Management education and training for librarians: Luxury, fad or necessity?

Klobas, J.E.ORCID: 0000-0003-2146-7059 (1990) Management education and training for librarians: Luxury, fad or necessity? In: 1st Biennial Conference. Australian Library and Information Association, 30 Sept - 5 Oct 1990, Perth, Western Australia

Abstract

Management concepts of contingency and career lifecycle are used to develop a contingency theory of management education and training for librarians, and to answer the question posed in the title of this paper. Two major professional lifecycles are identified for professionally qualified librarians who occupy positions that require professional qualifications in librarianship: a Professional Librarian's Lifecycle, and a Library Manager's Lifecycle. An estimated 70 percent of Australian librarians' careers follow the Professional Librarian's Lifecycle, which emphasises the professional practice of librarianship. An estimated 30 percent of Australian librarians' careers follow the Library Manager's Lifecycle. It is concluded that all librarians can benefit from management education although only those who will be practising managers need formal management education beyond that provided in library school. All librarians need management training, but the nature of that training (personal organisation skills, supervisory skills, or management skills) will differ at different stages in each librarian's professional lifecycle. The current emphasis on post-qualification management education and training for librarians in place of further professional education and training may be misplaced, and individual librarians should be encouraged to undertake the education and training that is appropriate to their career aspirations, aptitude, and professional lifecycle.

Item Type:	Conference Paper
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/23444

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