Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities identified were reading, current awareness, networking, e-mail lists, seminars, and mentorship. Of course the reading, networking, attendance at seminars and subscribing to e-mail lists that Wilma was involved in with a view to service development also contributed to her CPD. She had been included in the library's current awareness circulations when she began working on the reference desk and continued to receive same.

Despite time constraints within the work and because of family commitments, Sandra tried to keep up with reading in areas of interest (training and staff development) in the circulated journals. She did not subscribe to e-mail lists but had two colleagues who forwarded interesting postings to her. Sandra believed in taking every opportunity to attend workshops and seminars and to provide feedback about same to the Library and to relate what she learnt as much as possible to her practice; for example after attending the conference on library competency standards she decided that they could be incorporated into the position descriptions. Sandra also considered the Divisional Head's mentorship as an important part of her CPD.

John admitted to not reading widely and not being on any e-mail lists. Reading was certainly not his preferred development activity although he thought that he would keep on the library's circulation list for those serials with a human resource management focus. He knew that he would not have time to deal with the postings from e-mail lists. John was interested in attending workshops and seminars on human resource management and tried to attend two a year

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