Reshaping Librarianship as a Career through Professional Certification: An Indonesian Issue

Abstract

Compared to other professionals, librarians in Indonesia are less recognized as belonging to a profession. Rather than information professionals, librarians in Indonesia are seen as technical, clerical, and administrative staff. This paper discusses the implementation of a professional certification program to build and strengthen librarianship as a professional career in Indonesia. A questionnaire survey was administered to 60 library stakeholders to determine their perceptions of professional library certification. The study finds that the certification strategically reshapes librarians’ professionalism by assessing their competencies. Through accreditation, professional librarians’ competencies are measured and accounted for by performing specific library tasks that will affect library services.