Bridging the gap – Involving new professionals in the international development of our profession in the digital world

Abstract

A high proportion of senior library professionals will retire in the near future. In addition, due to better career possibilities outside libraries, it is getting harder to recruit young people. Consequently, it will become a great challenge to find active professionals and leaders to develop our profession, and to sustain the foundation for national and international organisations. This workshop aims to encourage LIS new professionals to take active part in the development of our profession. It will discuss professional development challenges faced by individuals in various countries as they enter the profession as well as suggestions how to rise to these challenges and to solve problems. At first, the workshop participants will be introduced to IFLA, its digital activities and current initiatives for and by new professionals such as the New Professionals Special Interest Group (NPSIG). Afterwards, the audience will split up in several working groups that will brainstorm on the following topics: Suppor t on a national level Are there groups for new professionals in your country? What does your national organisation(s) do to support new professionals (scholarships, discounts, awards, special conferences and so on) and are you satisfied with this support? How can this support be improved? Recrui tment on an international level How can new professionals become more motivated and involved in professional activities? What are the challenges for new information professionals and what can be done to meet them? What should be the main goals and activities of IFLA / NPSIG? Web-based component / digital platform What would new professionals like to do in the digital area of the international IFLA network? Which kind of web-based component would be useful to help new professionals getting more involved in the IFLA community? The final result will be a recommendation on how to have more students being active in the international library world. The results will be used as basis for re-defining the mission and objectives of the NPSIG. The outcomes will also help to improve the work of the NPSIG. Hopefully by suggesting new activities and by coming up with information about new professionals groups in various countries workshop findings can be published on the NPSIG’s website.