Professional development for special librarians: formal education and continuing education for excellence

The Position Statement on Graduate Education is but one example of the contributions professional associations and societies can make in the educational arena. During his term as president of the Special Libraries Association (1991-1992), Guy St. Clair appointed a special commission on Professional Recruitment, Ethics and Professional Standards (the PREPS Commission). A relationship between these issues and professional education was clearly seen by the commission. Seven of the commission's recommendations deal with formal educational programs, while other recommendations are concerned with SLA's role in continuing education (Special Libraries Association. Presidential Study Commission on Professional Recruitment, Ethics and Professional Standards, 1992). These recommendations cover a wide range of activities, from keeping the Position Statement on Graduate Education updated to creating a list of questions applicants can ask a library school to determine how strongly the school supports education for special librarianship. Other recommendations include continuing to work with ALA and other appropriate groups in the area of accreditation, working with programs offering special library courses and/or sponsoring SLA student chapters, providing some type of recognition for these schools, working with those schools not providing a curriculum conducive to special librarianship to change that situation, and helping local chapters establish liaisons with schools providing library education. In the area of continuing education, recommendations included working with other groups to identify and deliver continuing education opportunities and developing a directory of continuing education opportunities of potential interest to SLA members.

All of these recommendations were seen as positive actions that the Special Libraries Association could take to demonstrate its concern about the educational preparation of people coming into the field of special librarianship. At the time this article was written, SLA's Board of Directors had not taken any official action on these recommendations beyond asking for a timetable as to how they would be implemented. If SLA adopts all the education-related recommendations, it will be a strong statement regarding their concern and involvement in the issue.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

The new graduate really begins to "specialize" on the job. Unless someone starts library school with a very specific interest and with working experience, then takes the requisite courses to support that interest, and finds a position in that specific area after graduation, initial on-the-job training is necessary and continuing education to mature professionally and to maintain currency is necessary. In fact, the need for education never disappears. Continuing education in the form of professional reading, conferences, vendor demonstrations, workshops, seminars, and formal courses must be a continuing component of professional life.

One response to this on the part of schools of library and information science is to open their advanced courses to practicing professionals and allow them to take these courses along with their MLS students. While this may meet the needs of a few practitioners, it really only helps those that live in the vicinity of a library school and those that have the time to take either a quarter- (10 weeks) or a semester- (15-16 weeks) long course. In his study of continuing education among special librarians, Fisher (1987) found that taking a full-term course was the least of ten used method among five options presented. The four most used options (in order of preference) were: workshops sponsored by commercial groups (e.g., vendors), workshops sponsored by professional groups (e.g., SLA or ALA), in-house training offered by the individual's organization, and workshops sponsored by academic institutions.