Adapting Self-directed Online Professional Development For Nebraska Public Librarians

Authors

Holli Duggan, University of Nebraska–LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Edmund Hamann

Date of this Version

8-2018

Document Type

Article

Comments

DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Education, Major: Educational Studies, Under the Supervision of Professor Edmund Hamann. Lincoln, Nebraska: August, 2018

Copyright © 2018 Holli Kay Duggan

Abstract

From Ainsworth to Yutan, from library systems with twelve branches (i.e., Omaha) with a legal service area population of 537,709 to single libraries serving a population of less than 1,000 (which describes 60% of all public libraries in Nebraska), the Nebraska Library Commission serves very different constituencies all with different needs and different resources. Given that diversity of librarianship, as a “Problem of Practice” (Carnegie Program for the Education Doctorate, 2014) I needed to learn how to optimize the continuing education opportunities offered by the Nebraska Library Commission to this diverse constituency. This included attending to the learning needs of public librarians who were enrolled in the Nebraska Public Librarian certification program and, more specifically, the online Basic Skills classes.

My problem of practice centers around questions of optimizing continuing education opportunities and tools for public librarians who then are better equipped to continue providing quality and equitable services to their communities. Working with instructors, who are made up of Nebraska Library Commission staff members and Regional Library System Directors, as well as with the students who are enrolled in the Basic Skills classes provides the opportunity for collaboration and partnerships to apply scholarly inquiry directly to practice in order to improve continuing library education in the state. This dissertation seeks to illustrate the connections between my specific problem of practice, the development and evolution of a meaningful solution while exploring future directions as new questions of practice arose, and my role as a practitioner, educator, and scholar of CPED.

This dissertation includes discussion of the first self-paced cataloging module and writing about the design process. This design process included critically reviewing previous Basic Skills courses, several redesigns of the Organization of Materials course, as well as the development of an online practice course for the Moodle learning management system. Finally, this study includes the self-paced Organization of Materials module and evaluation of this first iteration followed by discussion of next steps or how this program will progress as this study continues to evolve past this dissertation.

Advisor: Edmund Hamann