There are library qualifications, yes. Technically, you can only be called "a librarian" if you've got the qualifactions. Most people who work in libraries don't, though. You get the professional qualification by either doing a librarianship degree, or, as I did, doing a normal degree, working in a library for a bit, and then doing a post-graduate qualification (either full time, or part time, while continuing to work). This sets you up for work in any type of library, not just public.
Even after you've got that, you're only a "qualified librarian", not a "chartered librarian." To get chartership, you have to work for a few years, and write various reports on your professional development and learning experiences.
It's ten years since I did my post-grad course, and since then the only reading I've kept up with is stuff relevant to public libraries, so I can't advise on books or courses that would be useful to you. It could be useful to get in touch with CILIP. (http://www.cilip.org.uk/) That's the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. I don't know if they do, but they might run brief overview courses, for people in your situation, who don't need a librarianship qualification, but just want some pointers to get you going in the right direction.
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Date: 2006-02-10 08:13 am (UTC)Even after you've got that, you're only a "qualified librarian", not a "chartered librarian." To get chartership, you have to work for a few years, and write various reports on your professional development and learning experiences.
It's ten years since I did my post-grad course, and since then the only reading I've kept up with is stuff relevant to public libraries, so I can't advise on books or courses that would be useful to you. It could be useful to get in touch with CILIP. (http://www.cilip.org.uk/) That's the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. I don't know if they do, but they might run brief overview courses, for people in your situation, who don't need a librarianship qualification, but just want some pointers to get you going in the right direction.