The facts of continuing professional development for LIS professionals in Pakistan: a literature review

Abstract

PurposeContinuous professional development is an essential in-service and on-going learning process that provides an opportunity to young and mid-career professionals to update and align their skills in connection with the contemporary needs of library users. This study aims to identify and synthesize the literature on continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for Pakistani librarians and information professionals.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on descriptive literature review published by Pakistani researchers with specific reference to Pakistani librarians and information professionals.FindingsThe findings revealed that albeit many initiatives have been taken by library and information science (LIS) schools and professional associations for developing the capabilities of librarians and information professionals, however, these initiatives remained spasmodic and limited to developing surface-level skills. Some emerging areas need to be addressed including information/digital literacy, research data management, data analysis and visualization and the skills to establish institutional repositories.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited to CPD literature contributed by Pakistani researchers and the efforts taken by LIS schools and professional associations.Originality/valueThere is an immediate need to initiate a cohesive approach involving key stakeholders and to establish a platform purely working for CPD of librarians and information professionals focusing on current and future needs. The finding will be helpful for drawing foundation guidelines by library associations, LIS schools and librarian’s parent’s organizations regarding CPD opportunities.