Having a teaching qualification certainly 'looks good' in a job
application, particularly if the job involves training or user education
of any kind. I was a teacher originally and that has been a positive
factor in getting both my professional library posts.
Academic sector library staff do a *huge* amount of teaching! At
the moment I do about 12 hours a week, not counting preparation,
materials and planning, varying from individual sessions to full
lecture theatres.
Many academic librarians are applying for membership of the ILT
(Institute of Learning and Teaching) or completing courses such as
SEDA which accredit Higher Education teachers.
My concern in all of this is: how many hoops do we have to jump
through to still get a less than average salary? First degree,
Master's degree, chartership AND now teaching and I.T.
qualifications. I think we should be asking some challenging
questions here.
all the best
Amanda
Amanda Quick
Subject Liaison Librarian (Psychology and Health Sciences)
Peirson Library, University College Worcester
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