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EXCEL: A certificate program in
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Student Handbook
As of: June 13, 2005
In this section :
A.
Objectives of the EXCEL Certificate Program
B. Certificate
requirements
C. EXCEL Equivalencies
D. EXCEL course materials
E. Contact sessions
A. Objectives of the EXCEL Certificate Program
At the end of the complete EXCEL program, graduates are able to:
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Demonstrate an understanding of library terminology by using the terminology in written and spoken communication.
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Demonstrate an understanding of library procedures by:
describing and applying standard library procedures (circulation, acquisitions, collection organization),
describing their basic purposes and uses,
implementing, or developing plans for implementing efficient library procedures.
3. Develop in cooperation with the library board:
a collection development policy and a selection statement that are based on user needs and the unique library situation (budget, space, etc.) and employing standard selection tools,
a statement of library objectives,
short- and long-range plans for development and maintenance of the library,
a promotional plan including community relations and publicity,
other policies in regard to personnel, continuing education, resource sharing, and provision of special materials in languages other than English and materials for the disabled.
- Maintain the library in an efficient, business-like manner with library records and files effectively organized for easy retrieval of needed data.
- Select and maintain a basic collection of print, non-book, and periodical materials suitable for the clientele and based on the collection development policy.
- Select and maintain a basic current reference collection.
- Demonstrate efficient use of the total collection and of outside resources as appropriate for quick and in-depth reference requests.
- Promote the library to the community by maintaining a high profile, implementing a marketing plan, and fostering an attractive and welcoming environment.
- Deal efficiently and cooperatively with the library board.
- Establish and maintain programs for children, young adults, adults, and other special groups.
- Recommend suitable materials to patrons.
- Provide access to materials not in the on-site library collection through appropriate choice of interlibrary loan, acquisition, informal borrowing, or through the use of multilingual, talking book, and large print book collections.
- Select, use, and maintain necessary audiovisual equipment for use of the non-print collection.
- Develop a plan for use of computers as appropriate for library operation.
- Provide access to the Internet through Public Access workstations
The EXCEL program can lead to the Certificate in managing a small public library. The program consists of seventeen courses of which students must successfully complete ten for the certificate. Of these ten, six courses are required and another four are selected based on student interest. To earn the certificate, students must complete their ten courses within five years. In special circumstances, students may be allowed to extend this five-year limit. Permission to do so must be requested (in writing) from the EXCEL Course Director. The student must clearly state the reason for the request.
We often get asked whether students can take individual courses based on an interest or a job requirement. This is quite acceptable. Students not interested in pursuing the certificate may enroll in any course as it is offered. The various requirements for the certificate about the number of core and elective courses and the pre-/co-requisites do not apply in this case. The students are assigned a tutor and are required to complete the assignments and examination as any student would. The regular course fee also applies.
For those students wishing to pursue a certificate, the following chart details core and elective courses for EXCEL. Please pay particular attention to the notes on the next page and also note that EXCEL Course #15 (Microcomputer applications for small libraries) is no longer offered. You will find a complete description of the courses by following the links shown below or by using the corresponding “bars” on the main EXCEL page.
Core courses (click here for the course description)
- Introduction to public libraries
- Basic library management
- Supervision
- Information services
- Library marketing
- Basic collection development
- Collection development for children
- Collection development for young adults
- Collection development for adults and special groups
Elective courses (click here for the course description)
- Acquisitions and serials
- Communication skills
- Collection organization
- Circulation
- Non-book materials
- Microcomputer applications for small libraries (no longer offered)
- Professional development
- Electronic information sources
- Planning for library service (no longer offered)
- Reader's Advisory Services
- Programming
Notes:
- The six required courses must be selected from the list of nine core courses. The remaining four may be selected from either the core or elective courses. For example, a student might take #7 - Collection development for children and count it as one of their six core courses. If they are particularly interested in collection development, they may also register for course #8 - Collection development for young adults and #9 - Collection development for adults and special groups, although these would now be counted as two of the four elective courses.
- #6 - Basic collection development is a pre-/co-requisite for the other three collection development courses. Therefore this course should be taken before, or at the same time, as #7 - Collection development for children, #8 - Collection development for young adults or #9 - Collection development for adults and special groups
- Students may take only one of #2 - Basic library management or #3 - Supervision; they may not take both.
- Courses are not offered every semester. An EXCEL Course Cycle (Diane link here) is provided on this Web site or by using the “bar” on the main EXCEL page. With this course cycle, you should be able to plan the courses you are going to take over a 5-year period.
Students may apply to have certain credits from a library techniques program substituted for specific EXCEL courses. Check the criteria outlined in this section to see if you have completed techniques courses that may be eligible for equivalency. You will then need to submit the following to the EXCEL Course Director:
covering letter explaining your request
course outline
proof of successful completion (official transcript)
contact person for the course.
The Course Director reviews applications in consultation with an Equivalency Assessment Committee.
If the request for equivalency is granted, the student is required to write the final examination for the EXCEL course. An examination fee of $10.00 applies in this situation.
Criteria
There are no equivalencies for the following EXCEL courses:
1. Introduction to public libraries
2. Basic library management
3. Supervision
5. Library marketing
16. Professional development
18. Planning for library service
For the following courses, the equivalency would be a library techniques course or courses, taken within the last five years, covering substantially the same topics.
6. Basic collection development
7. Collection development for children
8. Collection development for young adults
9. Collection development for adults and special groups
10. Acquisitions and serials
11. Communication skills
12. Collection organization
13. Circulation
14. Non-book materials
17. Electronic information sources (Beyond Google - Education Institute)
The EXCEL course #4.Information services emphasizes:
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reference interview and search strategies
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hands-on use of encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries and atlases
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interlibrary loan
For this course, the equivalency would be a library techniques course or courses, taken within the last five years, covering at least the first two components above and featuring a strong “hands-on” aspect.
At the beginning of each printed course package there is a section that lists the resources you need to complete the course. Be sure that you check that section when you receive your materials to ensure that you have everything you need. You should have all required materials close at hand for your telephone-tutor sessions.
Each printed course package consists of a title page, table of contents, introduction, and units or chapters, called modules. Each course has some or all of the following parts:
| Why statement | The introduction to each module includes an overview of what is covered in the module and why it is important. |
| Specific objectives | Next is a list of the specific skills you should acquire by doing the module. |
| Topic sections | Each specific objective is presented in one or more topic sections. Each major topic has a heading which is printed in this way: |
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REFERENCE INTERVIEW Sub-headings appear in bold and are printed in this way:
Search
strategy or Reference skills Within each module, there may be boxes labeled ‘Reading’, ‘A special note’ or ‘Activity’. It may be necessary to follow particular instructions at that point. |
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| Review questions |
Each module has a section of review questions designed to help you test your understanding of the material presented in the module. |
| Assignments | Most of the modules have assignments which must be turned in to your tutor by a set deadline. |
| Appendixes |
Many of the modules have appendixes which contain assigned reading material. This material could be articles from professional journals, reprints of documents, or portions of books. The appendixes are printed on ivory paper and are at the end of the appropriate modules. |
| Answer Book | The answers to review questions and some activities are in a blue answer book at the end of the course package. |
| Bibliographies | Some modules have bibliographies. They are printed on pink paper and are at the end of the appropriate modules. |
In addition to your printed course package, you will receive resource material if it is required, a covering letter, a biography of your tutor, and a Schedule of contact sessions and assignments. These last pieces of information may come to you via e-mail from the Course Administrator for your area.
a) Timing of contact sessions
The week for each contact session is outlined in the Schedule of contact sessions and assignments which you received in the mailing with the course materials. The specific timing of your contact sessions is arranged individually with your tutor during the introductory telephone call.
Your first contact with your tutor will be one to two weeks prior to the commencement of the semester, or the same time as you receive your course materials. This first telephone call is a time to find out about your tutor and for the tutor to find out about you. It should not be a long call but you will need to agree on a specific time for the bi-weekly contact sessions (e.g. every other Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.)
Each of the next contact sessions should take place at the time established during your initial telephone call, and during the week prescribed in the Schedule of contact sessions and assignments. EXCEL courses may be 5, 6 or 7 modules and this will determine the number of contact sessions you will have during the semester. Each call for a contact session will take approximately 10 minutes, and should not be longer than 15 minutes.
Please try to ensure that you are available at the prearranged time. At any point in the semester, if it is impossible to be available at the pre-arranged time, you should notify your tutor.
Your final contact session with the tutor may be during the examination week. This is an optional call depending upon whether you and your tutor feel that it is required. It will likely come just after you receive the examination to discuss potential problems, and to ensure that you received the examination paper.
b) Preparing for contact sessions
During the contact sessions, you and your tutor will discuss course activities, assignments and any problems you are encountering. Before talking with your tutor, be sure that you have done the work for that session. This work involves studying the appropriate module before the session, including the readings, and doing the various activities.
- Readings - Many module topic sections have one or more readings. After reading the assigned pages, reread them and either highlight/underline the important points or summarize the important concepts in point form in your own notes.
- Activities - The discussion and activity subsections are discussed in telephone-tutor sessions. This doesn’t mean that your tutor is going to supply the answers. Think about the topics and prepare notes for the discussion. The work in the activity is optional and will not affect your final standing. We believe, however, that completing the activities will help you understand the course material and topics under discussion.
- Review questions - Finally, the review questions are designed to let you assess what you learned from the readings and commentary. The answers are in the blue answer book at the end of each course package. After checking your answers with those in the answer book, be sure to work through the questions you missed so that you understand each question and its answer.
As you work through the readings, commentaries, activities and review questions, keep a list of the concepts and answers that you need clarified. On a separate piece of paper, write your question and note the page references in your text or the module. Arrange your questions in the same order as the topics in the module. Your tutor will review the topics during the scheduled session and will ask for questions about each section.
a) Assignments
For each module there are assignments that must be submitted to your tutor by the deadlines listed on the Schedule of Contact Sessions and Assignments. Most assignments are designed so that you must apply what you have learned in the module to your own library situation. For example, if you are studying budgeting, the assignment will require you to provide some information about your library’s budget. If you are studying library objectives, the assignment will have you using your own library objectives.
All assignments should be neat and clearly legible. It is not reasonable to expect your tutor to try to deal with “chicken scratches”, wrinkled scraps of paper, blurred ink, and scratched-out items. Your tutor will return unacceptable assignments UNREAD and you will be given the opportunity to resubmit them. It is acceptable to submit assignments to your tutor by mail or by e-mail, as long as there is prior agreement on the method of submission.
All assignments must be sent to your tutor no later than the date given in the schedule. This will enable tutors to evaluate the assignments and return them by the next contact session. All assignments are mandatory. That means that you must do all the assignments satisfactorily in order to complete the course. Students are strongly advised to keep copies of all assignments and exams. Items go astray in transit from time to time and students are responsible for resubmitting anything not received by their tutor.
Tutors mark all assignments at one time. It is very difficult to deal with late assignments. If you anticipate handing an assignment in late, speak with your tutor ahead of time. There is a penalty for repeatedly submitting assignments late, without notifying your tutor. At the discretion of the OLS coordinator, a penalty of $10.00 per late assignment can be assessed. All such fees must be paid in order to receive a pass for the course.
In the past, we did not have a clear guidance of exactly when a course became incomplete. It came to our attention that a few students have been very late in submitting their assignments or their final exam. To help our tutors in their work, we are introducing a deadline for returning all assignments and the final exam. All assignments and the final exam should be received by the tutor no later than 2 weeks after the end of the semester. For the Winter 2005 semester, for example, the deadline is set for Friday, May 13, 2005. After this date, the tutor will mark the student with an ‘incomplete’ notation for that course.
b) Examinations
EXCEL examinations can take a variety of forms. Take-home exams are the preferred method and are very similar to assignments, though they generally cover two or three topics from the course. Oral exams are also used occasionally to supplement written exams. The introduction to each course specifies the form of exam that is used for the course. As instructed, the completed examinations should be returned to your tutor for marking.
c) Pass/Fail
A grading scheme is not used. A simple pass or fail is noted on assignments and examination papers along with comments. The emphasis is on constructive criticism and you should take careful note.
Failed assignments may be rewritten. No charge is assessed for the student’s first rewrite. Subsequent rewrites of failed assignments are charged a marking fee of $10.00. All assignments must be successfully completed before writing the final exam. If an assignment is not completed, the final exam will be deemed to have been failed.
A failed examination may be rewritten once upon payment of a marking fee of $10.00. If a student fails a second time, the entire course must be repeated.
d) Withdrawing
Students who wish to drop out of a course must do so in writing to their tutor for that course.
To receive a partial refund of the registration fee the student must:
1. submit notification postmarked on or before the due date of the second assignment
2. course material
For further clarification of the procedure for withdrawals, please telephone the SOLS Coordinator.
e) Course evaluation
With your final examination papers, you will have also received a course evaluation form. The form asks you questions about the course materials, the delivery method, and the tutor. The evaluation form is a two-part form. Comments regarding the course material (and the program in general) are immediately forwarded to the Course Writer. Your comments are taken VERY seriously and are used to improve the course materials, and anything else that can be improved. Please note that it is not useful to comment that "there are a number of typos in the course materials." Instead, cite page and paragraph numbers so that corrections can be made.
Your comments regarding instruction are also taken very seriously. You will note on the form that your name does not appear in conjunction with this part of the evaluation. Every student's comments are included when evaluating the tutor's performance.
Please take the time to complete this evaluation form immediately after completing each course. Return the form directly to SOLS.