The Continuing Professional Development of Librarians in Public University Libraries in Uganda

A survey

Abstract

The paper reports baseline data on the current state of continuing professional development (CPD) in public university libraries in Uganda. The study seeks to determine the types of CPD activities, provision of CPD, reasons for pursuing CPD and challenges. A social survey method of research was adopted and an online questionnaire was used to collect data from librarians working in five public university libraries in Uganda. The survey results show that librarians participate in different CPD activities to develop professionally. Workshops, conferences and seminars are the common types of CPD. Majority of librarians pursue CPD in order to improve their knowledge and skills. However, inadequate funding, lack of awareness of the available CPD opportunities, time constraint and inadequate support from library management participation hinder librarians’ participation in CPD activities. The results have implications for the future development of information professionals in academic libraries in Uganda. The data reported in this paper are quantitative; yet some findings raise questions that require further qualitative research in a follow-up phase to this report.