Across industries, competencies provide a foundation on which to build coherent efforts to increase the knowledge, skills and abilities of employees and ultimately to strengthen the organization as a whole. Libraries need such a foundation, especially in times of rapid change and evolution, in order to choose the most efficient and productive paths for staff training, recruiting and other personnel directions. In an effort to fulfill that need, WebJunction created the Competency Index as a compilation of competency statements that address a broad spectrum of library practice and service.