CDNLAO Newsletter
No. 64, March 2009
As part of the National Library Board’s efforts to develop the professional skills and subject knowledge of its librarians, the Professional Development Programme (PDP) was launched in January 2006. A group of librarians from NLB’s National and Public Libraries were selected to attend the programme. The PDP team, consisting of staff from the Human Resource and Learning & Development Divisions, implemented a series of formal and informal training interventions that would assist the selected group of librarians to acquire in-depth knowledge specific to their subject domains.
The pioneer group participated in this programme from January to December 2006, with some extensions into the year 2007 for coursework and attachments. I participated in this programme, focusing on my area of subject specialisation, which is Southeast Asian Art. As a participant, I found this programme useful in structuring specialised learning through its "Learn, Immerse & Practise" framework. The details of the programme are described below.
1) Individual Roadmap
The first step in the process was for the librarians to assess their current capabilities and set targets on subject areas they wished to enhance. Some guidelines were given by the PDP team, in terms of expected and desired skill levels for various levels of staff. In consultation with my division head, I chose an area of specialisation that was related to my academic background, and that required a very focused learning plan. The PDP programme allowed for this degree of personalisation, bearing in the mind the collection focus of the library and the needs of client groups.
2) Mentoring
An essential element of the PDP was the mentoring programme. Through this programme, librarians were given the chance to build up their knowledge level on a specific subject from the mentor of their choice. Librarians shortlisted subject experts (not necessarily librarians) whom the PDP team then approached with an offer to participate in the programme. It was a voluntary arrangement, and was quite flexible in terms of implementation. Regular meetings and progress reports were required, but the actual content of the mentoring depended very much on the subject area and the interaction style of the mentor and librarian. In my case, the mentoring experience took the form of regular knowledge-sharing sessions, and a chance to discuss research, writing and library services focusing on the arts in Singapore.
3) Coursework
Formal training was another element of the programme. This took the form of a specialised post-graduate study (not leading to a degree) in the chosen area of specialisation. I therefore enrolled in a one-term course on the Arts in contemporary Southeast Asia, offered by the National University of Singapore. This was particularly useful to get an academic background on the body of literature available on the subject, and a chance to conduct research in my own specific area of interest.
4) Networking
The networking element took many forms. For my case, I attended a conference organised by the Art Libraries Association (Arlis UK & Ireland). This gave me the opportunity to meet others in the field of art librarianship and to visit specialised art libraries. Some of the insights from this experience helped in the National Library Singapore’s initiation of a special interest group for art librarians in Singapore.
5) Attachment
An attachment to a library with strong collections in our area of interest was a core component of the programme as well. I requested for an attachment to the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) Library locally. During my attachment, ISEAS Library staff shared their experiences in developing a specialised Southeast Asian collection and how they assisted researchers in area studies. I also had the opportunity to do some research on Applied Arts in Southeast Asia, and brought back recommendations for collection development strategies for National Library Singapore.
6) Professional Portfolio
The last step in the programme was to document, not only the achievements made during the programme itself, but throughout our careers. This consisted of building a portfolio, in essence, a career history and resume, documenting academic achievements, specialised training, publications, speaking engagements, and other relevant activities relating to our career development as librarians. Maintaining this portfolio will be an ongoing process.
7) Ongoing Professional Development
While the mediated programme ended after about 1 year, it was intended to be a starting point for the librarians’ professional development. The aspects I found most useful were the contacts I made with other professionals in my field, as well as the opportunity to expand my own knowledge through independent research. It was important to make time for both of these activities in order to be a better subject librarian.
The Professional Development Programme’s "graduation ceremony" for the first group was held in an internal staff event on 19 February 2008.
Following the completion of the PDP by the first batch of participants, the programme was fine-tuned and is now offered to a second batch of librarians.
Copyright (C) 2009 National Library Board, Singapore
