R & D in Continuing Education

ALISE Conference, 2005Fiona Black and Judy Dunn

Overview

Research and Development in CE:• Benefits• Relationship with COA accreditation

standards• Relationship with ALISE• Context• New model at Dalhousie: crossing

traditional educational boundaries• Implications for LIS professional education

Benefits of R & D in CE

• CE planning and decision-making based on reliable research

• Visibility of R & D activities emphasizes to LIS stakeholders our commitment to CE

• Process of R & D builds more bridges between professional and paraprofessional communities

• Rich potential for collaboration among Schools of LIS in both R and D (WISE initiative is one example)

CE and Accreditation

Accredited programmes must address COA Standard 1.2.10:

“Program objectives are states in terms of educational results to be achieved and reflect the needs of the constituencies that a program seeks to serve.”

Constituencies

Who are these constituencies from a CE perspective?

• Service users (clients, patrons) in terms of more appropriate, reflexive services by engaged staff

• Professional staff in terms of job/career satisfaction and commitment (support staff also?)

• Institutions in terms of personnel development and staff recruitment and retention

Relationship with ALISE

Initial education and CE are inextricably intertwined for a healthy profession. This affects:

1. LIS educators’ recruitment policies and practices

2. LIS educators’ requirement for close links with practitioners

3. LIS educators’ needs for visible CE component at ALISE conferences (SIG + juried research papers on CE topics)

Context

• OCLC Environmental Scan (2004)• Ingles et al., 8Rs succession

planning in Canadian heritage industries (2004)

Key points OCLC

3 patterns for future frameworks of information use:

1. Decrease in guided access to content

2. Disaggregation3. CollaborationAll these affect initial LIS education and

what practitioners require in CE

Key points 8Rs

Important and difficult to fulfill competencies in recruitment:

• Leadership potential• Managerial skills• Can flexibly respond to change• Innovative• Can handle high volume workloadAll these affect initial LIS education and what

practitioners require in CE

Effect of ‘new’ context on CE planning

• OCLC scan and 8Rs report indicate that closer educational links between practitioners and LIS students might be beneficial

New Dalhousie model tested

• MLIS credit course with integrated modules for CE• First offering, summer 2004, online• ‘Beta test’ of various elements

– Course syllabus – Course technology– CE module promotion

Course details

Users and Services: CE modules• Module 2 Community analysis,

data collection and user surveys• Module 4 Programming• Module 6 Services for distant and

online users

Evaluation of new model

• Participants:• MLIS students• Professionals and support staff

– 13 CE module participants, diverse geographically and educationally

– One, two or three modules taken– Interaction between practitioners and

students enriching for all

Evaluations and issues arising

• Formal evaluation forms and anecdotal feedback

• Issues include:• Pedagogy and mode of delivery• Participation on individual level

– All viewed virtual seminars and completed written assignments, but not all contributed to online discussion

• Costs and benefits to participants and to SLIS

Lessons for development

• More activity to engage support staff• New experience for them to be a part of a Masters

level course, especially if they had no prior university experience

• Making participation in online discussions a partial requirement for receiving their Certificate of Completion

• More targeted course promotion• Invite ‘teams’ of professionals and support staff from

same institution• Show ‘fit’ of such CE modules as part of continuum of

LIS education

LIS education continuum

• Accredited Masters programme• Committee on Accreditation (ALA)

• Possible future accreditation for Technicians programmes

• No formal requirement for CE• By ALA, or CLA, or employers

Broad challenges & opportunities

• Institutions and organizations that may not be ‘fit for purpose’ for 2004 onwards

• Two crucial, interrelated needs in our field• To maintain currency and adaptability in

faculty and in practitioners• To build stronger interconnections between

initial education and practice/practitioners

Effect on LIS schools

• Curriculum planning must cross boundary of initial professional degree and continuing professional development• MLIS programme and CE offerings are

part of a larger, professional, whole• Indicated (at Dalhousie) by Curriculum

and Continuing Education Committee

Potential new model for LIS education?

• Professional status only after 2 years’ work, and regular CE, following degree

• Designation such as PL (Professional Librarian) or IP (Information Professional), based on type of professional work

• Might this raise the profile of LIS professionals, while also supporting the entire CE continuum

Next steps

• Collaborative research with other LIS schools and with library associations• To investigate employer and union

policies and practices that would affect the PL/IP suggested model