The Adventure of Guiding Your Own Professional Development in a Developing Country - How and Why I Became a Head of Library with no Previous Library Experience

Abstract

Quality of library services is closely related to user satisfaction and experience, and as one of the basic pillars of service quality is the personnel - their education, training, experience, certification, it is necessary for the institution to employ resources and efforts to maximize their potential. Providing opportunities for professional growth and development to library and information professionals significantly raises the quality and effectiveness of library and information services. In my personal experience, the responsibility of the learner has proved to be the key element for enhancing knowledge and skills in the library field. Being employed at the position of librarian in an academic library just after graduating from university and with no prior professional experience in librarianship, I had to learn about the job from scratch. It had been quite an adventure to navigate my own professional development and try to create, as well as maintain, strong links to the library and information field in global frames. Today, enriched with experience from the Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC Fellowship, the Junior Faculty Development Program, International Librarians Network participation, and from other valuable contacts and experience exchanges, I share my apprehensions with my colleagues, but I never stop addressing my emerging competency gaps and learning new things with zeal. That does not only help me do my job better, but it also adds value to my institution, the society I work in, and to our profession.