creating communities of practice: a new culture of professional development

creating communities of practiceA new culture of professional development

Amanda BinderUniversity of North Carolina Charlotte

+

Lareese HallMassachusetts Institute of Technology

entrelib

october 2014

wake forest university

who are we?

Amanda

Lareese

this is an experiment.

what is professional development?

how do we define it for ourselves,

our libraries,

and the library profession?

“The phrase “professional development” is used liberally by

librarians. It’s used so liberally and in so many different

contexts that I’m not really sure just what it is anymore.”

Cheryl LaGuardia, Library Journal

UNC Charlotte (UNCC)1

1000 acre wooded campus. 75 buildings. 8 miles from uptown Charlotte.

● 7 Colleges

Arts + Architecture, Business, Computing and Informatics, Education, Engineering, Health

and Human Services, and Liberal Arts & Sciences

● Programs

80 Bachelor's degree programs

64 Master's degree programs

21 Doctoral degree programs

● Total enrollment Approximately 27,320

UNCC Atkins LibraryMission

The J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina Charlotte

advances intellectual discovery by connecting people with knowledge.

● Library faculty 31

● Library staff 48

● Library Departments 7

● Library Committees 4

o Committee on Appointment, Reappointment, and Promotion (CARP)

o Library Review Committee

o Departmental Review Committee

o Professional Activities Committee (PAC)

“The Professional Activities Committee (PAC) shall

promote the continuing education and professional growth

of the Library Faculty. The Committee shall develop

appropriate courses, workshops and lectures… It shall also

cooperate with faculty and administrative bodies concerned

with university staff development.”

library research committees

academic writing group

peer mentoring group

professional advancement group

research work group

tenure support group

communities of practice

researching funding group

A community of practice (CoP) is… a group of people who share a craft

and/or a profession….It is through the process of sharing information and

experiences with the group that the members learn from each other, and

have an opportunity to develop themselves personally and professionally

(Lave & Wenger 1991).

Wikipedia, “Community of Practice”

We love wikipedia.

PAC Communities of Practice

(CoP)

presentations

professional writing

grant writing

benefits

challenges

the business of librarianship

individual

institutional

professional

the past + the present

the future

thank you.

questions?

bibliography

slides

Amanda Binder - abinder3@uncc.edu

Lareese Hall - lareese@mit.edu