On Your Own but Not Alone: One-Person Librarians in Ireland and Their Perceptions of Continuing Professional Development

Abstract

One-person librarians (OPLs) are the sole information provider in their respective organizations. Continuing professional development (CPD) is vital to satisfy their own information needs and, by proxy, those of the people they serve. No research has so far been carried out to establish what CPD means to these highly specialized library workers. This article reports on some of the findings of a phenomenographic study conducted among thirty OPLs in the Republic of Ireland. The researcher found five different ways of experiencing CPD, ranging from an organizational focus only to a lifelong, lifewide learning orientation. She also discovered four dimensions of variation, namely, “time,” “style,” “networking,” and “role,” each of which influenced succinctly how solo librarians perceived the effectiveness of different means of CPD. The study suggests that a new model of understanding CPD is needed if library associations want to provide successful support to OPLs. A “one-size-fits-all” approach is not appropriate for OPLs.Submitted by Sarah Shreeves ([email protected]) on 2013-11-16T16:41:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 61.3.hornung.pdf: 231935 bytes, checksum: a6349abe61f770adfb4786d8f6cf6898 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2013-11-16T16:41:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 61.3.hornung.pdf: 231935 bytes, checksum: a6349abe61f770adfb4786d8f6cf6898 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013Item withdrawn by Sarah Shreeves ([email protected]) on 2013-11-16T16:41:16Z Item was in collections: Library Trends 61 (3) Winter 2013: Research into Practice (Restricted) (ID: 1338) No. of bitstreams: 1 61.3.hornung.pdf: 231935 bytes, checksum: a6349abe61f770adfb4786d8f6cf6898 (MD5)Restriction data tranferred 2014-07-01T11:12:07-05:00 Original Data Group with Access full embargo (none) Release Date: 2015-03-16 10:39:50 UTC Reason: Publisher agreementItem marked as completely restricted (or under embargo) by Sarah Shreeves ([email protected]) on 2013-11-16T16:41:16Z Item is restricted until 2015-03-16T15:39:50ZItem reinstated by Sarah Shreeves ([email protected]) on 2015-03-16T10:01:33Z Item was in collections: Library Trends 61 (3) Winter 2013: Research into Practice (Restricted) (ID: 1338) No. of bitstreams: 1 61.3.hornung.pdf: 231935 bytes, checksum: a6349abe61f770adfb4786d8f6cf6898 (MD5)Embargoed Restriction Lifted for Item 46059 on 2015-03-16T10:01:33Z.published or submitted for publicatio