Keeping ahead of the curve. Academic librarians and continuing professional development in Ireland
| Published date | 04 March 2014 |
| Date | 04 March 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-06-2013-0048 |
| Pages | 175-198 |
| Author | Maura Corcoran,Claire McGuinness |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries |
Keeping ahead of the curve
Academic librarians and continuing
professional development in Ireland
Maura Corcoran
Discovery College Library, Discovery Bay, Hong Kong, and
Claire McGuinness
School of Information and Library Studies, University College Dublin,
Dublin, Ireland
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to present the results of a qualitative study of the continuing professional
development (CPD) activities of academic librarians in Ireland. The benefits of CPD, the methods and
strategies of engagement, and the role played by professional organisations are examined, with
particular emphasis on the attitudes of librarians towards CPD.
Design/methodology/approach – In total, 25 academic librarians were interviewed in depth from
four universities in the greater Dublin region. A qualitative approach was chosen to allow the
collection of data which was rich and informative.
Findings – Academic librarians engage in CPD in multiple ways, both formal and informal, but it
falls primarily to the individual librarian to find, participate in, or even create such opportunities,
which raises the question of personal motivation and drive. Support from employers and professional
organisations is key. Barriers to participation in CPD include time, financial restraints and lack of
encouragement from employers.
Research limitations/implications – The authors are cognisant of the inherent limitations in
using interviews as a data collection method, including the possibility of bias.
Practical implications – Academic librarians need to exploit innovative and accessible modes of
CPD if they wish to navigate the changes occurring within the profession. Professional library
organisations must also reinforce their support of their members in this endeavour. Incentives to
participate should build on librarians’ personal motivation and job satisfaction, likelihood of career
progression, and deepening working relationships with non-LIS colleagues.
Originality/value – To date there has been no comprehensive Irish study which has addressed the
question of how academic librarians engage with the professional body of knowledge through
pursuing professional development activities. This research seeks to present an Irish perspective, but
also explores issues which are globally applicable within the profession.
Keywords CPD, Academiclibrarians, Continuing professionaldevelopment
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
As change sweeps through the library and information profession, academic librarians
continue to question the meaning and relevance of their professional roles in a world
where information seeking is fast-moving, primarily self-mediated and virtually
always carried out online. While “the traditional concept of an academic library is
increasingly becoming something of an anachronism” (Biddiscombe, 2002, pp. 228-9),
librarians are committed to a critical reassessment of their place in academia, and
understand that a static body of professional skills and knowledge is insufficient to
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Keeping ahead of
the curve
175
Received 8 June 2013
Revised 23 July 2013
Accepted 28 August 2013
Library Management
Vol. 35 No. 3, 2014
pp. 175-198
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-06-2013-0048
meet the demands of the twenty-first century workplace. The availability of relevant
and accessible continuing professional development opportunities has never been more
urgent for librarians, and the survival of the profession depends on the willingness of
its members to engage with these opportunities during their working lives and to keep
ahead of the curve, as technological developments continue to transform research and
scholarship practices. This paper explores the attitudes of Irish academic librarians
towards CPD, as well as the modes of development that are used, and the barriers that
hinder lifelong learning in the academic library world.
Review of literature
Benefits of CPD
Academic librarians today face both opportunities and challenges as a result of the
convergence of information services, heavier teaching responsibilities, and hybrid
roles. In particular, the advance of information and communication technologies (ICTs)
has impacted significantly on the role of the librarian, and in turn on the perception of
the profession. The putative convergence of academic libraries and IT departments has
led to concerns about boundaries, professional identity and the need for a “generic
skills base” (Joint, 2011; Broady-Preston and Cossham, 2010; Corrall, 2010; Wilson and
Halpin, 2006). Professional identity has been identified as a “key driver of CPD”
(Broady-Preston and Cossham, 2010), and in the context of the fluid environment in
which librarians currently operate, the need for CPD will naturally increase,
“particularly for blended professionals whose updating needs are clearly greater than
those of traditional professionals” (Corrall, 2010, p. 587).
The recent trend to merge academic libraries with IT departments has been
considered by Joint (2011), who divides this movement into three phases – the initial
stage, when stakeholders commit to the merger, the middle phase when reflection and
reconsideration occurs, and in some cases “deconvergence,” and finally, the third
phase, super convergence (p. 637). Significantly, Joint points out that:
[...] when faced with the challenge of learning a range of complex new skills as well as
maintainingexisting ones, it is very easy for IT workersand library staff alike to lose expertise
in what they used to be good at, while failing to grasp fully the nature of their new role [...]
there may be a danger of overloading staff with [an] ambitious range of new duties (p. 639).
In research on CPD in Ghana, Adanu (2007) considers several definitions of CPD and
the term “maintenance” appears several times (p. 294). Reference to “maintenance” is
also found in the definition of CPD adopted by the Library Association of Ireland (LAI)
in its Policy Paper on Continuing Professional Development (LAI, 2006): “a planned
and systematic approach to the maintenance, improvement and enhancement of
knowledge competencies and skills, including personal mediation skills.”
The focus on maintenance implies that the skills are present in the first place,
although this may not always be the case. Fourie (2004) notes that many librarians do
not have key skills, e.g. “IT, internet and computer skills,” and refers to Parker and
Jackson (1998), who found technophobia to be a problem for some. Broady-Preston
(2009) suggests that information professionals must keep current with technological
developments, and “stay as self-sufficient and confident in harnessing technologies as
possible” (p. 265), and notes that “continuing professional development (CPD) is clearly
required” (p. 274). Corrall (2010) cites Allen (2005), who argues that librarians need “to
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