challenges for the future of professional education professor peter reid head of department...

Challengesfor the future of

Professional Education

Professor Peter ReidHead of Department

p.reid@rgu.ac.uk

@imrgu

Department of Information ManagementScotland’s top department for library research

....with a little help from a bear called Paddington

…and with thanks to FilmFair Ltd.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la

même chose?

What is library school for?

“Paddington is a very polite young bear who looks into a strange new world, from some innocent and childlike eyes.....”

Unfortunately, they don’t exist anymore in the way we once understood themProvide education in the librarianship and information science disciplines

• Professionally relevant and vocational• Education versus training?

Conduct research and broaden knowledge and understanding in the field

• Informing practice?• Applied research? But what else?

Professional education must

continue to evolve in order

to survive

“Paddington always tries very hard to do his best and learn new things...”

“I want to be a librarian because I like reading books”

A misconception about what being a librarian is all about?

I don’t like ICT

I’m not interested in budgets or management stuff

“Please look after this bear....”

I’m not really a people person

What does all this thesaurus stuff mean?

Right students?

Drawn to the profession for the wrong reasons?

Distance learning appeals to those in work, most often already within the library sector. Have experience of how but not necessarily knowledge of why things are done in particular way.

“Now I understand why we catalogue that way”

The characteristics (and experiences) of on-campus and online students are very different

“Paddington felt at home with the Browns and Mrs Bird and Mr Gruber.......

Older demographic; working in para-professional posts but ambitious to advance; an accident that becomes a design?

On-campus often those recently completed undergraduate degrees and base their experience and knowledge on being a library user.

Younger demographic; lack understanding about what “being a librarian” is about. Translating their degree in English Literature into something useful. Harder to recruit.

Ever increasing pressure on space and time within the curriculum

Electives and dissertation now mostly like vehicle for specialization

“Too many cakes leaves no room for marmalade sandwiches.....”Move towards largely postgraduate profession means a year to prepare for a whole career.

Right curriculum?

Professional Accreditation. Worth the paper it is written on?Body of Professional Knowledge

Accreditation Process

Implications if library schools walked away from professional body accreditation?

“Paddington loved looking in the mirror at his new pyjamas....”

Tough times?

“I always like to help….but I’m not always very good at it…”

“…and they’ve closed all the libraries.”

Interviewee on BBC Radio 4

Did you know everything you needed to when you left library school?

• a time for innovation; • demographic shift; • information management more recognised than ever before; • highly marketable transferable skills……

“Paddington was very annoyed and gave him one of his hardest stares...”

Robinson and Reid. Do academic enquiry services scare students. Reference Services Review, 35(3), 2007, pp.405-424.

“Generally, I find libraries and librarians intimidating”

“When I first started looking for books, I had to get a member of staff, and he was obviously quite taken aback that I didn’t know the basics”

“It’s going to be obvious to everyone else that you don’t know what you’re doing...”

“I felt really stupid because he didn’t think he needed to explain it to me.....”

“I know her, and I avoid her like anything...”

Right staff?

• Interpersonal skills• Communication skills• Team-working• Networking• Managerial

“Paddington thought that being able to have breakfast in bed was wonderful.....”

Understanding the workplace of tomorrow

New technical skills and

competencies

How do we embed these in the curriculum?

“Paddington likes seeing other creatures playing….”

Library schools focus primarily on professionally-accredited courses, either postgraduate or undergraduate which produced qualified librarians

But what about everything else?• Education and training for para-professionals

• Continuous Professional Development• Research, consultancy, knowledge exchange• Higher degrees and professional doctorates

Doing things differently

“Paddington thought how much he’d like to slide down the banister. Doing new things can be fun”

“Sometimes the future seems a little scary...”

Thank you