Dear Colleagues
I whole heartedly agree with Hazel Dakers comments. I received my
Chartership 10 years ago and do not regret it one bit. On the contrary I
got a sense of personal achievement from it and am proud to be Chartered.
Chartership is about professionally developing as a librarian, not
necessarily getting more money. (If you're after more money - why be a
librarian??!) Having said that a lot of jobs advertised do require
Chartership, and many employers do increase pay after gaining it. Being
Chartered shows that you were willing to put extra dedication and effort
into completing your professional qualification (in your own time), a
quality that most employers would like their employees to have. As those of
you who are Chartered will know it can be a big effort to find the time and
enthusiasm to make it happen. The Oxford Advanced Learners dictionary
defines Chartership as "being fully trained and qualified". To therefore
complete your degree (the academic/qualification bit), but not the
Chartership (the vocational/training bit) is I feel to leave things half
finished. We have to be mature enough to take on responsibility for our own
development and learning and have the self motivation to do this. This is
what we expect of other professionals - for example doctors. Being
Chartered and a member of the LA enables you to see where you fit into the
big picture, and to get a sense of what is happening in all walks of the
profession. I feel able to knowledgably discuss the wider issues of
information and librarianship, and not just have a blinkered view about my
own library.
I welcome the suggestion from the LA that in future Chartership will have to
be reviewed and maintained on an annual basis. Maybe then it will have a
bit more clout!
Rose Holley
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