Page 22 - Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians, 2nd Edition

4 Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians

FIGURE 1.1. Library Orga nizational Chart (by Func tion)

LIBRARY OPERATION

TECHNICAL SERVICES PUBLIC SERVICES

ACQUISITIONS REFERENCE
MENDING AND REPAIR INTERLIBRARY LOAN

CATALOGING AND CIRCULATION
CLASSIFICATION
RESERVE

vision of li brary op eration. Some libraries may call this func tion bib-
lio graphic con trol.

THE LIBRARY PERSONNEL

The Amer i can Li brary As so ci a tion, in its 1976 state ment Li brary
Ed u ca tion and Per son nel Uti li za tion, de fines the cat egories of li brary
personnel and their qual ifications. Un til now, this was the only of ficial
guide line in ex is tence. This doc u ment sep a rates li brary per son nel into
two cat e go ries: pro fes sional and sup port ive. The pro fes sional li brar ian
requires a mas ter’s de gree in Li brary Sci ence (MLS). The sup portive
cat e gory in cludes the li brary as so ci ate, the li brary tech ni cian, and the
clerks. The min i mum re quire ment for li brary as so ci ate is a bach e lor’s
degree, and for li brary tech nician, two years of col lege-level study, or
an as sociate de gree, or a one-year cer tificate. Clerks are not re quired
to have a college ed ucation but do need to have clerical skills and in-
service training. The chart shown in Fig ure 1.2 is a con venient way to
dem on strate the li brary per son nel hi er ar chy.
This chart re flects the of fi cial guide lines; ac tual clas si fi ca tion may
vary from li brary to li brary. In many small li braries, for ex ample, the
staff clas sification is pur posely vague and there may be only two cat -
e go ries: pro fes sional and non pro fes sional. Some very small li brar ies