The Importance of Professionalism

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Katie Clausen.

“Suits” by Paul G under CC license via flickr.

In one of my courses we are analyzing ALA’s “Core Values of Librarianship.” We take on one core value every week, reading articles and discussing how these values define us as librarians. It is important to understand the policy that makes the foundation of our profession, even though it can be….well, boring. But if we take the principles and apply them to our everyday lives and jobs, it is easy to see why we need these standards. They are, as the ALA states, “the foundation of modern librarianship.”

Last week, we tackled Professionalism, and it was quite the dialogue.

First of all, The American Library Association’s core value of professionalism states that the ALA “supports the provision of library services by professionally qualified personnel who have been educated in graduate programs within institutions of higher education. It is of vital importance that there be professional education available to meet the social needs and goals of library services.”

Let’s break it down. What does professionalism mean? Why do we need it?