Opportunities for Professional Growth

1. Opportunities for Professional Growth byFe Angela M. Verzosa

2. growing into that image projecting an image What kind of a librarian are you?

3. Focus Why Professional Growth “The librarian is an active intermediary between users and resources. Professional and continuing education of the librarian is indispensable to ensure adequate services.” IFLA/UNESCO Public Library Manifesto 1994 <http://www.ifla.org/VII/s8/unesco/eng.htm>

4. Focus Why Professional Growth • “Librarians shall strive to improve, enhance, and upgrade their professional knowledge, skills, and competencies through formal and informal means.” • “Librarians shall endeavor to uphold the highest standards in the practice of the profession. They shall adopt and live by this motto: C A N I - Constant and Never-ending Improvement of the quality and standards of professional services.” • CODE OF ETHICS FOR LIBRARIANS • BFL Resolution No. _06_Series of 2006

5. Why Professional Growth • Librarians commit themselves to professional excellence through continued learning • Professionals commit themselves to a program of continual growth • Librarians commit themselves-organizationally and individually-to lifelong learning and a culture of learning • professional development of librarians is a shared responsibility

6. Creating a Culture of Learning Creating a culture of learning can help improve the sharing of knowledge and skills

7. Why Professional Growth • Librarians commit themselves to professional excellence through continued learning • Professionals commit themselves to a program of continual growth • Librarians commit themselves-organizationally and individually-to lifelong learning and a culture of learning • professional development of librarians is a shared responsibility

8. Shared by whom? • Board for Librarians • Library schools • Employing agencies or institutions • Professional associations • Peers • Librarians

9. To reassert ourselves as a profession of knowledgeable information finding experts, we must take full advantage of all opportunities for continuing education.

10. Continuing Professional Education CPE is “Education that takes place once professional qualification is achieved, with the intent of maintaining competence and/or learning new skills” Cited from: Weingand, D. E. (1999,). Describing the elephant: what is continuing professional education. IFLA Journal, 26(3), 198-202.

11. Continuing Professional Education “The shelf life of a degree is approximately three years and declining. Maintaining competence and learning new skills must be at the top of every professional’s “To Do” list. It is an ethical responsibility, to be sure, but also one that is pragmatic and critical for career success. … Continuing professional education is no longer an option, it is a requirement of professional practice.” Cited from: Weingand, D. E. ibid.

12. Best practices/principles • CPE needs require regular assessment. • CPE providers should offer a broad range of learning opportunities in a choice of formats that are designed to meet identified needs. • Development of guidelines is necessary to ensure quality CPE activities. • There must be consistent documentation and recognition of participation in CPE activities. • It is imperative to conduct research/further studies to examine the outcomes of continuing education and staff development programs.

13. Assessment of training needs • Surveys are helpful in determining wants and perceived needs, if not actual needs • Job performance appraisal serves as guide to developing a CPE plan or program • Focus groups held with representatives of various stakeholders can give a more in-depth picture of needs. • Research and studies can develop assessment tools.

14. Best practices/principles • CPE needs require regular assessment. • CPE providers should offer a broad range of learning opportunities in a choice of formats that are designed to meet identified needs. • Development of guidelines is necessary to ensure quality CPE activities. • There must be consistent documentation and recognition of participation in CPE activities. • It is imperative to conduct research/further studies to examine the outcomes of continuing education and staff development programs.

15. Why should guidelines focus on qualityin CPE? • CPE program falls short of expectations. • CPE program does not respond to learning needs. • CPE program is poorly designed and delivered. • CPE program is not “job-embedded.”

16. Best practices/principles • CPE needs require regular assessment. • CPE providers should offer a broad range of learning opportunities in a choice of formats that are designed to meet identified needs. • Development of guidelines is necessary to ensure quality CPE activities. • There must be consistent documentation and recognition of participation in CPE activities. • It is imperative to conduct research/further studies to examine the outcomes of continuing education and staff development programs.

17. To reassert ourselves as a profession of knowledgeable information finding experts, we must take full advantage of all opportunities for continuing education.

18. What opportunities? What resources are available for professional growth?

19. Resources for professional growth • Professional associations provide avenues for learning, interaction, professional exchange… • Institutional resources offer support –i.e. tuition-waiver, grants, time-off, incentives for funding to encourage attendance to seminars, trainings, active involvement in professional associations, distance education, online education, etc. • Library resources – in the form of on the job training, skills enhancement, job rotation, cross-training, mentorship, peer-coaching, self-directed learning and online learning

20. Self-directed learning Self-directed learning is simply defined as learning that is “informal, self-initiated, independently conducted, and integrated into individuals’ daily work” Cited from: Varlejs, J. (1996). Librarians' self-directed continuing professional learning. Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Wisconsin - Madison, Wisconsin.

21. Online (Distance) Learning • customized formal instruction (credit-based) • online tutorials • learning modules (workshop type) • webinars • PLNs - Personal Learning Network is a self-paced online program offering online mentoring and support

22. Seminars/conferences Professional meetings What are the avenues that librarians must take in order to develop professionally ? On-the-job training Self-directed learning

23. Avenues for professional development Aside from: Conferences Workshops Professional meetings Self-directed learning On-the-job Training • Internships/ Apprenticeship Internship/apprenticeship

24. Other opportunities…. • Credit Courses • Summer Institutes • listservs • networking • professional visits • study tours • library visits • teaching/ mentoring

25. Library Grants http://paarl.wikispaces.com/Grants

26. How to keep current… Aside from attending workshops, conferences and seminars joining listservs, enrolling in formal classes, and networking, You should • read professional literature • do research • stay active in professional organizations

27. Issues in professional development(suggestions for future discussion) • Career planning – basic issues • Impact of future needs/expectations of our customers or the market change in professional training of librarians • Impact of librarian’s work change over the next 5 years? Ten years? Twenty years? • Impact of librarians’ professional growth on the profession’s mission to preserve and enhance library practices

28. Career Planning – basic questions • Is your job your career? If not, • Where are you in your career and in your life? • What are your life goals, wants, interests, choices, skills? • Where do you foresee yourself to be in the future? • What are your career options now? • What knowledge and skills do you need to attain your goal? • How do you plan to attain your knowledge and skills? Is your plan realistic? Are there obstacles? Setbacks? • How far is your commitment to attaining your goal? Is it a priority? Personal priority or professional priority?

29. Parting words….. • “Librarianship” isn’t a job—it’s a vocation. It’s not something you can put away at the end of the day, when you leave the building. • Topher Lawton, blogger • We want to define a librarian outside of a degree or a license that certifies we are information professionals. We want to tell the world what a librarian is, not merely by what we do now, or by the degree we hold, but by WHY we do what we do. • Me

30. Questions? famverzosa@yahoo.com

31. This presentation may be used for your library or organization without further request from the author. Please feel free to use it in whole or in part, incorporate it into another presentation, quote from it, snag the images, etc. A citation to this presentation with a nod to the original author, Fe Angela M. Verzosa, would be greatly appreciated. Please Remix/Reuse/Share!