Abstract: This study was undertaken to better understand the range of learning
practices that academic librarians use throughout their careers, and to
explore the ways library schools give students the opportunities to engage
in learning methods that they are likely to use in their careers as
librarians. The study uses semi-structured interviews with academic
librarians to explore their experiences of learning in library school, as
new librarians, and later as they advanced through their careers. The study
found that learning is an ongoing and essential aspect of librarianship, and
that it is generally self-directed, informal, highly dependent on social
interactions with peers, and embedded in practice. Participants in the study
reported that most of what they needed to know was learned once they started
working as librarians, and that their library school experience did little
to prepare them for these ways of learning. The study also found that the
conceptual model of communities of practice provides a useful perspective
for understanding the learning of librarians and for designing a library
school experience that is more effective at preparing students for their
future careers as librarians. Implications for library school curriculum and
course design are discussed.
Keywords: Professional education, continuing professional development, informal learning, non-formal learning, communities of practice, peer-to-peer networks, academic librarians
