ALA Task Force on the Context of Future Accreditation Webinars

August 10, 2016

In October 2015, the American Library Association (ALA) established a Task Force on the Context of Future Accreditation to “develop a white paper that describes the fields and context for which we will be accrediting in the future and to make recommendations as may arise in the process of that development to the ALA Executive Board.”

The discussion should address:

• Accreditation of information programs—who is doing what, how they or might they relate to LIS programs; disconnect (or perceived disconnect) between skills increasingly needed (e.g., information architecture), the current curricula of LIS programs, and standards/statements of core competencies currently in place.
• Values—e.g., public access, privacy, intellectual freedom—as common threads binding together LIS and related fields and a core element in curricula.
• The changing institutional context for accreditation, including factors such as pedagogical innovation, assessment, and resources.
• The discussion/white paper should result in a conceptual statement as a framework for the development (by the ALA Committee on Accreditation) of future standards.

To seek input from the LIS community, the Task Force is holding a series of online forums targeting certain populations and capped with a general forum for those who have not otherwise had an opportunity to contribute, including one for librarians and LIS graduates in Canada.

Librarians and LIS graduates in Canada

Thursday, August 25

• Newfoundland – 2:30 pm
• Atlantic – 2:00 pm
• Eastern – 1:00 pm
• Central – 12:00 pm
• Mountain – 11:00 am
• Pacific – 10:00 am

To attend this event please register at:
http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e4ce2enqwbm/event/registration.html

Other sessions:

LIS faculty (other than deans and directors)

Thursday, August 18

• Newfoundland – 2:30 pm
• Atlantic – 2:00 pm
• Eastern – 1:00 pm
• Central – 12:00 pm
• Mountain – 11:00 am
• Pacific – 10:00 am

To attend this event please register at:
http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e29y9qkrq6t/event/registration.html

Current LIS students and recent LIS graduates

Wednesday, August 31

• Newfoundland – 2:30 pm
• Atlantic – 2:00 pm
• Eastern – 1:00 pm
• Central – 12:00 pm
• Mountain – 11:00 am
• Pacific – 10:00 am

To attend this event please register at:
http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e9diwl8lksi/event/registration.html

General forum

Friday, September 2

• Newfoundland – 2:30 pm
• Atlantic – 2:00 pm
• Eastern – 1:00 pm
• Central – 12:00 pm
• Mountain – 11:00 am
• Pacific – 10:00 am

To attend this event please register at:
http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e96sg35oo59/event/registration.html

Each forum will be hosted by a facilitator from the Task Force. Attendance at each forum will be capped at 100.  The facilitator will have a set of guiding questions, but discussion is otherwise open.  The conversation will be recorded.

Please contact Task Force chair Peter Hepburn at peter.hepburn@canyons.edu should you have questions.

Original message from ALA Task Force on the Context of Future Accreditation

Hello,

The ALA Task Force on the Context of Future Accreditation is charged to develop a white paper that describes the fields and context for which we will be accrediting in the future and to make such recommendations as may arise in the process of that development to the ALA Executive Board.

Within its purview are

• Accreditation of information programs — who is doing what, how do or might they relate to LIS programs; disconnect (or perceived disconnect) between skills increasingly needed (e.g., information architecture), the current curricula of LIS programs, and standards/statements of core competencies currently in place;
• Values — e.g. public access, privacy, intellectual freedom — as common threads binding together LIS and related fields and a core element in curricula; and,
• The changing institutional context for accreditation, including factors such as pedagogical innovation, assessment and resources.

The discussion/white paper should result in a conceptual statement as a framework for the development (by the ALA Committee on Accreditation) of future standards.

The Task Force on the Context of Future Accreditation seeks broad input from the LIS community. To this end, the Task Force will be staging a series of online forums targeting certain populations and capped with a general forum for those who have not otherwise had an opportunity to contribute.

The four sessions are as follows:

Thursday, August 18 10:00 am PDT/12:00 pm CDT LIS faculty (other than deans and directors).
To attend this event please register at:
http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e29y9qkrq6t/event/registration.html

Thursday, August 25 10:00 am PDT/12:00 pm CDT Librarians and LIS graduates in Canada
To attend this event please register at:
http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e4ce2enqwbm/event/registration.html

Wednesday, August 31 10:00 am PDT/12:00 pm CDT Current LIS students and recent LIS graduates
To attend this event please register at:
http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e9diwl8lksi/event/registration.html

Friday, September 2 10:00 am PDT/12:00 pm CDT General forum
To attend this event please register at:
http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e96sg35oo59/event/registration.html

Each forum will be hosted by a facilitator from the Task Force. Attendance at each forum will be capped at 100. The facilitator will have a set of guiding questions, but discussion is otherwise open. The conversation will be recorded.

Please contact Task Force chair Peter Hepburn at peter.hepburn@canyons.edu should you have questions.

We look forward to the conversations.

Thank you,
Peter Hepburn, chair, Task Force on the Context of Future Accreditation