Competency-Based Career Planning for Reference and User Services Professionals

Staying up-to-date with current standards is important for library professionals. To that end, Whitlatch (The Role of the Academic Reference Librarian) and Woodard (Sch. of Information Sciences, Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) introduce the “Professional Competencies for Reference and User Services Librarians,” which were developed by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). The competencies are divided into seven main categories: access, sources, collaboration, information literacy, marketing and advocacy, assessment, and planning for the future. Each chapter includes “recommended self-assessment activities, fact-finding, practical exercises, short verbal and written reports and typical behavioral strategies.” Comprehensive and thorough, the work is full of information and invaluable strategies. In addition to an extensive bibliography, each chapter contains additional resources.