On this page, HLG members share their experiences of a range of different methods of meeting their learning and development needs.
If you have tried a new method of learning, could you contribute to this page by writing a short paragraph (250-300 words) describing your experience and the success, or otherwise, of the particular method of learning for you?
To contribute, email Pauline Blagden pauline.blagden@porthosp.nhs.uk
You might also find it useful to look at the Health Library Staff Development Framework http://www.library.nhs.uk/nlhdocs/achieving
_learning_needs.doc
Some possible methods of continuing professional development are listed below and you will see that there is often some overlap between them.
Academic course
Short course
Informal Learning and Reflection
Job swap/share
Taking on a new responsibility
Managing a project
Moving sideways
Shadowing other managers
Joining a learning set
Working with a mentor
Visiting other libraries
Background reading
Contributing to professional groups
Getting involved in email discussion lists
Attending conferences
Attending and contributing to Trust committees
Reducing your hours
E-learning
Academic course
Short course
‘..it can be hard to match the benefits of a well-planned, well-led course. Thus it is important to seek funding to attend external events which meet the needs and priorities already identified in the personal development plan.’
Informal Learning and Reflection
For some hard skills, a course of formal, structured learning is often the most effective way to access CPD. However, I’m a strong advocate of sideways learning – that is, being alert to the fact that a great deal of learning happening in one context can, with focused reflection, be integrated with existing knowledge and become directly useful in other contexts. This is particularly true of the softer skills which are increasingly important – for example, around negotiation, management (of time, people, budgets and projects), leadership, facilitation – and which aren’t necessarily very effective when taught in a formal context. From shadowing a reporter on the local newspaper (I was a school librarian and we were trying to build links with the local community) I learned some very useful tips on active listening and open questions (which I knew about in theory) and developed a clear model of their use in the real situation. When I was working in a college library, I spent a day with the Community Liaison department (actually part of Learning at Work day). The day itself was enjoyable, but the real impact of the learning was in giving me an insight into the possibilities of developing a strategy to reach out to users beyond the library, and gave me the motivation and a list of stakeholders to make this a reality by integrating it with my existing experience (isn’t this what change management is all about?). Another example – part of my role in the State Hospital (a secure psychiatric hospital) was to provide a library service for patients. I was successful in getting funding from the Scottish Arts Council to buy in a Writer in Residence, but the learning began when I then realised I had to manage the project – the learning ranged from writing the bid, to interviewing and selection, managing the budget, organising the actual programme over the year to report writing, marketing and evaluation. Although this was part and parcel of my daily work, and involved no formal learning, regularly using reflection enabled it to become a learning experience which I could document, evidence and cite in terms of my professional development. Even the discipline of reflection is itself a useful tool. And reflection as a means of CPD isn’t confined to the formal working day. If I’m asked about using judgment or skills of collating, analysing and evaluating information I’d be quite confident in offering my volunteering experience on the Children’s Panel (part of the legal system for dealing with children/young people in difficulty or trouble). Similarly, an interest in stand-up comedy has given me a few tips about dealing with difficult adults and developing a sense of timing….essential for today’s professional!
Gerry Maclean
Job swap/share
‘For the individual, effecting an exchange will call for imagination, persuasion and persistence, but it can be most instructive to swap desks with a colleague.’
Taking on a new responsibility
‘ …. The greatest opportunity for personal professional development lies within the job itself……There is tremendous scope for initiating and planning services, for improving procedures, and for dispensing with activities which are ineffective.’
I have recently joined a project group within my organisation which is carrying out some work on staff development and digital literacy. So far I've found it to be a very useful experience. The team is made up of staff from across the organisation I work for, and so I've made some new contacts from departments I'd previously not had any dealings with. It's been a chance to fly the library flag, but it's also been nice to be part of a team that isn't library based - I'm thought of as a project team member, not 'the librarian'. It's hard work balancing my normal day job duties and project work, but it's been great
for my time management skills! The project will lead on to other development opportunities too, as there are plans to publish articles once the project has finished, and possibly present at conferences. It's nice to be working outside my comfort zone, with things that are new and exciting, and I'm enjoying the challenges it brings. Hopefully the project will have a positive impact across my organisation, which will be very satisfying to see.
Emily Hurt
Managing a project
I had a secondment for 2 days a week for six months to manage a project for NHSU called Widening Participation in Learning – Developing Libraries. The brief was to deliver learning to NHS library staff to support the widening participation agenda. We started by carrying out a development needs analysis then delivered the learning in 2 strands, one for front line staff and the other for library managers. I reported to the project steering group which comprised SHA library leads and NHSU representatives.
For me it was a valuable learning experience, developing skills more than knowledge
With the benefit of hindsight (it was in 2004), the key areas of learning were:
Organisation/ Time Management
It certainly honed my organisational skills, as I had to balance managing the project with the demands of my day job and organise bigger events than I had organised previously, in areas I was not familiar with.
Interpersonal/Communication
I had to manage expectations and balance conflicting demands. I had to communicate the concept to library staff. It was also necessary to cope with the uncertainties of dealing with a start up organisation whose structures were not fully in place.
Training Skills
I had the opportunity to watch experienced facilitators in action. Also I was able to reflect on the relationship between the cost of training and the outcomes.
Limitations of a project
This offered further opportunities for reflection. After the project funding ended, there was a lack of follow up and the work was not fully exploited. Pauline Blagden
Moving sideways
Shadowing other managers
‘Shadowing provides an opportunity to learn about the users of the service, dispel myths, confront personal assumptions and sharpen up understanding of the information needs of clients.’
Joining a learning set
Working with a mentor
Visiting other libraries
‘recognise that all information units have their problems’
I am always keen both to visit other libraries and have other librarians visit mine. It is a great way to get fresh perspective on how your service might be delivered and present itself. You can see examples of good (and bad) practice, swipe some leaflets and get a feeling for how your service compares. Visitors will bring questions about how you do things and more importantly - why? Visiting much larger services or those in completely different sectors can offer new ideas.
If you are chartering then organising some exchange visits with others in the same situation can be a great way to gain a wider view of what is possible and show professional willing.
Visiting other libraries can also be a virtual thing. Check out their web presence and see how you might improve your own. Try a few relevant search terms in Flickr (www.flickr.com). People post both examples of good and poor library signage for example. I now have a big "Ask Here" sign over the main desk after looking at how people label their enquiry desks on Flickr.
Alan Fricker
Background reading
‘By far the most accessible means of personal professional development.’
Contributing to professional groups
I chair the HLG CPD Panel and am also a LIRG committee member. My motivation in volunteering was partly for networking, but mainly for CPD purposes, to develop skills beyond what I was doing in my day job. I had long-standing interests in CPD and research so I hoped that I would have something to contribute.
In terms of professional development, I feel I have benefited, developing my organisational skills, improving skills in business and strategic planning, contributing to meetings, networking and gaining a better understanding of the ‘big picture’. The main issue has been one of time management, to achieve a balance between my job and professional activities. On the other hand, I do feel my enhanced skills are of benefit to my employer.
Pauline Blagden
Getting involved in email discussion lists
‘develop and nurture the invisible college…the crucial importance of building interpersonal networks….to discuss professional concerns, gain advice ….and keep up to date.’
Attending conferences
I had been in my first professional role for about a week when I attended the HLG conference in Belfast. It was a real eye-opener, as I had no idea about the variety and scale of work that health librarians undertook. I met some interesting people, heard some fantastic speakers, and went back to my new job full of ideas and inspiration, determined to make the most of the opportunities I had. It was great seeing what other people had achieved within their library services, and although I wasn't naive enough to think that anything was possible, it did broaden my horizons. I felt part of community, and in some way the conference was a bit of a rite of passage - I was a Librarian! Conferences still enthuse and inspire me, and re-affirm my passion for what I do.
Emily Hurt
Attending and contributing to Trust committees
‘An understanding of how to work effectively in groups is critical to career progression.’
Reducing your hours
E-learning
The quotes in italics are from ‘Personal Professional Development and the Solo Librarian’ by Sue Lacey Bryant, published by Facet, 1995 ISBN 1856041417, and are reproduced by kind permission of the author.