News Room

Professional Registration - Revalidation

22 June 2009

Some tips for the revalidation process

Now that so many library professionals in NZ have completed their registration, we are getting more questions about the revalidation process, and comments that it looks too complicated. The purpose of this article is to explain the revalidation process, and offer some tips to help keep it simple.

Revalidation is the process which demonstrates that as professionals we do keep our knowledge and skills current in those areas which are particular to our profession. This is a fundamental part of being a professional and of proving that our registration is meaningful. Every 3 years registered professionals are asked to submit a journal which briefly describes activities undertaken during this period and the learning derived from each activity, as the basis for renewal of their professional registration.

Over the 3 year period, registrants are asked to undertake 30 activities (ie 10 per annum or more if you wish); with a minimum of one learning activity in each area of the Body of Knowledge. There are 4 types of activity, known as domains, and over the 3 year period we ask that 3 of these are covered. These 4 domains are currency, practice, communication and leadership. This will make more sense once you look at the journal template, guidelines and examples which are available on the LIANZA website

We recommend that you take some time to read these thoroughly. At a glance the revalidation process can seem complicated and onerous, however if you are familiar with the requirements and incorporate them in your day to day work, you will discover that it is in fact quite straightforward. Following are some tips that have been developed over the past few months as we all start to put revalidation into practice.

• Record activities as you go, even if you just make a quick note of them at first, and then record the activity fully in your journal at a later date. I have developed this template to help me record my activities quickly. I then transfer them to my journal at a later date and add my thoughts about what I learned at that time. I have included some examples, so just delete these, or design a template that suits your needs
• If you are at a conference or weekend school, for example, where there are many different papers, it is not necessary to record this as 1 activity. Select those papers that were most meaningful for you in terms of relevance and learning, and record each as an individual learning activity.
• Networking or similar activities at a conference may be of equal importance to your learning so record these also if they are of particular interest. You might find it useful to use this template to record learning activities at a conference, to transfer into your journal at a later stage.
• Where possible use reading, everyday work activities and LIANZA meetings as the basis of your learning. Revalidation does not require large training budgets or attendance at expensive seminars.
• The journal requires you to link an activity to the 11 areas of the Body of Knowledge. When selecting which Body of Knowledge area applies, just choose the one which appears to you to be the best fit for that activity. The Body of Knowledge areas are interdependent and overlap, so this cannot be an exact science, and does not warrant undue stress or time.
• It is likely that most of your activities will fall in those areas of the Body of Knowledge which are of most relevance to your work and / or of greatest interest. I found that in my first year, without conscious effort, I had actually covered 8 areas of the BOK. Therefore my plan for year 2 is to specifically do 1 thing each for the 3 BOK areas that I have not yet covered, so that in the 3rd year I can focus on those areas which interest me most. I plan to check what aspect of these 3 BOKS is likely to be of most value and then do some reading on that topic.
• Entries should be brief and succinct, both the description of the activity and the reflection. Have a look at the example on the LIANZA website. Long descriptions are not required and in fact are actively discouraged
• The most important part of the revalidation process is actually the reflection, which goes in the right hand column of each page in the journal. This summarises what I learned and how I applied it. This succinct analysis is the true mark of the professional

In summary, the key elements that the Profession Registration Board will be looking for in a revalidation journal, to show that a person is truly keeping their professional knowledge up to date are:

1. at least one learning activity in each area of the BOK
2. 3 of the 4 domain areas are covered
3. most importantly, reflection - what was learned, how was it applied
4. an overall brief summary and reflection of individual professional development during the 3 year period.

Once these requirements are met, professional registration will be renewed for a further 3 years.

Make revalidation part of your everyday work - it's easier than you think.
It's worth it because you are worth it.
It's an investment in your career, and in the profession.

For further information, see also the 2009 LIANZA Conference paper Outside the BOKS, delivered by Allison Dobbie and Janet Upton: http://opac.lianza.org.nz/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?bib=389

Allison Dobbie
Chair, LIANZA Profession Registration Board
Allison.Dobbie@aucklandcity.govt.nz