Abstract:
Global changes in the cataloguing environment, training needs of cataloguers, the
professional profile of cataloguers, and concerns about the future of the cataloguing
profession have been widely noted over many years. Document types are published in a
variety of formats, and are accordingly recorded in metadata formats other than conventional
MARC. Expanded cataloguing theory to include the digital environment has required
cataloguers to adjust to new job content. This necessitated training of qualified newcomers
and non-qualified individuals in cataloguing practice. Life-long learning and mastering new
skills are inescapable. These circumstances also apply in South Africa. This article reports
on a mixed methods study about the continuing education needs and learning patterns of
contemporary cataloguers in South Africa. The purpose of the study was to meet continuing
cataloguing education needs by designing a self-directed framework for this purpose. Data
were collected between April and May 2015 by means of an electronic semi-structured selfadministered
questionnaire and focus group interviews. Members listed on two professional,
electronic distribution lists – LIASA-IGBIS and SabiCat – were invited to participate. Fiftynine
useful questionnaires were returned, and three focus group interviews were conducted
with 17 participants overall. A self-directed learning framework was designed based on
findings from the literature review and empirical study. The framework was influenced by
models on professional practice, the spheres where continuing education originate, the work of Knowles (1975) and Brockett and Hiemstra (2012) on self-directed learning theory, and
the personality trait of self-directedness as understood and constructed by Oddi (1984),
another self-directed learning theorist.
