Professional Development Needs of Science and Technology Librarians: Results of the 2012 SLA/PAM Professional Development Committee Survey

Abstract

This article reports and analyzes the survey results on the continuing education needs of librarians with current job responsibilities in the science, technology, and engineering subject fields. The intended purpose of the survey results is to assist conference coordinators in the development of a continuing education program at future Special Libraries Association (SLA) conferences. This survey is a follow-up on the early studies conducted by committee members of various library associations and provides a perspective on the continuing education needs for science and technology librarians in the 21st century. Upon analysis, the authors learned that online tutorials and webinars, as well as face-to-face workshops at conferences, are the best preferred approaches for professional development. In addition, the analysis of the survey responses provided topics of interest for the continuing education opportunities.