Routes to a Professional Qualification

As in other services within the local authority system, certain grades within the public library service are professional grades, to serve in which a recognised professional qualification is required, as laid down by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government or his representative.

In the public library service the entry-level professional grade is at the office of Assistant Librarian, which is at present a grade 5 post.

Recent improvements in career opportunities for staff without a professional qualification have lead to the establishment of the position of Staff Officer, also a Grade 5 post.

In order for holders of this post, and of all posts below Grad 5, to progress further within the public library service, a recognised professional library qualification is required.

There are opportunities open to staff to acquire a recognised professional qualification and therefore to become eligible for promotion within the library service.

This section of library.ie provides information on the options open to such staff. All the courses mentioned and linked to are accredited by the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) or, in the United Kingdom, by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). Prospective students are advised to confirm that a course is accredited by the LAI before enrolling.