Creating a Sustainable Professional Development Program

Abstract Professional development is key for academic librarians who must meet institutional and professional expectations in scholarship and research activities. Graduate programs in library and information science offer students limited preparation for scholarly work. Internal professional development programs attempt to fill that void with workshops, writing groups, and other activities. Many case studies in the library and information science literature describe new programs and their plans for sustainability, but few report on long-lived programs and the reasons for their continued success. In this study, we describe a professional development program for academic librarians at a large research university that has been operating continuously for eight years. Multiple components of the program and their related practices and procedures contribute to its longevity and continuing relevance for librarians.