Contrasting Professional Development and Continuing Education Opportunities for Library Professionals: Offerings Both within and Outside the Profession By: Agnes K. Bradshaw Bradshaw, A.K. (2013). Contrasting professional development and continuing education opportunities for library professionals: Offerings both within and outside the profession. In S.S. Hines (Ed.) Revolutionizing the Development of Library and Informational Professionals: Planning for the Future (144-162). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Made available courtesy of IGI Global: http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4675-9.ch010 ***© IGI Global. Reprinted with permission. No further reproduction is authorized without written permission from IGI Global. *** Abstract: By design or not, most librarians restrict their professional organization involvement to professional librarian organizations. Limiting professional involvement to only library related organizations will not provide the depth of professional knowledge that today’s librarian needs to have in order to keep up with the requirements of the profession. Library budgets and funding have been slashed due to economic downturns, and patrons are turning to libraries for assistance with a variety of concerns that libraries did not have to address in previous times. Reaching beyond the scope of the profession, librarians can broaden their knowledge base and use that broader knowledge base to benefit their patrons and communities. Keywords: Libraries | Librarianship | Continuing education | Professional development | Professional organizations ***Note: Full text of chapter below Revolutionizing the Development of Library and Information Professionals: Planning for the Future Samantha Schmehl Hines University of Montana - Missoula College, USA A volume in the Advances in Library and Information Science (ALIS) Book Series Managing Director: Lindsay Johnston Production Manager: Jennifer Yoder Publishing Systems Analyst: Adrienne Freeland Development Editor: Austin DeMarco Acquisitions Editor: Kayla Wolfe Typesetter: Lisandro Gonzalez Cover Design: Jason Mull Published in the United States of America by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global) 701 E. Chocolate Avenue Hershey PA 17033 Tel: 717-533-8845 Fax: 717-533-8661 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.igi-global.com Copyright © 2014 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without written permission from the publisher. Product or company names used in this set are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or companies does not indicate a claim of ownership by IGI Global of the trademark or registered trademark. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Revolutionizing the development of library and information professionals : planning for the future / Samantha Schmehl Hines, editor. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4666-4675-9 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-1-4666-4676-6 (ebook) -- ISBN 978-1-4666-4677-3 (print & perpetual access) 1. Librarians--In-service training--United States. 2. Library education (Continuing education)--United States. 3. Information science--Study and teaching (Continuing education)--United States. 4. Library science--United States--Societies. 5. Library institutes and workshops--United States. 6. Career development--United States. I. Hines, Samantha (Samantha Schmehl), editor of compilation. Z668.5R48 2014 020.71’55--dc23 2013025625 This book is published in the IGI Global book series Advances in Library and Information Science (ALIS) (ISSN: 2326- 4136; eISSN: 2326-4144) British Cataloguing in Publication Data A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. All work contributed to this book is new, previously-unpublished material. The views expressed in this book are those of the authors, but not necessarily of the publisher. For electronic access to this publication, please contact: [email protected]. 144 Chapter 10 Contrasting Professional Development and Continuing Education Opportunities for Library Professionals: Offerings Both within and Outside the Profession Agnes K. Bradshaw University of North Carolina – Greensboro, USA ABSTRACT By design or not, most librarians restrict their professional organization involvement to professional librarian organizations. Limiting professional involvement to only library related organizations will not provide the depth of professional knowledge that today’s librarian needs to have in order to keep up with the requirements of the profession. Library budgets and funding have been slashed due to economic down- turns, and patrons are turning to libraries for assistance with a variety of concerns that libraries did not have to address in previous times. Reaching beyond the scope of the profession, librarians can broaden their knowledge base and use that broader knowledge base to benefit their patrons and communities. INTRODUCTION budget cuts, libraries are still facing demands from their constituencies that have forced them Librarians in all segments of the profession are to adapt to meet those demands. A variety of new being requested to assume a wider variety of skillsets are necessary to provide the services tasks and roles within their jobs. As with other that patrons now demand. Most professionals professions, technology has impacted the work rely on their respective professional organiza- librarians do, but so have economic and other tions to provide professional development and external forces. Libraries of all types have faced continuing education opportunities. Librarian- a variety of budgetary challenges; in spite of focused professional organizations offer a large DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4675-9.ch010 Copyright © 2014, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Contrasting Professional Development and Continuing Education Opportunities for Library Professionals variety of continuing education and professional professional association committees. Professional development opportunities; however as librarians, development is not limited to academic librar- we must ask ourselves several questions about ians. In order to meet the service needs of an ever professional development and continuing educa- changing patron base, professional development tion. Should professional library/librarian-focused and continuing education are also important for organizations be the sole source of all our needs all librarians, no matter the constituent base they for professional development? My answer to this serve. Many professionals, librarians included, question is “No” and say that librarians should look obtain their continuing education and professional beyond librarianship for professional growth and development through their respective profes- development. There are several other questions sional organizations. Professional organizations that library professionals should ask concerning frequently offer or sponsor specialized profes- continuing education and professional develop- sional development and/or continuing education ment: How will our employers and constituencies opportunities that are unavailable elsewhere. Like benefit from our professional involvement outside other forms of education, technology has had a the profession? Are the continuing education and large impact, so professional development and/or professional development opportunities provided continuing education is now available virtually, by library professional organizations sufficient to using a variety of forms, such as webinars, online allow us to advance the profession? This chapter course offerings and teleconferences. will look at continuing education and profes- Bugher (1983) states the purpose of an asso- sional development opportunities provided by ciation is to “serve its members. Associations are major professional library organizations. The organized by people who voluntarily join together chapter will then outline some of the roles and to achieve common goals and solve common responsibilities that librarians are being asked to problems.” For purposes of this chapter, I will assume and compare those roles to the offerings by use the definition of “professional association” professional librarian organizations. Finally, this as provided by the Reference for Business Ency- chapter will review the advantages of professional clopedia for Business (2013): involvement outside of librarianship in fulfilling those roles and responsibilities. Professional and trade associations are member- ship organizations, usually nonprofit, which serve the interests of members who share a common BACKGROUND field of activity. Professional organizations—also called professional societies—consist of indi- Professional development and continuing educa- viduals of a common profession, whereas trade tion are crucial components to any profession. In associations consist of companies in a particular academic libraries, librarians may have faculty industry. Professional associations have the ad- status; and in fact may be tenured or tenure track ditional objectives of expanding the knowledge or faculty. Those librarians that are tenure track skills of its members and providing professional know that scholarship relating to the profession is standards. The definition of a profession is an a requirement