Editorial: The International Dimension
What do we mean by career development?
It's an interesting question. For some
employers it means attending a few courses now and again, usually
either corporate or directly related to one's day-to-day work. But
there should be much more to career development than this. It's
important that as professionals we take control of our own career
development and have a clear view of the implications of wider
professional issues in our own organisations. In this issue we have
articles on managing oneself professionally and on what to think
about when contemplating a new direction in one’s career. Both these
show how you can take ownership of your own professional
development. We also include an article focusing on the training
role of librarians, which many of us are now required to carry out.
One aspect of career development often
overlooked is what you could call the international dimension. I've
been asked to write this editorial as the Honorary International
Relations Officer for the Career Development Group. The group's
international work is varied, supporting a mobile library project in
the Maldives and a VSO volunteer librarian in Zambia for example.
The article by Edwina Wontner shows
how taking the opportunity of working overseas (in her case,
in Canada) can broaden one's horizons and develop new and
often highly desirable skills. Interestingly she suggests
that integrating into a different culture was perhaps the
most significant of her experiences. Opportunities to work
overseas can, of course, be somewhat limited by family or
financial considerations. So the IFLA Conference being held
in Glasgow in August offered a wonderful chance for UK librarians
and information professionals to engage with overseas colleagues
from more than 100 countries. We have articles by two delegates
and by one of the army of local volunteers, which in their
different ways demonstrate what can be gained by attendance
at such a prestigious event.
Despite the dominance of more senior
staff at these sort of conferences, it nevertheless allows more
recently qualified professionals (and aspiring senior staff!) to
develop their skills and contacts. Apparently “networking skills”
are now an essential part of our portfolio of competencies.
Librarians and information professionals often confront the same
issues and concerns worldwide and in an increasingly networked and
interdependent world, it has never been so important to be aware of
the international perspective. Internet filtering, copyright, data
protection, freedom of information, e-governance are just a few of
the topics of current interest which have a global resonance.
So, although it may be difficult to
justify attendance at IFLA as work-related training, it can be
rewarding for one’s own professional development. And, if my own
experience is anything to go by, the ability to evaluate receptions
by such criteria as quality of wine, amount of food and provision of
entertainment is sure to become highly developed!
Philip
Booton | 
