Get an overview of the development, current state, and potential future trends of paraprofessional library education in Canada. During this session, we’ll present an environmental scan of the current English-speaking, diploma programs available in Canada that train library technicians. We will investigate topic coverage of library diploma curricula to identify patterns and relationships among the paraprofessional education programs, and examine any evidence of a shift in educational outcomes for these traditionally vocational-focused programs.
Outcomes:
– Describe how paraprofessional library education has developed and evolved in Canada.
– Consider the similarities and differences between the current 14 English-speaking, paraprofessional library education programs in Canada.
– Examine evidence of a shift in focus from skills-based training to knowledge-based training in English-speaking Canadian library paraprofessional programs.
