) in a way similar to the term paraprofessional.
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