Continuing professional development opportunities in information and communication technology for academic librarians at the Durban University of Technology

Abstract

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a vital tool for maintaining the skills and expertise of staff, especially with regard to the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). There is little information available about the involvement of librarians in South Africa with CPD: this study focused on academic librarians at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Library, seeking their attitudes towards CPD and its provision. It employed a qualitative approach in its research design. Questionnaires were utilised to collect information from twenty-five academic librarians. Follow-up interviews were conducted with five respondents. The overall study indicated that, although the respondents were aware of the importance of CPD and the impact of ICT on library resources and services, not all of them kept abreast of CPD activities within their field. The respondents believed that the institutions and the professional body, the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA), should work together to encourage and promote CPD activities. By encouraging CPD activities within the Library and Information Science (LIS) sector, the quality of librarianship and service delivery within the LIS would improve. Half of the respondents agreed about the importance of CPD becoming compulsory within the LIS profession and 55% of respondents considered that LIASA had a potentially important role to play in promoting CPD. However, in separate interviews, several respondents expressed doubt about the capacity of LIASA to fulfil this role.