Spotlight on solos: How one-person librarians in Ireland manage their own professional development in order to serve their communities

Transcription

1 Spotlight on solos: How one-person librarians in Ireland manage their own professional development in order to serve their communities Dr. Eva Hornung CILIP Umbrella conference 2 nd /3 rd July 2013, University of Manchester

2 Why solos? One-person librarians (OPLs) have been rarely studied, yet one in three librarians in the world is a OPL (Siess, 2003) Continuing professional development (CPD) is central to our role as information providers Little research into CPD for OPLs, none on their own perceptions of this concept

3 General problems for Solos OPLs often report No money No time off No courses available Nobody around! And the boss says What s a solo to do? DIY! Image taken from:

4 This research project Research approach: Phenomenography Qualitative in nature Looks at variation within perception of a phenomenon 30 OPLs across Ireland took part in semistructured interviews (maximum variation sampling)

5 Data collection Interviews followed interview schedule Duration: 35 minutes over an hour Huge variety in terms of experience (both OPL and as a librarian in general), age, location, workplace setting, support (on their own vs. clerical staff); financial support and time off Research questions: What are the Irish OPL librarians' conceptions of CPD? How do OPLs in Ireland experience different methods of CPD?

6 And Data Analysis

7 5 categories of description Category 1: Upskilling for the sake of the organisation/library service (service orientation) Category 2: Developing as a professional librarian (LIS profession orientation) Category 3: Helping you to do all the jobs an OPL does (OPL orientation) Category 4: When you have learned something and you want to do things in a better way when you come back (personal orientation) Category 5: Your development as a human being (lifelong learning orientation)

8 Dimensions of variation Dimension role responsibility, motivation and support Dimension time current job or career or life in general Dimension style formal or informal with examples Dimension networking types of networking, reasons for doing it

9 CPD Category activities 1: Service reported orientation Cat 1 Both formal and informal; formal strong Formal: Training courses (both in the organisation and outside), seminars, academic degrees; being involved in work committees Informal: Internet ( lists, online tutorials, free resources); on the job

10 CPD Category activities 2: LIS Profession reported orientation Cat 2 Formal and informal; often informal more important, but accreditation or formal structure strong Formal: Courses, conferences, seminars; training courses as part of a conference; case studies Informal: hands-on, people showing you things; lists, help forums, web seminars, online learning, correspondence courses, , phone; reading, especially professional literature; informal networking evening

11 CPD Category activities 3: OPL orientation reported Cat 3 Much more emphasis on informal Internet (Web, , lists, online tutorials), database providers, phone; reading journal articles; on the job activities

12 CPD Category activities 4: Personal reported orientation Cat 4 Both formal and informal Formal: Short seminars, training courses, refresher courses Informal: Internet ( lists, newsgroups, restricted groups); hands-on, people show you how to do things (shadowing people); Newsletters from vendors; journals

13 CPD Category activities 5: Lifelong reported learning Cat 5 orientation Both formal and informal, very strong on both Every opportunity to learn!

14 What can a library association do? Offer informal evenings, which OPLs can attend Create online platforms, such as Wikis, where OPLs can share information Explore technologies, such as videoconferencing Organise formal events (conferences) on weekends Support training funds, which allows one OPL to become an expert who can train other OPLs

15 What can the library schools do? Courses need to be Available online Affordable for OPLs who often have to pay themselves Accessible after hours (for face-to-face) Advertised well! In co-operation with library associations?

16 More DIY ideas for OPLs Network through videoconferencing/skype, e.g. Western Regional Section of the LAI Subscribe to free online seminars, such as OCLC WebJunction s webinars (evenings!) Teach yourself through educational videos on YouTube and TED Set up Table of Contents alerts with publishers Install an RSS feed, such as Google Reader Follow 23 Things for CPD Consider mentoring other OPLs!

17 What has happened since... Started debate on importance of CPD for OPLs, new model of CPD for librarians More CPD opportunities for OPLs Enhanced profile of OPLs Move towards an island-wide CPD strategy for librarians and enhanced cooperation for career development Interest in OPL group

18 THANKS! Keep in touch: Or through LinkedIn