Newsletter of the Round Table on Continuing Professional Education (CPERT)

October 2000

The CPERT Executive Committee

Secretary-Treasurer:
Blanche Woolls, Ph.D.

Information Coordinator and Editor, Newsletter:
John F. Harvey, Ph.D.

Member-at-Large IFLA Relations:
Ms Patricia F. Oyler, Ph.D.

Observer:
Evelyn Daniel

Observer:
Ole Harbo

Observer:
Ian M. Johnson

Observer:
Diann D. Rusch-Feja, Ph.D.

Observer:
Fransie Terblanche

Observer:
Pat Ward

Observer:
Clare Walker

Observer:
Darlene Weingand, Ph.D.

The Newsletter is published twice a year in October and April. Please share your ideas and experiences by sending your contributions or suggestions to John F. Harvey, PO Box 21363, 1507 Nicosia, Cyprus, Tel: (357-2) 664286, Fax: (357-2) 676061, E-mail: john.f.harvey@usa.net or Suite 1105, PMB-079, 82 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005-3682, USA, Fax: 212-968-7962. Secretariat: Janet Assadourian.

News

CALL FOR PAPERS - BOSTON 2001

We will be choosing three papers for the Conference Session. The presenters for the Pre-Conference have been chosen.

SEARCH FOR SEMINARS: www.scheduleearth.com is a portal for conferences, seminars and continuing education. You can search by event title, topic or provider name to find information on thousands of upcoming trade shows, expos and workshops in a variety of professions.

CALL FOR LIBRARY EDUCATION STANDARDS……..The Training Center "Rudomino School" starts a new project. The Bulletin (Russian) is devoted to continuing library education in Russia and abroad. We plan to focus on the problem of new standards of Continuing Higher and College library Education in Russia and other countries. It is necessary to provide access to the information about international standards and approaches. We would like to include in this Bulletin the standards of Continuing, Higher and College library education for USA, Great Britain, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, etc. countries. Would you be so kind as to help us and give us any contact information, etc. of the people who are competent in the given area. - Arsenieva Olga, E-mail: ars@libfl.ru

Perspective Development of Continuing Education for Librarians and Information Specialists Conference, Open Society Institute, All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature, Training Center "Rudomino School", Center for Applied Humanities Technology Information Letter We inform you that the "Perspective Development of Continuing Education for Librarians and Information Specialists" will take place in Moscow 5-7 December, 2000. The Conference will bring together teachers, libraries leadership, publishers of educational literature, representatives of library training centers and other information institutions. The conference is being organised by the Training Center "Rudomino School" of the Library for Foreign/VGBIL/ and Center for Applied Humanities Technology.

The Conference is dedicated to various issues of organizing educational process, integration of educational standards, formation of new educational disciplines, development of regional training centers activties. Also to be covered is reorganisation of library education and introduction of new electronic technologies.

Participation: send a completed application form and a summary of presentation to the Organizing Committee before 30 September, 2000. Accomodation and lunch expenses during the conference will be covered. Working languages of the conference: Russian and English.

For further information contact:
The Organising Committee
TC "Rudomino School", VGBIL
1 Nikoloyamskaya Street, Moscow, 09189 Russia
Tel/Fax: 7-095-9150067
E-mail: jadko@libfl.ru , ars@libfl.ru

Darlene Weingand advises that the paper she delivered in Bangkok ("Desbribing the Elephant…") has been published in the latest IFLA Journal (Vol 26, no.3, p.p. 198-202).

CPERT LOOKING FOR YOU! The IFLA Round Table on Continuing Professional Education (CPERT) is looking for persons involved in continuing education of librarians and information specialists who have an overview of activities in this field in their individual countries or regions. We would like to involve these persons in CPERT activities as "country connections" who could serve as resource and liaison persons for the Round Table. The tasks of the "country connection" person will be to write a short overview report on the continuing education activities in their country for the CPERT field. This person will also serve as a resource person for questions on continuing education in this country or region. If you can serve in this way or if you can suggest a person in your country whom we could contact, please e-mail John F. Harvey, Information Co-ordinator of CPERT at john.f.harvey@usa.net Thank You.

New Distance Learning Masters Course at the Robert Gordon University

The Course will be delivered through the Internet from the University's Virtual Campus, which already hosts a number of open- and distance-learning programmes. The Virtual Campus provides a comprehensive infrastructure for distance-learning communities. It facilitates interaction between staff and students in support of course delivery and tutoring, whilst providing a virtual version of the facilities to be found on a residential university campus, such as access to library resources and a bookshop, and a coffee bar and meeting rooms for informal discussions by groups.

The Postgraduate Diploma element of the course follows the same syllabus as the existing course. Successful completion of eight modules leads to the award of the Diploma. The eight modules provide the fundamental knowledge and skills for new recruits entering the profession and can be undertaken through the distance- learning mode over a minimum period of two years. The existing full- time and part-time modes of study are approved by the Library Association and the Institute of Information Scientists and will continue to be offered. Approval of the distance-learning mode is being sought.

A further year undertaking a small piece of research leading to the submission of a dissertation is required for the Masters' degree. The School would also consider any applications for study of specific module(s) for Continuing Professional development. Applications are invited from graduates in any discipline, and will be considered on their merits. Other factors being equal, preference will be given to applicants who have some relevant working experience. In exceptional circumstances, applicants without these qualifications, but with extensive and appropriate work experience may be considered in accordance with the University's policy for Assessment of Prior Learning. There is no formal closing date, but places may be limited and early application is advised. Students or their employers will be expected to pay tuition fees for this distance-learning course.

Students enrolled on the Virtual Campus will be required to have access to a computer (PC or MAC) which is capable of running either Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 or greater (version 4.04 or greater if using a MAC) or Netscape Navigator version 4 or greater. The student's computer must also be connected to the Internet and have at least 28.8 kbps modem connection speed (standard for most modems). The following software are also required to fully access all Virtual Campus facilities:
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4
Macromedia Flash Plugin
Microsoft Word Reader
Microsoft PowerPoint Reader

For further information contact: School of Information and Media, The Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB10 7QE. Telephone: (01224) 263900; Fax: (01224) 263939; E-mail: sim@rgu.ac.uk

Call for Papers "Education and Research for Marketing and Quality Management In Libraries"

The IFLA Sections on Management and Marketing and on Education and Training (SET), in collaboration with the School of Library and Information Science of the Université de Montréal, are organising a pre-conference and satellite colloquium in Québec City (Canada) from August 14 to 16, 2001. This is held in conjunction with the IFLA (http://www.ifla.org) annual conference, which takes place in Boston, USA.

The theme of this colloquium will be the development of expertise in marketing and quality management in libraries. The objectives of this colloquium are to:

• Bring together experts - researchers, educators and practitioners - in order to exchange information and ideas about marketing and quality management as they apply to the management of libraries and other information services
• Share international experiences
• Identify and discuss research strategies in these fields
• Promote the development of courses in marketing and quality management.

Interested persons are therefore invited to submit a proposal for a paper, and presentation of about 30 minutes bearing on topics such as :

• Experiences in education for marketing and quality management for libraries (course content, evaluation, etc.)
• Use of innovative pedagogical methods in the teaching of marketing and quality management for libraries, including distance education
• Research needs, research in progress or completed in marketing and quality management for libraries and other information services (perceptions, attitudes, use, etc.)
• Impact of marketing and quality management (or of one of their components) on libraries and other information services (case studies, audits, etc.)
• Theoretical approach: links between the concepts of marketing and quality management, importance of those concepts, social implications, etc.

French and English are the two official languages of the colloquium and proposals can be submitted in either language. The proposal should be not more that 1000 words long (2 pages), be submitted in electronic format, and be accompanied by the curriculum vitae of the author(s).

A special invitation is made to Ph.D. candidates and young researchers for whom travel awards may be available.

The following schedule will be applied :
23 September 2000 : Deadline to submit proposals
15 December 2000 : Notification of acceptance and dissemination of the program
30 May 2001 : Deadline for authors to submit their final papers
14-16 August : Colloquium

In order to assure the quality of the program as well as the impartiality of the selection, an international committee has been formed to evaluate proposals. The members are:

• Yawo Assigbley, Association African Universities, Ghana
• Christie Koontz, Florida State University, USA
• Marielle de Miribel, Université de Paris X, France
• Michael Koenig, Long Island University, USA
• Jean-Michel Salaün, École nationale supérieure des sciences de l' information et des bibliothèques (ENSSIB), France
• Christina Tovoté, Malmö Universuty, Sweden
• Sheila Webber, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
• Ken Haycock, University of British Columbia, Canada (and Chairman, Section of Education and Training, IFLA)
• Réjean Savard, EBSI, Université de Montréal (and Chairman, Section of Management and Marketing, IFLA)

Send proposals to :
Réjean Savard, Ph.D.
École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information, Université de Montréal
Case postale 6128 Succursale Centre-ville
Montréal H3C 3J7, Canada
E-mail : Rejean.Savard@umontreal.ca
Tel.: 1(514)343-7408 / Fax : 1(514)343-5753

CPERT Executive Committee Business Meeting, Jerusalem, Israel August 2000

1. Present: Linda Ashcroft, Blanche Woolls, Ian Johnson, , Anne-Francoise Bonnardel, John Harvey, Pat Oyler, Diann Rusch-Feja and Fransie Terblanche
2. As no minutes were available from the previous Executive Committee meetings, Pat Oyler will send copies of the previous minutes to Linda Ashcroft.

   One matter arising from the previous meeting was discussed. CPERT had a "missing" project, a research report conducted at Catholic University of America. Pat Oyler has a copy of the paper or can get one. Thelma Tate is also looking for a copy. CPERT had some problems getting money back from Grace Patterson (New Jersey), then Treasurer of CPERT. No funds were sent to Ann Goulding, the next Treasurer.

3. Linda volunteered to work in the IFLA Booth on Tuesday covering our responsibility for 2000 staffing needs.
4. The report from the Coordinating Board Meeting included the work of two sections.
   1. Emphasis was made on future meetings. If we are to offer a workshop, a clear emphasis should be taken with established outcomes. The CB has some professional priorities.
   2. The quality of papers presented was discussed.
   3. Perhaps some training should be given to speakers.
5. Linda will chair the 2000 Open Meeting. Our speaker from Thailand and one speaker from Russia were there to present. In his absence, Blanche Woolls will present Ken Dowlins paper. She apologized for not having a copy of the English translation for the missing Russian speaker.
6. John reported the publication of two Newsletters. Blanche is to ask Christine Sochocky, a recent Fulbright scholar to Ukraine, to write a report of her experience for the Newsletter.
7. John, as Information Coordinator reported that both Newsletters were available on IFLANET.
8. Membership in the Round Table was discussed. It remains difficult to understand who is and who is not a member. With the proposed change in the structure of IFLA, a discussion considered whether to become a special interest group or a discussion group. The need to present programming and the need for funding negated this. Again, it was agreed that we were not capable of standing alone as a Section and that we belonged as a part of Education and Training rather than Research and Theory. The Round Table needs to establish some strategic alliances.
9. The possibility of additional plans for Special Projects was discussed. It was agreed that, until we had settled the status of our previous Special Project that no additional projects should be proposed.
10. Round Table Action Plans for 2000-2001 included continuing our present plan and the need to build those strategic alliances where continuing education was taking place. Diann Rusch-Feja will share her disk with information applicable here. Ian Johnson reported that the 5th World Conference planning was well underway.
11. Linda will prepare the 1999-2000 Annual Report for IFLA Headquarters. This should also go into the CPERT Newsletter. Blanche will be sending the financial statement to Headquarters in October.
12. Plans for the 2001 Boston Conference program were discussed. The theme of "Leadership and Management" was discussed. Ian was to investigate the Kellogg grants to Latin Americans. Blanche would see about a report from Anne Marie Gold and the Stanford/California State Library Institute for the 21st Century and a report from the Gates Training for public libraries. Pat was to see about a speaker from the Harvard School of Education. It was hoped that a sponsor might be found and a reception could be held to honor Dr. Elizabeth Stone, founder of CPERT.
13. Relations with other groups were discussed with no definite plans being suggested.
14. Diann's disk has some information applicable to special Round Table Project Reports.
15. No report was made from the Membership Committee. A chair should be appointed.
16. Diann and Ian reported that The Fifth World Conference follows the three-day pattern, August 14-16, 2002. A deadline for papers will be April 2002. It was suggested that a shorter deadline might be preferred in order to get the papers ready for the publisher.
17. The future of CPERT was discussed.
18. The CPERT Country Coordinator pins were transferred from Pat to Blanche. Blanche will distribute them at the Fourth World Conference. Diann agreed to seek some volunteer Country Coordinators when she sent her Call for Papers for the Fifth World Conference.
19. No date could be selected for a CPERT dinner in Jerusalem. It was hoped that this event could be held next year.
20. No items were suggested for the IFLA Express.
21. This was not an election year. Elections will be held in 2001.

Speaking of Numbers - In Appreciation of Darlene Weingand

The Convergence Of Methodology For The Traditional School Of Library And Information And The Continuing Education Of The Professional By Kenneth E. Dowlin

Paper

Introduction

Libraries and Librarianship are undergoing a transition that equals or is greater than the one that occurred during the Andrew Carnegie era of funding buildings for libraries, and the explosive growth of libraries starting in the 1960s when the federal government adopted a de facto policy of access to libraries for every U. S. citizen. The goal now is to provide two-way access to libraries, from libraries, and among libraries via information technology (IT) for every citizen. While the president and congress have focused their efforts on this nation, the consequences of the development of access via the Internet is to create a global network that can reach all corners of the world. At the same time the tools provided by the technology needed for the extension of the School of Library and Information Science into the Digital Era are the same tools needed for Continuing Education. Thus it is important to look at trends in Distance Education to set the stage.

Distance Education Trends

1. Available at anytime. "It's always there!"
2. Accessible from any location. "I can always get to it."
3. Multimedia content: use of audio, video, interactive chat, text, etc.
4. Accommodates individual's learning style: self-paced, asynchronous collaborative, synchronous collaborative.
5. Hyperlearning: as contrasted with static text, e-learning has the capacity to link with other resources (simulations, other content, study groups, etc.) that can enhance the learning experience and avoid the linear learning dictated by textbooks. The self-directed nature of e-learning allows Hyperlearning.
6. Blindness of the learning engagement: Some learners who are inhibited in a classroom setting may increase engagement online.
7. Learner-centered learning: The learner is not a passive participant but a proactive searcher and finder of information.
8. Modularity of presentation: The content's architecture is modular, which facilitates different construction of learning events, both in design and length.
9. Manageable structure: The electronic infrastructure supports managed (and measurable) interaction between advisors and learners.
10. Ability to measure the effectiveness of program: E-learning software empowers administrators to track performance and measure ROI. In addition, monitoring usage by learners is simpler; i.e., the number of downloads per user can be measured. This helps training managers evaluate cost-effectiveness and provides assistance with license negotiations based on estimated usage.
11. Simpler data management. The rapid rate with which new learning products are introduced and older products become obsolete create a challenge for individuals charged with updating libraries. However, if a single version of each product is kept on a host, users get instantaneous access to updated components.
12. Cost savings: provides an efficient and cost-effective model for education.
13. Revenue enhancement: provides a way for campuses to expand classroom enrollments without using bricks and mortar.
14. Greater storage capacity: The Internet host has much greater capacity than most physical locations or a user's hard drive. This allows learners access to more products and lets the advisor mix and match courseware activities to fit specific needs. Learners can preview presentations of different courses prior to selecting one, or they can access a specific slide from thousands.
15. Individual education programs (IEPs) can be generated from a combination of the historical record of the students' prior learning (from monitored usage) and the vast database stored on the server. As students progress, information is delivered based on what they've learned and how they've performed. For example, a student would log onto the learning server and a customized course would be generated from the content database that knows which courses the learner took, how well she did, what her job description is, what problem is most pressing. This dimension serves to focus the curriculum only on skill gaps, saving organizations both time and money. A byproduct of IEPs, in our view, is increased motivation from the self-centered nature of the experience.

According to a recent proprietary research study by 2002 there will be almost 8 billion web pages on the World Wide Web.

IMS metadata standards will facilitate that thriving market.

Virtual School of Library and Information Science

The concept of the Virtual School of Library and Information Science is very simple. The VSLIS will use information technology (IT) to move an institutional asset (knowledge) out of a constraining physical space (the classroom).

This will create a setting that is "out of the box", mentally as well as physically. As a space the classroom is now a barrier as well as an enabler for communication. It creates physical boundaries and mental mindsets that inhibit its value in an age where barriers to communication of time and distance are being drastically reduced in everyday life.

IT is creating an interesting convergence of need for a paradigm shift among libraries and higher education institutions. Both institutions need to think "out of the box". While the physical spaces can still have value for warehousing information and knowledge containers such as books or computers, for people converging, and even for being a symbolic presence in a community, the library and the university must learn to go out of the box. Universities are constrained by physical classrooms and campuses. Libraries are constrained by buildings and artifacts that contain information and knowledge. These physical constraints are now limitations to the greatest capacity of human beings -- learning. Distance and time should no longer separate the people who need the knowledge from the people with the knowledge or their communication instruments. It is now time to use the IT, available today and predictable for tomorrow, to forge the system that will transfer knowledge from those who have it to those who need it, regardless of where they are located in California. Library and Information Science is an excellent alpha test for the university as a whole in a discipline that impacts every community in this country. The opportunity exists to stimulate and support the ability for libraries to become learning institutions.

While state of the art information technology can be harnessed to advance teaching and learning quite effectively, there is still a need for the human factor to provide the socialization and Professionalization for effective librarians. There exist today a number of networks that provide communication, technical service components, and collaboration. The marketing of the program is a very important element for success.

Research is showing that the most successful eCommerce companies spend from 35 per cent to 50 per cent of their total budgets for marketing. The VSLIS will develop The Library Learning Channel using the existing network that is in place for statewide distance education (4Cnet) and existing teleconferencing sites in libraries to provide access to librarians and students in every part of the state of California.

Digital Laboratory/Classroom

DLL/C Goals

1. Tools to research new strategies for enhancing existing technology in libraries and information centers. For example:
   1. The creation of a client/server system to provide the user interface shell to a legacy library automation system
   2. Implementation of thin shell technologies
   3. Application of a commercial search engine as the interface to a legacy online public access catalog (Savysearch, Copernicus)
2. Technology to disseminate knowledge gained by students and faculty to practitioners throughout California
   1. Semi annual digital conferences for IT updates
   2. Online reference services for Library technology staff
3. A focal point for continued training to support the California State Library and the Gates Learning Foundation effort to network all libraries in California, thus creating the "Library of California".
4. Equipment to ensure a high level of IT literacy for the students in the MLIS program
5. A high level laboratory that can be used by all schools at SJSU
6. Corporate support to ensure maintenance and upgrades of the equipment

Digital Library Laboratory Technology

The DLL/C will provide learning stations; video and digital capture technology, and other tools to support the creation and distribution of the courseware. Transformational technology such as encoders will be provided as well.

Ramifications for CE

SLIS Distance Learning Programs

University of Arizona
Most courses are online. Some on campus courses are required.

University of Buffalo
Offers some courses via the Web. Also, some courses are taught at the Rochester, NY extension.

Catholic University
Off-campus courses offered at the Library of Congress, and at several schools in Virginia.

Dominican University
Offerings locally, off campus in the Chicago area, and also in Saint Paul, MN

Drexel University
Their Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) offers one of the few programs that is 100% online. An information systems degree is offered by this program. Drexel also offers a Management of Digital Information Program which is fully online.

Emporia State University
Their distance education program covers the "west of the Mississippi" midwest. In this program, the faculty do some travelling. Classes are formed into "cohorts" of students who gather at a central point for coursework. Some Web delivered instruction.

University of Hawaii
Instruction is distributed among the Hawaiian islands via HITS, The Hawaii Interactive Television System.

University of Illinois
The innovative LEEP program offers an MLS degree via the Internet, independent learning, and some visits to main campus.

University of Indiana
Classes are offered via interactive video at several Indiana University campuses, and at Evansville.

University of Iowa
Offers a combination of interactive video courses via the Iowa Communications Network (ICN), and traditional classroom instruction.

Kent State University
Off site classes held at Columbus, Cleveland and Bowling Green.

University of Kentucky
Currently offers off-campus classes, compressed video, and an Internet class.

Long Island University's Palmer School of Library and Information Science
Programs at three sites in the greater New York City area.

Louisiana State University
Offerings via compressed video to a number of sites around the state.

University of Oklahoma
Compressed video is offered at Tulsa, and less frequently to other sites in the state.

Pratt Institute
Classes offered in Brooklyn and on Manhattan, in New York City.

University of Rhode Island
A regional studies program allows some credits to be earned away from the Kingston, RI campus. Also, some courses are offered primarily online.

Rutgers University
This web page links to many aspects of the school's online offerings.

University of South Carolina
This web page describes the distance learning program offerings for the University, which includes the School of Library and Information Studies. Look for CLIS classes.

Southern Connecticut State University
A new program through SCSU being offered throughout the state of Connecticut. And there are tuition inducements available for qualifying out-of-state students.

University of South Florida
Classes are held throughout South and Central Florida. Independent studies are "site independent". See catalog of Summer 2000 LIS Classes.

University of Southern Mississippi
This link to the ALA writeup includes distance learning opportunities at several Mississippi locales.

Syracuse University
Employs a combination of Internet based coursework and brief on-campus residencies.

University of Tennessee
Web based instruction delivery in synchronous and asynchronous mode via the Internet. The Web offerings are new for the Fall, 2000 semester.

University of Texas
This webpage links to many pages describing UT GSLIS offerings at San Antonio, El Paso and via the Web.

Texas Women's University
Has learning distributed at three campuses in Dallas, and has other programs at Abile, Edinburg, Texarkana and Witchita Falls. Also via the Web.

Valdosta State University
Fact sheet about the new MLS program, primarily Intermet based, to begin in the Fall 2000 semester.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
The entire degree is available online. Extensive list of FAQs about the program. See online course catalog for Summer 2000, Fall 2000.

Library Literature & Information Science, April 2000

Distance Education

Aims and Objectives

Vietnam
Lam, V. T. Issues in library development in Vietnam. Bibl Asian Libr v8 pp182-90 1999.

Administration
Prentice, A.E. LIS education: the new dean's perspective. (In Library and Information Science Annual, v7, 1999. Libraries Unlimited 1999 pp23-6).

Curriculum
Tran, L. A. and Gorman, G E. Library and information science education in Vietnam. Charts Asian Libr v8 pp43-60 1999

Faculty
Crowley, B. The control and direction of professional education. Bibl J Am Soc Inf Sci v50 no12 pp1127-35 O 1999

Theses
Haycock, K., and Curry A. Doctoral dissertations in library and information studies: identification, documentation, and analysis, 1997-1998. In Library and information science annual v7 1999. Libraries Unlimited 1999 pp277-96.

Library Literature & Information Science 1999

Continuing Education

Bender, D. R. What's special about special libraries? SLA and the continuous education

challenge (paper presented at the 1998 IFLA Conference) INSPEL v32 no4 p197-204 1998.

Riley, R. A. Refresh your management skills! (Professional development opportunities for

library administrators) Arkansas Libr v56 no3 pp11-13 Je 1999

Seago, K. Investing in people resources: ways and means of training.

Bibl Ky Libr v62 no2 p15-17 Spr 1998

Weingand. D. E. Continuing Education. See issues of Journal of Education for Library and

Information Science.

Aims and Objectives

Otala, L. Implementing lifelong learning in partnership with the educational sector and the

workplace (paper presented at the Info-Ethics Congress, March 1997, Monaca) Int Inf Libr Rev v29 no3-4 pp455-60 S/D 1997

Evaluation

Pryor, B. W. Three longitudinal impact evaluations of continuing library education:

participant satisfaction, program effects and future participation. Charts J Educ Libr Inf Sci v40 no1 pp10-26 Wint 1999

Countries

Kigongo-Bukenya, I. M. N. New trends in library and information fields and the implications

for continuing education (in Africa) bibl por J Libr Inf Sci (Engl) v31 no2 p93-9 Je 1999

Anderson, K. Continuing education needs of rural public library staff in Alberta: an

exploratory study (winner of the CLA student article contest) bibl por Feliciter v44 no9 pp32-9 S 1998

Bergeron, P. and others. The continuing education habits and practices of employees in

francophone libraries in Canada (results of a survey) charts Doc Bibl v44 no1 pp16-28 Ja/Mr 1998.

Doney, E. Developing opinions: the attitudes of ILS staff to continuing professional

development (in Great Britain) bibl Libr Manage v19 no8 p486-91 1998

Levy, P. An example of Internet-based continuing professional development: perspectives

on course design and participation (based at the University of Sheffield) chart il Educ Inf v17 no1 pp45-58 Mr 1999

Biro, J. A. The further training of librarians, Konyvtari Figy (Hungary) v7 no4 pp715-23 1997

Cybulski, R. Postgraduate studies on research libraries at the Institute of Library and

Information Science of the University of Warsaw. Charts Bibliotekarz no11-12 pp15-19 1994

Walczak, M. Looking for new forms of education and professional development for

librarians (application of Western European models in Poland) Bibliotekarz v61 no11-12 pp10-15 1994

Aleshin, L. I. Distance Learning - a promising form of library education (applications of new

technology) Bibliotekovdeni no1 p87-91 1995

Herz, J. Theme: continuing education (results of a survey by the SVD) charts Arbido v11 no4

p12-13+ Ap 1996

Wetherbee, L.V. and Beckett, S. Staff development as a component of organizational

renewal (at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) Tex Libr J v75 no1 p24-7 Spr 1999.

Belgium

Battisti, M. Work Locally, Think Globally: Europe, Diversity of Experiences for Common

Competences (colloquium organised by the Beligan Association for Documentation and the European Council of Information Associations, Brussels, March 1999 text in French) Documentaliste v36 no3 p157-61 My/Je 1999

Bulgaria

Tanhof, W. R. and others, "We Don't Live in The Jungle!" A training workshop for

information specialists in Bulgaria, Buch Bibl v46 no1 p62-5 Ja 1994

California

Tian, J. Digital Delivery of Scientific Information to Libraries - Perspectives, (i.e.

perspectives) on today and tomorrow (report of a seminar of the Society for Scholarly Publishing, Nov 1997, University of California, Irvine), Ser Rev v24 no1 p113-18, Spr 1998

Chile

Johnson, I. M. Workshop on the management and use of human resources in Latin America,

Chile, 6-9 April 1998, por IFLA J v25 no1 p42-6 1999

Denmark

Senius Clausen, N. Ministry of Education's research libraries 1990-95, charts por DF-Revy

v19 no1 pe-6 F 1996

France

Massault, C. Preconference seminar at Givors: an Overview (preconference to the 1995 ABF

Conference) chart il Vull Inf Assoc Bibl Fr no168 p3-8 1995

Pringuet, M. and Belayche, C. Media Centers: Spaces, Services, Audiences; a Daylong

Workshop organised by the Public Library Section of the ABF, Feb 6, 1995, Bull Inf Assoc Bibl Fr no170 p4-29 1996

Thill, A., The Central Lending Library Colloquium in Nice in 1972: the commentary given by

library users, Bull Inf Assoc Bibl Fr no169, p36-9, 1995

The Library User: Autonomy and Dependency; a French-British Workshop, Nice, Sept. 7-9,

1995, charts il Bull Inf Assoc Bibl Fr no170 p40-63 1996

Great Britain

Brocklebank, J, Developing Teaching Skills for Academic Support Staff (report of a

workshop for librarians and information specialists at Aston University) Law Libr v29 no4 p245-9 D 1998

Dempsey, L. and others, Managing Access to a Distributed Library Resource: report from

the fifth MODELS workshop (moving to Distributed Environment for Library Services, April 1997) charts Program v32 no3 p265-81 Jl 1998

Joint Study Institute of AALL/BIALL/CALL, Cambridge, England, Sept 1998 (special issue) il

Law Libr v30 no1 p1-76 Mr 1999

Porter, S. Reports from the front: six perspectives on scholar's information requirements in

the digital age (UK Arts and Humanities Data Service workshops; special section) New Rev

Acad Libr v4 p167-89 1998

Russell, P.E.J. and Dempsey L. A distributed national electronic resource? MODELS

workshop 6 report, 5-6 February 1998, Bath (Moving to Distributed Environments for Library Services) charts Electron Libr v16 no4 p231-7, Ag 1998

The Universal Library (papers presented at the second Anglo-German Seminar on Library

History, September 1996, London; special issue Libr Hist v14 no2 p85-158 N 1998

Wilkinson, J. The hybrid libraries programme: papers from a workshop at the University of

Leeds (October 1998; special section charts New Rev Acad Libr v4 p1-37 1998

India

Sudarshan Rao, S. Fifty years of LIS education in India: IATLIS national seminar (Nov 1997)

University of Mysore) Her Libr Sci v37 no1-2 p94-7 Ja/Ap 1998

Italy

Comba, V. and Tammaro, A. M. Library Instruction in the University Library (seminar held in

Florence, Sept. 98) Boll AIB v38 no4 p457-60 D 1998

Japan

Marra, T. Internship at Otani University Library and conferences/meetings related to libraries

in Japan (experience of being an exchange librarian in Japan) J East Asian Libr no115 p13-21 Je 1998

Okuizumi, E. The second Japan Foundation senior Japanese studies librarians workshop:

issues, impacts and impressions (paper presented at the Council on East Asian Libraries annual meeting, March 1998 Washington, DC) bibl chart J East Asian Libr no115 p22-31 Je 1998

Louisiana

Barry, C. L. Networked access in libraries: a theme issue (institute held at the School of

Library and Information Science, Louisana State University, Ag 1998) charts il LLA Bull v61 no3 p140-87 Wint 1999

Hepfer, C. The second annual Faxon Colloquium on scholarly communications issues

(January 1998, New Orleans) Ser Rev v24 no2 p118-22 Summ 1998

Ogburn, J. L. A report and commentary on the Faxon Institute: issues (Jan 1998, New

Orleans) Libr Acquis v22 no4 p439-52 Wint 1998

New Jersey

Steckman E. Library services to a linguistically diverse community: a workshop report from

New Jersey (at New Jersey State library, April 1998; special section) Ref Serv Rev v26 no2 p57-65 Summ 1998

Norway

Hagen, A. Special Libraries' role and function in the future: report from a seminar, il por DF-

Revy v20 no2 p43-7 Mr 1997

Papua New Guinea

Evans, J. A. Information and the nation: the 1997 Waigani seminar (at the University of

Papua New Guinea) Asian Libr v7 p166-70 1998

Poland

Niet, M. C. de. Europe's National Libraries in Line: a report of the Gabriel workshop 1997

Program v32 no3 p303-11 Jl 1998

Portugal

Elkin, J. Focus on the child: children's libraries in Portugal: report of a workshop held in

Lisbon during the Festival of public libraries Nov 1998 New Rev Child Lit Libr v4 p93-106 1998

Switzerland

VSA Workshop, March 1997, Bern, Switzerland: text in French and German, il Arbido v12

no10 p10-23 O 1997

Information workshop organised by SIGEGS in French-speaking Switzerland, Nov 1996

Lausanne; special section, il Arbido v12 no2 p2-12 F 1997

Turkey

Massil, S. W. Orientalist libraries and Orientalism (proceedings of an IFLA preconference

institute, August 1995, University of Istanbul; special issue) chart il Libr Cult v33 no3 p229-316 Summ 1998

Utah

Neely, T. Y. and Winston, M. D. Snowbird Leadership Institute:

leadership development in the profession (survey of participants, 1990-1998) charts Coll Res Libr v60 no p412-25 S 1999

Washington DC

Lipow, A. G. Reference Service in a Digital Age (Institute held June 1998 at LC; special issue)

charts Ref User Serv Q v38 no1 p47-81 1998

Trauernicht, M. S. Managing metadata for the digital library (ALCTS/LITA institute, May 1998,

Washington DC) Ser Rev v24 no3-4 p152-6 1998

In-Service Education

Boucher, V. Staff: a critical part of today's libraries (presented at the 2nd Scandinavian

interlibrary loan conference) or DF-Revy v18 (i.e. 19) pp315-18 Ja 1996

Kaempfer, E. Training staff and users for computer literacy (at Addision Public Library) Ill

Libr v81 no3 pp142-51 Summ 1999

Mendelsohn, J. Learning electronic reference resources: a team-learning project for

reference staff (at the University of Toronto) chart Coll Res Libr v60 no4 p372-83 Jl 1999

Messas, K. G. Staff training & development; with the assistance of Allision Cowgill (nd vothers) Association of res. Libs. Office of Mgt, Services 1997 199p il

O'Hanlon, S. and Philips, A. Benchmarks for the future (staff computer training at Peoria

Public Library) charts Ill Libr v81 no2 pp99-103 Spr 1999

Whiting, P. C. From specialists to generalists: issues and perspectives on cross-training

catalogers (at Louisana State University and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville: report of a workship at the 1997 NASIG Conference) Ser Libr v34 no3-4 pp397-401 1998

Winters, S. A. Strengthening the commitment to staff development, Public Libr v38 no4

pp248-52, Jl/Ag 1999.

Institutes and Workshop

McCook, K. de la P. National leadership grants fund innovative instuties (programs funded

during the final year of HEA Title II-B) il Am Libr v29 no11 p54-7 D 1998

Continuing Education Statement from the University of Hawaii At Manoa's

The program seeks to meet this demand by providing new courses, special lectures, workshops, seminars, and institutes. These continuing education opportunities are announced as they become available. Some past course offerings include:

• Data Communications
• Business Information Resources
• Bibliographic Database Design
• CD-ROM Storage and Retrieval
• Internet
• Basic Sources of Legal Information

Library Automation Institute

School Librarianship Institute

Institute for Library Support Staff

Darlene E. Weingand,
E-mail: weingand@lava.net
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~weingand/

The Skills You Can't Download by Linda Ashcroft

The role of information is vital to the daily lives of most people, and within this the embrace of new technology has recently been emphasised. For example, the announcement of new websites in the media and in sections of newspapers promoting electronic resources are now commonplace. Both national information developments, such as the People's Network, and global information developments, such as the World Wide Web and the speed of information transfer available, place more emphasis on the embrace of new technology. This is a key issue for both those in the information field and those wanting to be educated for the field. This has implications for educators - those providing short courses targeted at librarians who want to update their skills, for example, the plans for the new public library network include re-skilling library staff and training them in IT (Information Technology). This also has implications for those involved in education in universities, where both undergraduate and postgraduate 'information' courses are designed to provide a sound range of skills to equip students with the competencies necessary for information work in a variety of organisations and sectors, in which IT skills are an intrinsic part.

There are now many university library services in various countries that offer distance learning services to their students. Two major reasons for the need for these services to off-campus students are location difficulties for remote learners and higher education financial changes, which result in the desire of students to continue in work whilst studying from a distance. This distance learning approach applies not only to library services but also to the way in which university courses are delivered. The distance learning approach is not new, but approaches to the ways in which courses are delivered have changed along with technological developments. There is a move away from the paper-based study packs to multi-media learning material and computer conferencing to link students with each other and with the department. And this is not always a supplementary approach. In September 1998, the information/library school at the University of Buffalo offered two graduate level courses by Internet distance learning. In this context the geographic location of the students is not a factor because the Internet is available worldwide. These courses are scheduled for two days a week for the purpose of sharing and exchanging information on the class Web Bulletin Board. This approach is not limited to distance learning courses. It is being adopted for students on site. For example, at the 1999 IFLA conference, Dowlin spoke about web-based instruction for the continuing information student, pointing out that the constant development of the Internet necessitates new methods of teaching. This is used at the San Jose State University library school, where the need for paper is being drastically reduced, and students are participating in group work electronically.

Feedback from students included comments about the enjoyment of a 'chatroom' approach, which some felt less inhibiting. This web-based approach has a knock on effect from professional education for students, to 'retooling' or refreshing for longer standing members of the field, with capacity for transfer to users. Electronic developments within information work mean that electronic communication must be effective, both for those within the workplace and externally. Hence it is vital that information professionals be equipped with appropriate communication skills in an era of exponential growth in web sites, video conferencing and remote access to a variety of library services.

Whilst these developments are being embraced, there are complex issues involved. During a discusson at the IFLA conference, one librarian from the Caribbean spoke of the problems of delivering distance services that spanned multiple islands, multiple national borders and two languages. Also a library school educator told of how it took one year to design and produce a course, fully employing two full time members of staff at an undisclosed cost. And another spoke of technological problems such as disruption of communication when a server is down.

Aside from such practical issues, the area of communication itself can become problematic. If students communicate electronically during their studies, do they learn how to communicate effectively without electronic means? Can problems of isolation and reduced pastoral care arise? And, if so, what are the implications for the information field? Electronic communication is not the same as every day informal talk and work in the same close environment with colleagues. Minor problems and isolated concerns can often be eliminated in an informal chat over a cup of coffee without having to raise anything formally or publicly. Although constantly developing IT skills and competencies are vital, so too are social skills and competencies. In the UK, many library/information courses include a professional placement. As well as facilitating students with 'real' use of taught skills and putting academic work into context, these placements aid the development of the social skills necessary to meet the needs of users and to work well with colleagues. Here students can develop a knowledge of how to work and communicate within the objectives and strategies of the host organisation. Frequently experience is gained on being an effective team player, which can be a vital basis for future staff management work.

Masters programmes can include professional placements, but frequently involve supervised research. In practice, the Masters student who is studying part-time whilst working or who has previous work experience can use a work-related problem as the basis for the research. In these cases social/communication skills are vital in order to elicit the responses required for the research.

For longer standing members of the field, as well as IT 'retooling', there also seems to be evidence of the demand to enhance more 'traditional' communication skills. There are a variety of short courses on offer on topics such as 'Managing the enquiry desk', 'Team leadership', Dealing with difficult people', 'Dealing with difficult situations', etc, which are well subscribed. In the workplace there are constant situations which require the employment of effective interpersonal skills in interaction with users and colleagues. Here responses cannot be transmitted via a VDU.

So, what are the communication skills required by the information worker today and in the future? The answer seems to be well-rounded communication skills -- employing those demanded by technological developments, but not to the exclusion of interpersonal/social skills.

Reference

Note

Bibliographic Instruction and Distance Education by Robert Phillips

Assistant Library Director, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX

Distance education programs offer courses to students who live away from the sponsoring institution. Such programs have one common feature: they do not provide their students with ready access to the institution's library collection or services. "Work arounds" exist, certainly. Instructors adjust course requirements; students make use of local libraries; libraries at the host institution send books or photocopies to the distant location or to the distant learner. Some institutions will invest in small, core collections at the distant location.

Such attempts to replicate library resources for those enrolled in distance education programs fall short without a complimentary effort to replicate library services. Indeed, failure to offer services reinforces the attitude that the library is primarily a collection of books. One could well ask if library services are not important for distance learners, why are they important for local learners? Offering library services to distant learners not only helps the student - it also helps the library profession. How does one do bibliographic instruction with distant learners? Some programs bring the students to campus for a few days at the beginning of the course, at which time they can receive instruction and orientation. Others arrange with distant libraries to offer bibliographic instruction to distant students, either in classes or as individuals. Such approaches repeat the models of instruction received by local students.

However, bibliographic instruction for distant learners may require new attitudes and tactics. Distant learners should master keyword searching on a variety of systems. Interactive web pages will supplement handouts or static lists. Instead of teaching the use of the latest print tools, focus instruction on Internet based tools, even those in the public domain. Growing collections of CD-ROM libraries call for careful attention to the difference between printed editions and their digital counterparts. Electronic publishers often provide their own tutorials or help screens but bibliographic instruction can help students quickly master those features they are most likely to use. Librarians should also encourage students to communicate with them by e-mail or even web-cams or Internet phone. By networking with public and general academic librarians, theological librarians can help their colleagues develop skills to serve the distant learner. Underlying all instruction remains the students' need to learn to ask the right questions and to evaluate their resources, wherever they might find them.

Advances in technology bring with them reviews of the old ways to determine what should be preserved, adapted, or discarded. So it is with bibliographic instruction. So it is with librarians. - Journal of Religious & Theological Information, vol 3, no. 1, 2000, pp. 3-4.

Distance Learning: Current Trends, Future Impact Publication

Dear information colleagues, I am delighted to inform you that a special double issue of the membership journal of the International Federation for Information and Documentation (FID) - the FID Review - on the theme "Distance Education: Current Impact, Future Trends" is now available.

The Guest Editor of the issue is Professor Olugbemiro Jegede of the Open University of Hong Kong and the issue contains 158 pages of 28 peer-reviewed papers, including (among others):

• The Developing World and the Future of Open and Distance Education by Prof. S.W. Tam of the Open University of Hong Kong;
• A Look to the Future by Sir John Daniel, Vice Chancellor, Open University, UK;
• The Notion of a "Classroom" and the necessary infrastructure to support Distance Education in the Future by Molly Corbett Broad, President, The University of North Carolina, USA and ICDE;
• Distance Education: Current Impact, Future Trends - A View by Prof. Gajaraj Dhanarajan, President and CEO, The Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Canada;
• Library and Information Science Distance Education in India: Problems and Prospects by Dr Jagtar Singh of Panjabi University, India
• Key Concepts in the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services by Harvey Gover & Jean Caspers, USA
• Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, and the Use of Technology in Open and Distance Learning by Olugbemiro Jegede, OU of Hong Kong;
• Community Learning Networks: using Technology to enable lifelong learning by Stan Skrzeszewski, President of the Canadian Library Association;
• What's New in the Education World? Developments in Online Learning by Paul Turnbull, Director, Ashridge Online, UK;
• Distance Education in the Caribbean: past, present and future by Elizabeth Watson and Christine Marrett, University of the West Indies;
• A Glimpse into the Future of Distance Education in Africa by Gbolagade Adekanmbi, University of Botswana;
• Tertiary Distance Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: current status and future trends, by Judith M. Roberts & Joan Howard, Canada;
• Can Teaching in a Virtual Classroom Enhance Real Learning? P. Taylor et al., Curtin University, Australia;
• Building and Using Telepresence Classrooms by Sally Reynolds and Gee Cammaert, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium; and,
• Online Class in Library Studies links Native Communities by Amy Stout, Distance Learning Consultant, USA...

Details of the "First Conference on Research in Distance and Adult Learning in Asia", 21-24 June, 2000, The Open University of Hong Kong, (www:ouhk.edu.hk/cridal/cridala) are included.

One copy of this double issue costs NLG 120 (approximately US$65). Should you wish to obtain more information about the issue, or order a copy directly, please send an e-mail to Theresa Stanton, Editor, FID Review at: E-mail: theresa.stanton@fid.nl (Special discount rates are available for bulk orders).

http://www.fid.nl/ FID, P.O. Box 90402, 2509 LK The Hague, Netherlands.

Guidelines For Professional Library/Information Educational Programs - 2000

New Draft, Aug. 1, 2000

The Larger Framework

1.Context. The library/information educational program's description and status (organizational level) should be comparable to that of other programs in the country that are engaged in vocational and professional education. For professional level preparation, the library/information educational program should be part of a degree-granting institution and instruction should be at the tertiary (university) level. Library/information programs should be eligible to offer doctoral level study on the same basis as other programs.

2. Mission. The library/information educational program's mission should be clearly stated in a publicly available formal document. The program's mission should address the purpose of the educational program in the larger political, social, economic and technical context. It should identify the constituencies being served and should be consistent with the needs of the country and, unless it is an independent, free-standing organization, the values of its parent institution.

3. Goals and Objectives. The library/information educational program should state its goals and identify specific objectives, derived from its goals, addressing philosophy, principles and methods of the program; areas of specialization; level of preparation provided; teaching, service and research values; and the perceived role of library and information services in society. The goals and objectives should be consistent with published educational policy

statements from recognized official bodies (See number 7 below).

CURRICULUM

5. Public Document. The curriculum should be stated clearly in a publicly available formal document, describing the aims, content, learning outcomes, and assessment methods for each course within the program.

6. General Education. General education (outside of library and information specific courses) should be a significant component of the total education for the library/information specialist. For education at the professional level, the amount and quality of general education should be equivalent to that required for an undergraduate degree.

7. Core library/information coursework. Programs should refer to educational policy statements issued by professional, government or other associations that identify important knowledge and skill components. (Examples of such statements include those issued by the Institute of Information Science (UK), the Library Association (UK), the Special Libraries Association (US), the Medical Library Association (US), the Association of Library Service to Children (US), the Australian Library and Information Association.)

8. Core Elements. Core elements include:

1. The Information Environment and Information Policy
2. Information Generation, Communication and Use
3. Assessing Information Needs and Designing Responsive Services
4. The Information Transfer Process
5. Organization and Retrieval of Information
6. Research, Analysis and Interpretation of Information
7. Applications of Information and Communication Technologies to Library and Information Products and Services
8. Information Resource Management & Knowledge Management
9. Management of Information Agencies
10. Quantititive and Qualitative Evaluation of Outcomes of Information and Library Use

10. Transferable Skills. Methods of teaching and assessment should be designed to develop or enhance students' interpersonal communication skills, ability to work in teams, and time and task management skills. At the professional level, emphasis should be placed on developing students' analytical and problem-solving skills.

11. Continuing Education. In order to assist practicing librarians and information specialists to maintain competence in a changing society, the program should either conduct suitable workshops and short courses for the benefit of practicing librarians and information specialists or partner with other agencies in doing so. If distance learning methods of course delivery are used, the quality of the educational experience should be comparable to similar experiences offered on site.

12. Consultancy. The program's staff and students should have the opportunity of offering consulting to libraries and information agencies to develop the interplay between the educational institution and practice.

FACULTY AND STAFF

14. Faculty Appointment, Review and Promotion Policies. The educational program should have stated policies and standards for appointment, review and promotion of full-time faculty equivalent to those in comparable units. All full-time faculty should hold degrees in relevant subjects from recognized academic institutions. There should be a clearly stated policy for the continuing education and professional development of the academic teaching staff, and for reviewing the currency and relevance of courses and teaching methods.

15. Part-time faculty. Part-time faculty should be appropriately qualified and should balance and complement the teaching competencies of full-time faculty. Inputs from part-time faculty should be coordinated with the program as a whole.

16. Non-Academic Staff. Non-academic (clerical, secretarial, technical) staff should have qualifications equivalent to those of persons in comparable units. The number and kind of staff should be adequate to support the faculty in the performance of their responsibilities.

STUDENTS

18. Admission. Selection of students should be based on clearly stated publicly available criteria. Interest, aptitude, intellectual and educational backgrounds should be addressed in the criteria. Standards for admission should be applied consistently.

19. Program of Study. Students should have advisory assistance in constructing a coherent program of study to meet career aspirations consistent with the educational program's mission, goals and objectives. Evaluation of student achievement should be provided on a consistent and equitable basis. Student evaluation of the program should be undertaken on an annual basis.

20. Completion Requirements. A clear statement of the requirements of the educational program should appear in a formal document that is available to students and prospective students. On completion of requirements, students should be awarded a degree, diploma, or certificate suitable to their level of study.

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT

22. Head of Program. The head of the program should have status and authority comparable to heads of similar units in the parent institution. The head of the program should possess both academic and professional qualifications comparable to those required of faculty and administrative ability and leadership skills.

23. Governance. Decisions should be based on clearly defined and publicly stated policies. Faculty, staff, student, alumni and employer participation in governance should be encouraged. Major decisions and activities should be documented.

24. Financial Support. The educational program should have adequate financial support to develop and maintain a library and information course of study consistent with the expectations of practice and comparable to similar programs elsewhere. An annual budget should be administered by the head of the program. The level of support should relate to the number of faculty, administrative and support staff, instructional resources and facilities.

25. Planning. The program should have a clearly developed planning and evaluation process. The process should include an ongoing review of policies and procedures in light of anticipated changes in the library/information field and in the larger society. Faculty, staff, and students should be involved in the planning activity. The program should meet such educational and/or professional accreditation requirements as are the norm in the country.

INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES AND FACILITIES

27. Information Technology Resources. Computer hardware and software and multimedia resources should be available for students and staff and be sufficient for the level of use required for coursework and faculty research.

28. Internet Resources. Adequate connections to the Internet should allow ready access to Internet resources for faculty and students. A policy regarding acceptable uses of the Internet for teaching and research emphasizing the librarian's concerns for freedom of information should be formulated and publicized.

29. Physical Facilities. The educational program's physical facilities should provide adequate space for faculty, staff and students to accomplish its objectives.

Rev. 8/1/2000
If you have comments or suggestions about these proposed standards, please email Evelyn Daniel.

Continuous Education Procedure and its Organizational-Methodical Ensuring in Russia by Soboleva E.B., Deputy Director and Artemieva E.B., Head of Research

The difficulties related with the training and re-training of librarians and library personnel are gaining even more weight due to the constant inward flow of new technology and changes in customer demand of library related matter and information systems.

It is clear that co-ordinated efforts of higher educational institutions and libraries in the organisation of the education and improvement of professional qualifications cannot by themselves achieve the desired results, which seem to be, from our point of view, the achievement of corresponding levels of training of librarians to the state of technology subsisting at the beginning of the third millennium and the satisfaction of current customer demand.

Therefore, in Russia greater attention is being paid to the establishment of various structural frameworks capable of facilitating the co-ordination and co-operation of institutions seeking to accommodate the abovementioned results.

The most fundamental of such institutions are the Section of the profession of librarians, library personnel and the process of continuous education under the Russian Librarians Association (RLA); a body established in 1996 under the initiative of the leading librarian figure E.R.Soukiasian. This body is a public organisation, acting in accordance with a Memorandum & Articles of Association, the primary objective of which is the consolidation of the efforts of specialists on the research and development of theoretical and methodical problems of the training of library personnel. The main task of the Section is the introduction and implementation of new forms of professional qualifications and the establishment of an information centre as a basis for the distribution of novel and progressive ideas. In recent years, and with the active support of the Institute "Open Community" (the Soros Fund), centres of continuous education at various levels have been established and upgraded.

Hence, for instance, in the Asian parts of Russia, the Siberian Regional Library Centre of Continuous Education was established and is currently operating successfully. The main functions of the Centre are:

• Provision of continuous education, upgrading of the professional qualification levels of library personnel in the Siberian-Far Eastern Region;
• Provision of assistance to libraries, information institutions and organisations of the Region, consisting of additional educational services, educational systematic and scientific research and development;
• Assistance of libraries in the cost reducing schemes for the training of personnel;
• Meeting of demands of library specialists and tutors of library educational institutions in advanced information and in the exchange of local and foreign experience, research and development of the information distributing mechanism of the Siberian-Far Eastern Region, Russia and the whole world;
• Organization of scientific conferences, symposiums and seminars on the library science, bibliography as a science, information technology and bibliology in the territory of the Siberian-Far Eastern Region;
• Participation in the instruction of participants in the various courses and training of the post graduates of SPSTL with SB of RAS with the participation of leading academics of the country in the specific fields, the organisation of the training of specialists in other libraries, the invitation of foreign specialists with the aim of a reciprocal exchange of experience and knowledge.

DB "Lector" contains an enumeration of topics which may be utilized as material for the studies of trainee librarians and information on tutors conducting the training. This enables the libraries of the Region to choose amongst the offered services. The DB "Ychebnik" consists of material of an educational and methodical nature on the actual themes of library science and bibliography. It is intended that in this perspective the data base shall be transformed into a system of distant learning. The data base is available on the SPSTL with SB of RAS's website and may be accessed through the internet (http://info.spsl.nsc.ru), they may also be accessed and used by international users and colleagues.

In recent years great interest has been shown in the difficulties related to the training and re-training of library personnel. These difficulties have mainly arisen from the recent changes in economical conditions as in their relation to libraries, but also from the revolutionary changes in the technology of the libraries' functioning, related to, primarily, the process of automation. It has thus become clear that uncoordinated efforts on behalf of higher educational institutions, in providing training of library personnel, and of libraries, in the upgrading of library personnel qualifications, do not achieve the desired results, which seem to be, from our point of view, the achievement of corresponding levels of training of librarians, who provide informational library services, to the demands of society as subsisting at the beginning of the third millennium. The realisation of the status quo has brought about the establishment of various structural frameworks capable of facilitating the co-ordination and co-operation of institutions seeking to accommodate the abovementioned results.

One of these is the Section of the profession of librarians, library personnel and the process of continuous education under the Russian Librarians Association (RLA); a body established in 1996. This body is a public organisation, acting in accordance with a Memorandum & Articles of Association, the primary objective of which is the consolidation of the efforts of specialists on the research and development of theoretical and methodical problems of the training of library personnel. The main task of the Section is the introduction and implementation of new forms of professional qualifications and the establishment of an information centre as a basis for the distribution of novel and progressive ideas.

In recent years, and with the active support of the Institute "Open Society" (the Soros Fund), centres of continuous education, at various levels, have been established and upgraded. These centres mainly operate in the European part of Russia, eg. "The School of Roudomino" - an educational centre specialising in short term education, a structural sub-division of the All-Russian State Library of Foreign Literature (Moscow), carrying out most of its work with public and university libraries, foreign colleagues, regional training centres of the Russian Federation operating in Nizhnie Novogorode (the Fundamental Library of Nizhiegorod State University), in Tver, in Bryansk (the Regional Universal Scientific Library), in Ekaterinburg, and co-operating extensively with specialists from Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Education libraries. In Kazan (the Republic of Tatarstan) the Tatar republican medical library-information centre provides continuous education for the employees of medical libraries. Succesfully operating in the Asian part of the country is the training centre of the Novosibirsk Library Society, co-operating with the Ministry of Culture of the Western-Siberian Region libraries, and the Siberian Regional Library Centre of Continuous Education, the characteristics and activities of which we shall examine in more detail. The Centre was established by the initiative and on basis of the State Public Scientific-Technical Library of the Siberian division of the Russian Academy of Science (Novosibirsk) with the support of some of the largest scientific libraries of the Siberian Region. It was also established with extensive input from the Institute "Open Society". The activities of the Centre are mostly aimed at library and information institutions of various forms in the Siberian-Far Eastern Region.

The Siberian-Far Eastern Region - this covers two thirds of the total territory of Russia, and accommodates five republics, four minor regions, twelve provinces and eight national regions. The population of the whole Region is 32.8 million people - over 20% of the population of the entire country. This Region plays an important role in the economies of the CZIS countries and of Russia in the production of many essential products. Highly developed sectors of the Region include the primary sector and defense, scientific and educational, and agriculture sectors. At the same time however, the Siberian-Far Eastern Region is clearly behind all the other European regions of the country in the solving of socially related problems. Scientists have noted that there is a noticeable loss of culture consumers and consequently their differentiation. A new approach is needed for the establishment and functioning of institutions in the cultural sphere. A transition from the organizational-functional regime currently in place to a social approach is necessary, towards a re-orientation of the institutions to the contemporary lifestyle of people, their present interests and values. Especially so now that there are visible problems and conflicts in the relations between the public at large and the cultural institutions, between the level of their development and the contemporary demands. Successful progress towards the solving of the current social problems greatly depends upon the functioning of the cultural institutions, including libraries.

In the Region there are over twelve thousand public libraries, approximately two thousand scientific-technical libraries, over eighty academic libraries (belonging to the Siberian division of the Russian Academy of Science and the Far Eastern Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Science), more than one hundred forty medical libraries, approximately one hundred agricultural libraries and almost one thousand libraries of higher and secondary educational institutions.

The main reason for the initial decision to establish the Centre had been the fact that as a result of economic instability libraries had been placed in an extremely difficult situation. The existing system for the re-training of professional personnel, the main venues of which were and still are situated in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, and thus relatively far from the Siberian-Far Eastern Region, came to be too costly. Local courses for the upgrading of professional qualifications either turn into completely different variants or cannot provide the necessary educational components to the participants, eg. contemporary information-library technology, organizational and legal aspects of library management, etc., due to the lack of professionally qualified teaching staff.

The choice of SPSTL with SB of RAS as a basis for the establishment of the Centre had not been by chance. The body's accumulated experience in organisation had been used as basis for the development of the Centre. From 1966 and functioning under the aegis of SPSTL with SB of RAS is the Union of Scientific and Specialist Libraries of Siberia and the Far East, including libraries from various departments - the Siberian division of the Russian Academy of Science, the Ministry of Culture (regional, provincial, republican), large specialist libraries, libraries and methodical centres of libraries of higher educational institutions of Western and Eastern Siberia and the Far East (scientific libraries of the three oldest and most prominent universities - the Tomsk, Irkutsk and Far Eastern Universities). The development processes in scientific libraries of the Region and the direction of their current activities mainly resulted from inter-library co-operation. At the present still under co-ordination is the formation of funds and depository storage, inter-library subscriptions, information and bibliographical services, carrying out of scientific research and development and upgrading of professional qualifications of library personnel. It must however be noted that in recent years and under the influence of recent social changes as a result of the transition to a free market economy the co-operation between libraries in certain ways has weakened. However, more importance has been allocated to the qualification, training and re-training of library personnel. The current system of training and re-training of the personnel, enacted many years ago and still functioning, (refer to table 1) has always been orientated not only on the personnel of SPSTL with SB of RAS but also on the specialists from scientific libraries and higher educational institutions of the Siberian-Far Eastern Region.

The system of training and re-training of personnel of SPSTL with SB of RAS

Training of specialists possessing a higher education	Chair of the typical disciplines of Kemerov State Academy of Culture and Art (founded in 1989) Faculty of Humanitarian Sciences
Training of specialist post graduates	Post graduate educational institution (founded in 1967)(internal, external) Dissertation Committee K 200.51.01. Specialization: 05.25.03 "Library Science and Bibliography and Bibliology" (pedagogic and historical sciences); 05.25.05 "Information Systems and Processes; Legal Aspects of Information Technology" (technical sciences) (as from 1996)
Re-training of Specialists possessing a higher education	Section of the librarian profession and continuous education of the Union of Scientific and Specialist Libraries of Siberia and the Far East (established in 1966) The Siberian Regional Library Centre of Continuous Education (founded in 1998)

Table 1:

The staff of SPSTL with SB of RAS is capable of training library personnel following various methods. The list of the members of staff consists of five hundred people, including three holding Doctorate degrees (Ph.D.) and twenty three holding Candidate degrees (the first highest degree in Russia), all possessing experience in scientific work and pedagogic activities.

Furthermore, being the largest library in the Asian part of Russia (with funds consisting of fourteen million editions), SPSTL with SB of RAS possesses all the essential resources and capacities for the training and re-training of personnel.

Developed and extensively used here at the library is technology for the preparation of an electronic catalogue (since 1992; already includs more than three thousand inputs), a factual base for data of regional subjects, visual-analytical information, etc. Automated procedures for inter-library subscriptions and international exchange of books. Also installed are facilities for electric data transmissions. The library not only utilizes resources from the Internet but is also a fully empowered member of the net, forwarding on the server its own data base (DB), as also the utilization of protocol Z 39-50. On the basis of which practically all known methods of user informing develop.

An essential component of a data centre is the development of technical material and educational-methodical data. In our case, not mentioning the structure itself and the installed equipment, - this appears in the form an Internet course, opened in 1997 with the assistance of the Soros Fund, an editorial and publishing centre, an educationally-methodical course of library science with a specialized stock of local and foreign literature, bibliography and bibliology and information technology (a stock of sixteen thousand editions). The stock consists of local and foreign books, periodicals and magazines, sequels, authors' synopsis and essays, authors' dissertations, the staff's candidate dissertations and thesis already defended before the Council of SPSTL with SB of RAS, material from conferences and meetings, government standards of "SIBID" systems, non-published material from SPSTL with SB of RAS and the Scientific Research Institute of Information Culture. The stock also includes foreign journals on publishing. Among them are the well-known "British Library News", "College and Research Libraries", College and Research Libraries News, "Information World", "IFLA Journal", "Internet", "Journal Education for Library and Information Science", "The Library Quarterly", "Library Trends", "Research Bulletin", "Managing Information Newsletter", "Journal of Library Administration", etc. An advanced system of cataloguing and card indices and corresponding data base (this data base is a product of the work of the staff of SPSTL with SB of RAS, data base publications [from a listing of various publishing houses] on library science, bibliography and bibliology and information technology).

We are well aware of the fact that the efforts of one library, even of a very large library with great capacity, cannot covert all the educational services demanded. It is necessary to consolidate the efforts of all the institutions concerned and interested in the development of scientific and personnel potential, by the consolidation of their activities. The aims of the Centre are:

• Provision of continuous education, upgrading of the professional qualification levels of library personnel in the Siberian-Far Eastern Region;
• Provision of assistance to libraries, information institutions and organisations of the Region, consisting of additional educational services, educational systematic and scientific research and development;
• Assistance of libraries in the cost reducing schemes for the training of personnel;
• Meeting of demands of library specialists and tutors of library educational institutions in advanced information and in the exchange of local and foreign experience, research and development of the information distributing mechanism of the Siberian-Far Eastern Region, Russia and the whole world;
• Organization of scientific conferences, symposiums and seminars on the library science, bibliography as a science, information technology and bibliology on the territory of the Siberian-Far Eastern Region;
• Participation in the instruction of participants in the various courses and training of the post graduates of SPSTL with SB of RAS with the participation of leading academics of the country in the specific fields, the organisation of the training of specialists in other libraries, the invitation of foreign specialists with the aim of a reciprocal exchange experience and knowledge.

In order to assist in the definition of the main courses of regional policy to be taken in the fields of continuous education and co-ordination of educational, scientific-methodical, information and publishing activities at the Centre a Consulting Committee was formed. The members of the Committee are representatives of scientific libraries of the Siberian Region (Kemerovo Provincial Universal Library, Altay Territorial Scientific Library, National Library of the Republic of Sakha, Central Scientific - Agricultural Library of the Siberian Division the Russian Agricultural Academy, Kemerovo State Academy of Culture and Art). Co-operation between the regional libraries on the organisation of education is regulated by Co-operation Agreements, which at the present time are eleven in number, namely, the Irkutsk, Kemerovo Region, Krasnoyarsk, Altay Region, National Libraries of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Republic of Khakasia, Aginsk Regional Library, Far Eastern State Scientific Library, Scientific Library of the Irkutsk State University, Kemerovo State Academy and Altay State Institute of Art and Culture.

The Centre has developed a package of planning and organisational documentation. This may be assessed on the SPSTL with SB of RAS website where it is regularly updated (http://www.spsl.nsc.ru).

Having taken into consideration from the outset that the Centre's activities are orientated to benefit institutions at a distance a date base was developed and installed onto the Centre's website on the Internet. This is a data base consisting of an information-methodical package of the Centre's activities. This is a factual data base called DB "Lector" which may be assessed by anyone and which includes minutes from and topics of lectures, information on the lecturers, and which enables regional libraries to form their own educational packages depending on their personnel's needs and capacities. At the present time the website includes topics prepared by lecturers of the SPSTL with SB of RAS, SPSTL of Russia, Library of Natural Science of the Russian Academy of Science, Kemerovo and Altay, East-Siberian and Khabarovsk State Institutes and Universities of Art and Culture, all of which provide training for library personnel and specialists. The data base "Ychebnik" includes manuals consisting of material and texts of an educational and methodical context concerning the actual themes of library science and bibliography. At the present time the data base includes five such manuals but by the year 2000 another three are planned to be launched. In this perspective the data base shall be transformed into a system of distant learning. This shall require the development of programmes ensuring a hyper-text system of distant learning with correcting, marking and evaluation material; the establishment and development of users interface access to educational textbooks and other material; the installation of a system on the web-server of SPSTL with SB of RAS and its launch, first on a trial basis, and eventually industrially. The establishment of a system of distant learning will enable: library personnel to upgrade their qualifications without leaving work; to study at their own individual pace under the supervision of experienced consultants; to have access to the latest achievements in the research fields; individually control the quality of their education. The distant learning of library personnel of the country using the already developed system shall be carried out through the web-server of SPSTL with SB of RAS free of charge.

Information available on the data base at the present time is actively being accessed and studied by users. Evidence of this is the number of users connecting on the data base. In seven working months of 1999 the number of users visiting the data base from regional libraries was estimated to be 885 and the number of users was estimated to be 140 (406/94 - of the "Ychebnik" and 479/46 of "Lector") (from Moscow libraries, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, etc.). In January and February 2000 the number of visitors of DB "Ychebnik" was 179 and of DB "Lector" 143. We remain hopeful that these data base shall become nationwide property and contribution into their input and upgrading shall be made by members of the Section of the profession of librarians, library personnel and the process of continuous education under the Russian Librarians Association, libraries, institutes, universities and all specialists, including foreign colleagues interested in the development of an arrangement as thus in the libraries and informational institutions of the Siberian-Far Eastern Region. We shall be grateful to accept any suggestions and/or propositions from them.

Most importantly, however, for the regional libraries co-operting with the Centre is the holding of quest seminars, the ability to conduct which was made possible by the NOO Grant. Such quest courses have already been held at the Kemerov Regional Scientific Library with the topic of the upgrading of qualifications (one in 1999 and three in 2000). A seminar has also been held for the specialists of the Irkutsk library (twice in 1999 and in 2000), at each of which approximately sixty participants attended - mainly from the Irkutsk Regional Scientific Library, Scientific Library of the Irkutsk State University and other academic libraries. Apart from lectures on the problems of the formation of stocks of local and foreign literature, installation of automated technology, and in particular the components of contemporary programming means, ability of electronic data transmission and use of the Internet, practical consultations were also organised. The programme of the organisation of seminars in Iakutsk for the personnel of the libraries of the Republic of Sakha (1999) was carried out in the same way taking into consideration the needs and requests of the receiving party. Therefore, included in the programme besides the difficulties concerning the use of contemporary technology were also topics concerning the organisation of scientific research and development, economic and legal aspects of libraries and the social and psychological aspects of the management of personnel. Practical work concerning the Internet was also organised on the basis of material provided by the Institute of Aerophysics Research and Aeronomics of SB of RAS. The number of participants exceeded one hundred - and mainly consisted of representatives of the libraries of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Sakha, institutes, universities and other academic institutions. Similar seminars have also been organised in Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk in 1999. There also, among the topics discussed, was the problem of formation of stocks. Other topics which have interested participants from the libraries and cultural institutions have included courses on the history of bibliography and library science in Russia (Barnaul, Kemerov, 2000), library economics (Barnaul, 2000), management of library funds ( Barnaul, Kemerov, 2000), etc. Over a period of slightly over one year over ten quest seminars had been organised. The principle feature, from our point of view, is that the topics to be covered are chosen by the libraries themselves, the training of whose personnel we undertake. Furthermore, as a visiting staff of approximately three to four people we have the ability to lecture to a larger auditorium of participants (ranging from fifty to one hundred participants). In addition, each lecturer personally tutors groups of approximately fifteen to twenty participants. Such training is held simultaneously for all the participants in different rooms.

With the help of the Institute "Open Society", and with substantial input from the Western-Siberian Training Centre, operating under the aegis of the Novosibirsk Library Society, in November 1999 a training seminar entitled "Internet in the Library" had been organised, which enabled eighteen trainers from library-informational institutions to be instructed (currently lecturing in their regions). A scientific and practical seminar was held by the organisers of continuous education. The theme of the seminar: "Library Management: Continuous Education under the Conditions of Change" (October 1999), which, we hope, helped discover new approaches in the development of management.

The seminar had been attended by almost one hundred specialists from Kazan, Tcheliabinsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Abakan, Kemerovo, Barnaul, Khabarovsk and other cities of Siberia and the Far East, also attending the seminar had been the director of "The Roudomino School" (Moscow), representatives of the Russian State Library (Moscow), Russian National Library (Saint-Petersburg), Academy of Re-training of Personnel in the fields of Art, Culture and Tourism (Moscow), etc. It must be noted that the educational level of the participants had been of a very high professional standard - among the ninety eight participants there had been two holders of a Doctorate degree (Ph.D.) and twenty five holders of a Candidate degree.

The seminar had been held in the form of sessions divided by themes. Among the factors examined had been the formation of the economic and legal aspects and information culture of the management of libraries; experience in the management of personnel in specific libraries and information institutions with different systems and structures. Included in many of the presented thesis were characteristics of departmental resources and systems of continuous education in national and regional library centres, highlighted was the experience achieved through the co-operation of libraries and educational institutions. With great interest on the participants' behalf a discussion was held on the role played by the funds and public organisations' support in libraries and generally the process of continuous education with the aim of upgrading qualifications, etc, on an international level. Presented during the seminar for the first time had been the activities of the Siberian Regional Library Centre for Continuous Education. Based on the results presented certain recommendations were forwarded, providing for, amongst others, a more active participation by libraries of the Centre's activities.

Beside the conducting of various seminars the Centre also carries out training courses (in 1999 eight training courses were held at the SPSTL with SB of RAS).

In discussing the perspective activities of the Centre the subject of its financing cannot be overlooked. A grant, subsidised by the Soros Fund, has helped at the organisational stage, and it is due to this Fund that the abovementioned series of seminars had been organised, demonstrating to the library society the ability of education which may be provided in the Region. At the present time the libraries at which the seminars are held take onto themselves the travelling expenses of the lecturers, organisation of the auditoriums and the technical expenses of the seminars. Conscious realisation of new opportunities allows discussions concerning the future development of the Centre's activities. It can already be noted that the current hierarchical system of education accommodates a much greater and wider range of specialists of libraries of various forms. Seminars held which had been designed upon the specific request of certain institutions ("ordered seminars") have shown the largest turnout of participants.

It would be useful at this point to remind the reader that the Siberian Regional Library Centre of Continuous Education operates within the structure of an academic library - the SPSTL with SB of RAS, but is involved in the upgrading of qualifications of various specialists and personnel of libraries. These libraries include public libraries of the Ministry of Culture, University libraries and special scientific libraries, all situated on the territory of the Siberian Far Eastern Region but at a substantial distance from the Centre. From our point of view, the organisation of the system of continuous education which includes facilities for the re-training of library personnel from more than one type of libraries is sufficiently effective and efficient. This enables an exchange of views and decisions towards the approaches used for the formation and presentation to the consumers of library and information resources of the region. In co-operation with some of the largest libraries of the country, which are also methodical centres of the aforementioned libraries, situated in Moscow and Sait-Petersburg, the activities of the Centre have the capacity to be become even more productive. A few of the advantages may be worth noting at this point: the organisation of joint quest seminars, the joint publishing of textbooks and other study material, the updating of the data base in conjunction with the Centre, etc. We are of the opinion that in the future the currently operating Siberian Regional Library Centre of Continuous Education should be granted the status of an independent organisation specialising in the re-training of specialists and personnel of various types of libraries in the region. The consolidation of the Centre's activities with those of similar centres in other regions of Russia appears favourable in the solution of problems concerning the continuous education of librarians.

The currently functioning organisational structures may, and should, be used for the development of international co-operation in the field of continuous education. The methods by which these ends may be met take various forms: the participation of foreign specialists in scientific conferences and seminars, their participation as lecturers and trainers at the quest seminars, etc.

The willingness and openness to co-operate is the main principle of Section RLA and of all the other abovementioned centres.