Graham Walton

Continuing professional development - preparing for new roles in libraries : a voyage of discovery : Sixth World Conference on Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning for the Library and Information Professions

Librarians and information workers the world over are faced with the constant challenge of remaining abreast of developments in their field. Rapid changes in technology and workplace roles threaten to make their skills obsolete unless they undertake constant professional development. This international collection presents a comprehensive overview of current continuing professional development theory and practice for those who manage and work in library and information services. Papers by academics and practitioners describe numerous innovative responses to emerging continuing education and training needs, including workplace learning; individual learning and learning organisations.

THE CHANGING ROLES OF LIBRARIANS AND INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND WORKPLACE LEARNING IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

This study was conducted to determine the effects of technological innovations on academic libraries in the Philippines. Specifically, it sought to examine how these innovations affect the formal organizational structure in the library. It also sought to determine the effects of these changes on human resource management, and on the job requirements, tasks and functions of the library staff. Four academic libraries were included in the study; Ateneo Professional Schools Library, the University of Asia and the Pacific Library, the De la Salle University Library and the Asian Institute of Management Library. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data on library staff opinions regarding the management of change resulting from technological innovations. The number of respondents totalled eighty-six. Findings of the study indicate that changes in organizational structure due to the introduction of technological innovations did take place. The findings also measure the attitude of respondents to the various changes. Introduction Libraries are being swept along the currents of rapidly changing technology. While continuing to provide traditional information services, librarians must now develop new skills and assume new roles that are necessary to support technology-based services. A librarian doing collection development tasks must also be concerned with providing access to digitized resources without actually ‘owning’ the resources. Reference librarians must now have the knowledge and skill in accessing online resources to be able to assist their new clients, the remote access users. Technology has its impact in every facet of library work. It has added several new challenges to librarians in achieving their goal of providing excellent information service. Fulfilling this enhanced mission can be difficult, as most libraries are not positioned for rapid change. Change by its very nature, is unpredictable, inconstant, and often unmanageable. Organizations need to acknowledge this fact and accept that organizational success nonetheless depends upon their ability to predict and control change in some way. It is not healthy for an organization to just await the outcome of the events and to react to change after it has occurred. An effective organization must be prepared to grasp the opportunities, side by side with the threats, by responding proactively to the challenges posed by change. It is a given that change has become a feature of organizational life and attention to both the positive and negative aspects is essential for an appropriate response. The effective management of change is fundamental to a successful and productive organization. Yet the inherent unpredictability of the change dynamic often adds to the challenges facing the management. The literature on change management often suggests that

DEVELOPING FOR THE NEW ACADEMIC LIBRARY FUNCTION: KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIREMENTS AMONG LIBRARY PERSONNEL AND TEACHING FACULTY

This study across seven Canadian and three Norwegian universities concentrates on library developments involving Learning Centres and Information Literacy. Library personnel and teaching faculty responded to questionnaires, and Canadian library personnel were interviewed. Change processes in academic libraries affect the organisational level as well as the individual employee’s everyday work situation. There is a lack of awareness about library development and practice among teaching faculty. Half of the library personnel respondents feel a high demand for ‘training in database search knowledge’ and ‘general electronic resources’. Norwegian respondents show greater need for developing teaching skills, but assessment of learning outcomes’, ‘classroom instruction’ and ‘one-on-one tutorial’ reached the highest score in both countries. Pedagogy/teaching is the area where people felt the most overt need for more focus in LIS university or college curricula. Job descriptions will to a certain extent keep pace with developments in academic libraries. 80-90 % of teaching faculty require ‘new knowledge of available information resources’ and ‘search technique skills’. ‘Skills to teach bibliographical management’ are required by almost 2/3 of the Norwegian participants, twice the number compared to the Canadian material. Nearly 1/3 of the teaching faculty respondents would like to develop their cooperation with library instructors. Introduction This Norwegian-Canadian study focuses on skills development requirements as perceived by library personnel and teaching faculty. During twelve years of experience with academic library staff development I have witnessed the creation of a new planning function, and I now consider professional development to be a central strategic planning feature. Compared to the traditional library model in which personnel duties included a considerable portion of materials handling, the new library model requires more personnel hours interacting within a learning environment. Modern concepts in librarianship include information literacy, information competency, learning centres, learning resource centres, learning commons, information commons, knowledge commons, seamless libraries – the list may be longer – and these concepts carry the implication of substantial change to the content of library services. So much so, in fact, that many academic libraries have adopted new names to mirror the development. Unauthenticated Download Date | 6/29/19 7:10 PM 54 Despite these changes, library personnel sometimes feel that their professional development and training requirements are not being met. On the other hand, teaching faculty do not possess the required knowledge about the information literacy approach to include this in their teaching models. The study reported below was carried out during a period as Visiting Scholar at the University of Regina Libraries, November 1 2003 to October 3

UNDERSTANDING THE BIG PICTURE: WHAT IS NEEDED FROM A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME TO SUPPORT HEALTH SERVICE LIBRARIANS IN ENGLAND?

This paper focuses on work underway in England, to design and deliver a programme of professional development for all library staff in the National Health Service (NHS). This work is a partnership between various stakeholders. It is widely recognised that the role of the librarian in twenty-first century healthcare is changing. The new coordinated programme of professional development will provide a range of training opportunities based on nationally agreed learning objectives, with a commonly agreed structure and delivery mechanisms that connect and build on existing work. The programme will address various levels of delivery including national, regional and local. The programme will be informed by an examination of the training and professional development needs of library staff, within the wider context of a changing health service. This early work (September 2004 – January 2005) will result in an overview of the key training and professional development needs of library staff including priority areas for development. Examples of training successfully delivered across the country, which may provide valuable models will be identified. There will be a review of other work relating to training needs within the wider library community. Recommendations for future work will be made. The presentation of this paper will share results from this initial work. Introduction 2004 has been a year of significant change for library staff in the National Health Service (NHS). Within the library sector itself, there is a programme to develop the National Library for Health (NLH), a hybrid network of physical libraries and digital resources and services. Within the health service, new initiatives that will have a great impact include: the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework; national competencies for NHS library and knowledge management staff; and Agenda for Change, a new pay system. Within the wider

SERVICE EXCELLENCE: A CAMPAIGN TO BUILD CAPACITY TO MATCH SERVICE DEMANDS IN A LARGE SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

The context, programme and challenges of a Library “Service Excellence Campaign”, are described and discussed. The campaign was initiated during 2004 at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg as part of a university-wide pilot programme. In the context of increasingly sophisticated library information services, systems and academic users, heavy demands are made on staff development in the workplace, and on managers and supervisors accountable for the quality of service delivery. The paper describes a workplace training programme developed on the basis of a customer service survey. One of the planned outcomes for the Library is a “Client Services Charter”; a senior staff workshop brainstormed core elements of this and several examples of Library Service Charters available on the Internet are given. These were selected for their references to staff performance and abilities, and the paper concludes by suggesting that incorporating these concepts into a service charter, as well as more arithmetic standards of service, should continually remind staff of their commitment to service excellence in the University Library.

THE IMPACT OF NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION FOR SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) offers a unique opportunity for school library media specialists in the United States to apply for certification as a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT). Almost 1200 school library media specialists have successfully undertaken this opportunity for workplace learning, referred to by most candidates as the best professional development experience they have ever had. The process is rigorous and voluntary, with a low passing rate for first-time attempts. This paper explains the process for school library media NBCT candidacy, and discusses some impacts the certification process has had on continuing education for U.S. school library media specialists. Introduction The workplace is a center of learning activity for workers in all job categories and institutions. Learning happens constantly in the workplace, with every job task acting as an opportunity for learning. Sometimes this learning is casual and trial-and-error, such as learning a more efficient way to perform a task, or learning a new source of information. At times the learning is structured, with organized continuing education opportunities such as workshops or coursework. The impetus for the learning can also vary. Structured workshops are usually planned by management for the benefit of workers, while unstructured learning opportunities can be at the discretion of the workers. Barbara Allan notes that learning which occurs in the workplace can have more benefits than more structured activities. Firstly, it is cost-effective, since it does not usually involve travel, worker time, or tuition. Secondly, when the learning is based directly on the tasks associated with the job, there is a higher level of skill development and more retention of learned knowledge. And finally, the learning can occur at the best time for the task, for the worker, and for the institution. There is evidence that workers themselves prefer workplace learning rather than formal workshops. Ritchie places workplace learning in the context of improving professional practice, and reported findings from an American Library Association (ALA) survey that found that workers spent up to three times as much time on independent self-directed workplace learning as they did in structured workshops. She notes that workplace learning requires “practical application of new knowledge and skills learned and the transfer of training back into the workplace”. This paper explores a workplace learning opportunity for school library media specialists in the United States that combines both the structure of formalized continuing education opportunities and the flexibility and transferability of work-based learning. Unauthenticated Download Date | 6/29/19 8:04 PM 217 The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was conceived as a result of a national study on the recruitment and retention of teachers. The published findings called for a national board to be formed that would identify the components of good teaching, devise a process to identify the best teachers, and encourage states and school districts to reward these teachers accordingly. Its purpose was to encourage accomplished teachers to remain in the teaching profession, rather than to seek promotion or alternative careers that would take them away from direct contact with students. NBPTS was formed in 1987. Its three-part objective is to “advance the quality of teaching and learning by: • Maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do, • Providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards, and • Advocating related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers”. The first step in the process was to identify the elements of good teaching that would apply to teachers in all subject areas or grade levels. These core propositions are the basic principles underlying what teachers should know and be able to do. Figure 1 NBPTS Five Core Propositions (www.nbpts.org) Five Core Propositions Teachers are committed to students and their

UNDERSTANDING LIBRARIANS’ MOTIVATION TO PARTICIPATE IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

It is widely recognized that change in libraries requires staff to pursue professional development and workplace learning opportunities. Libraries can provide a supportive environment for staff, but staff must be motivated to take up the opportunities and learn to adopt new roles, innovate new services and master new technologies. Motivation is the most important factor determining participation in professional development. The results of a study of the participation of reference librarians in large urban public libraries in Ontario, Canada, in 2001 are reported. The study examined the role of factors such as professional commitment, age, barriers to participation, organizational climate, managerial support and motivation on the participation of 553 reference librarians in formal and informal professional development. Motivation emerged as the most important factor determining the time spent in professional development activities, including courses, workshops, conferences, reading the literature, discussions with colleagues and on-the-job training. The intrinsic rewards of professional development activities are perceived as more attainable than extrinsic rewards. Implications of these findings for policies and practices related to professional development include the provision of tangible and achievable rewards for pursuing professional development, and the recognition of the role of managers and supervisors in encouraging participation in professional development activities. Introduction In twenty first century libraries, change has become a constant. The introduction of new technologies has enabled the reorganization of work processes and the development of new products and services. In addition, new ways of managing organizations have been introduced. This has led to restructuring, downsizing and the search for flexibility in staffing. The knowledge and skills that workers had acquired through education and on-the-job experience may no longer be relevant for jobs that have been changed by technology or that have been redesigned. Libraries expect staff to take up these challenges and opportunities and learn to adopt new roles, innovate new services and master new technologies by actively pursuing professional development and workplace learning opportunities. This paper examines the crucial role of motivation in the participation of staff in professional development activities. We review the literature on motivation to learn and to participate in

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY: HARNESSING NEW TOOLS TO SUPPORT INFORMATION LITERACY

Educational technology is changing the face of teaching and learning. It can play a stimulating role within a single class or it can provide the mechanism for delivering an entire course. The exploration and adoption of new technologies offers librarians an opportunity to evolve their role. Librarians are logical contributors in the development of project work in which electronic resources and learning tools are required. Librarian expertise in the digital environment spans a complex array of scholarly resources, learning objects, and Web documents. Instruction librarians are at the forefront of information technology and are ideally suited to participate in new institutional experiments with educational technology. Digital learning resources must be selected and organized. Methods of access to online journals, electronic collections, and multimedia must be developed. New types of assignments that foster active learning and collaboration must be invented. Ways of creating and delivering information literacy resources must be created. This paper describes how librarians can use their knowledge of information and educational technology to enhance their involvement in curriculum development. The primary goal of this participation is to foster information literacy. Some scenarios are simple and require little investment. Others require full partnership as a course designer where information literacy objectives align with course goals. Librarian engagement in the learning enterprise Over the past 30 years, the work of librarians has mirrored the evolution of our understanding of learning. Interest in learning theory in the 1970s encouraged librarians to build rich collections to address specific teaching and learning objectives. Emphasis on learning also highlighted the educational role of the librarian and in the 1980s the concept of information literacy was born. Evolution of our teaching role was stimulated by public access to the Web in the mid 1990s. One stimulus was the change resulting from the information explosion. Apart from the sheer volume and rate of information production, the second spur was the creation of new forms of digital information and the tools by which they are accessed. A third motivation resulting from the extent of information resources, their diversity, and their accessibility, was in the evolving concept of information and media literacy and the notion of ‘learning to learn’. A fourth change appeared in the field of education with the development of new methods for teaching and learning arising from increased access to digital information, new forms of educational technology, and our understanding of the processes of learning. There is more to learn and less time in which to learn it. In a comprehensive analysis of the worlds entire sphere of data, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley 2 estimate that the entire history of humanity accumulated 12 exabytes of information (1,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes). Today, 12 exabytes is produced every 2.5 years making the need to understand how to locate information using effective research strategies more

LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR ALL: PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEGREED AND NON-DEGREED LIBRARIANS IN A REGIONAL INSTITUTE

Developing library leaders for the future is an issue of global concern. Faced with rapidly changing roles, escalating ethical and political challenges, and varied precareer educational opportunities, our profession is looking for the best ways to identify and nurture new leaders from all levels of its ranks. This paper focuses on one region’s efforts to address leadership development needs. It discusses current thinking about leadership, reviews a current popular trend in professional development for librarians, and presents a case study of a new leadership institute offered by the Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA), a bi-national organization that serves a large region spread over the western United States and Canada. A summer of preliminary participant evaluation and survey data concludes the paper. Leadership in the library profession Concerns about library leadership today are as multi-faceted as they are widespread. We are worried that not enough people will enter the profession at a time when so many are retiring. We worry that those who have joined the profession recently, with their advanced technical knowledge and focus, are fundamentally different from traditional librarians. Those currently in the profession are experiencing stress from the work of navigating constant change. This makes our present work force feel over-loaded and not well equipped to lead libraries through the chaos of accelerating ethical, political, fiscal, and technical challenges facing them today. All of these factors enter into our discussions of succession planning, leadership, and the basic future of the profession. Our concerns could fill pages. Fortunately, so could the solutions that are being explored all over the world. Library leadership development is a particularly hot topic in the United States and in Canada. The result is an ever growing set of options for developing those qualities that make one a leader in librarianship. This paper focuses on one region’s efforts to address leadership development needs. It discusses current thinking about leadership, reviews a current trend in professional development for librarians, and presents a case study of a new leadership institute offered by the Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA), a binational organization that serves a large region spread over the western United States and Canada. Definitions of leadership Definitions of leadership are even more varied than our concerns about it. Donald E. Riggs counts “at least 100 definitions of leadership...includ[ing] leadership styles, functional leadership, situational leadership, bureaucratic leadership, charismatic leadership, servant leadership, follower leadership, group-centered leadership, and so on”. Diversity of definition is further deepened when cultural differences are considered within and across countries. 2

HOW DO THEY KNOW WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW? CREATING A DIGITAL PRESERVATION TRAINING PROGRAM

An effective education and communication program is necessary to implement an organizational digital preservation program. Cooperation and coordination is needed when implementing a digital preservation program because it is more than just one person, and more than a single event. It is a series of managed activities. An educational program is needed to let the designation community know why digital preservation is important, as well as what is happening. The educational program should address the needs of different levels, such as the institution, departments within the institution, and individuals. This paper presents the program at one university, the materials they created, and how they implemented an educational and communication program they put in place to help promote their digital preservation processes. Introduction A number of years ago, Ralph, a co-worker, was managing an Australian office for our software company that was headquartered in the United States. Ralph was frustrated at being ‘out of touch’ with the events happening in the corporate head office. He was certain that important things were happening of which he had no knowledge. When asked what he thought he was missing, he replied, “I don’t know! How do I know what I don’t know?” Ralph’s statement may at first appear humorous, but there is of course a serious side to it. How does anyone know what they don’t know? It is not necessarily a matter of selfeducation, because not only must a person first be aware of the topic before they can learn about it, but they must be aware of what others are doing that may impact their own work. In response to Ralph’s frustrations, as the International Manager for the company, I started a newsletter to inform the employees about what was happening in the corporate head office. Several times each week, I would visit every company department and report on what they were planning, what they were working on, and any other significant activities. Before long, the remote employees knew more about what was happening throughout the company than those who were in the corporate office. Soon the newsletter was distributed companywide as other employees realized the value of internal communication. Working in the same location was simply not the same as communicating. It is apparent that how we approach the task of communicating can directly lead to the success or failure of a project. If, as in the example presented in this paper, our project is to establish a digital preservation program at our institution, then we must establish a program to communicate with and educate others about the program. An effectively communicated education program is a necessary part of implementing an organizational digital preservation program.