SOLS Competencies Index for Public Library Staff

 

At the moment, the ability to create a competencies profile is unavailable. We are currently developing a new method for assembling profiles. In the meantime, it is possible to highlight certain competencies, and then cut and paste them into a Word/RTF document.  Thank you for your patience.

The SOLS Competencies Index has been compiled as a staff development tool for Ontario public libraries.

Competencies are the skills, abilities and knowledge necessary for successful individual job performance and the successful achievement of organizational outcomes. A competencies approach to performance management has been gaining momentum in recent years precisely because it links individual performance to organizational goals and strategies.

Libraries have turned to competency-based human resource management systems to align their human resource practices with their organizational goals and objectives. By basing the human resource functions of recruitment, selection, appraisal, training, and succession planning on a competency model, organizations are ensuring that there is a closer connection between organizational success and individual performance.

- Donna C. Chan, “The Future is Competencies: Competency-Based Human Resource Management in Public Libraries.” The Future is Now: Responses to the Canadian Library Human Resources Study. Canadian Library Association, 2012.

The SOLS Competencies Index will appeal to individuals who want to assess their own performance in relation to their current responsibilities and/or use the competencies as a way of preparing one’s self for future positions and greater responsibilities.

For libraries, the Index is an important management tool. It can be used to develop job descriptions, job ads, and performance appraisal systems, and serve as a valuable resource in anticipating and planning for staff development and succession. 

It is important to recognize that the SOLS Competencies Index is a dynamic resource, continually evolving to meet the changing requirements of the public library landscape.  Changes to skill sets are made as needed, and the date of the last update is indicated below the description for each skill set.  If you have printed from the Index, it is important to check whether the competencies you printed have since been updated.

SOLS acknowledges that the SOLS Competencies Index is based on WebJunction’s Competency Index for the Library Field. The WebJunction Index was an important contribution to the library sector’s understanding of staff competencies. It has served as an excellent starting point for compiling an index of competencies for public library staff in Ontario.

We've had excellent feedback from libraries so far, and look forward to hearing more.

Thank you SOLS for creating such a comprehensive and appropriate index of public library competencies! This valuable tool is serving as a basis for revamping our entire recruitment and performance evaluation process. It will also be instrumental in helping us identify and respond to staff training needs.  This is a wonderful resource that should be shared extensively with the library community. I’m sure others will find it as useful as we have.  

- Margie Singleton, Chief Executive Officer, Vaughan Public Libraries

Please review sols.org's Terms of Use. For questions, comments and suggestions regarding this website, please Contact SOLS Helpdesk.

The Southern Ontario Library Service  is working to make our website accessible to all. We welcome comments and suggestions on access improvements and encourage you to take a look at our updated Accessibility Policy. If you require a particular PDF or word document in an accessible format, please do not hesitate to contact us. We also offer BrowseAloud reading support - click on the orange graphic to the right to launch.  Learn more about BrowseAloud.

The support of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport is gratefully acknowledged.
http://www.sols.org/index.php/develop-your-library-staff/competencies2/competencies-index
www.sols.org
crawl=CC-MAIN-2016-44
61604
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:DULXMABQZDA5PBYIVYFIKZ2L4ZW5F6HT
<urn:uuid:f41cd149-4e98-4ecc-91c9-81eb7d6b57a4>
2016-10-25T19:04:44Z
77.104.136.201
sha1:XZRAF67FPLPZOOW2QHP74RWGOXREAFPQ
<urn:uuid:c2f92131-8ea9-49ce-aaba-99ae38037ef9>
http://www.sols.org/index.php/develop-your-library-staff/competencies2/competencies-index
length
response
<urn:uuid:8c85a853-7bd6-40c6-a465-80b56dbae6fc>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2016-44
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for October 2016
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf