Planning Your Personal Development

Abstract

Professionals today are faced with an ever-changing environment that includes new information, new technology, and even new types of patrons on a daily basis. To maintain skills after completing a professional degree means creating and following a personal development plan. This paper outlines some of the self-learning opportunities available to librarians beginning with the more traditional and moving into newer methods including those that can be used by librarians working in isolation. In addition suggestions are provided for those who wish to teach others how to create their personal learning networks. Covering these topics in depth is impossible in a conference paper so an appended bibliography offers suggestions for those interested in more detailed information. Although the paper is written from a US perspective many of the resources mentioned are available online, via library databases, and through interlibrary loan.