• 2014-01-06

In this age of endless technological and information change, library and information service specialists must continually improve their professional know-how in order to keep up with the times and with increasingly diverse reader needs. In light of this, and in an attempt to increase the professional acumen and service capabilities of librarians, National Central Library developed courses on “Promoting Reading in the Digital Age”, “Libraries and Youth Services”, “Using Statistics to Improve Library Services”, “The Digital Learning Train”, and “Improving Organizational Management Quality Standards” in 2013. These courses addressed different professional development needs and job duties of librarians serving in public, high school, vocational school, and university libraries. 

Courses were held all over the island—in northern, central, southern, and eastern Taiwan—through the joint help of public and university libraries. The courses broke with the traditional lecture approach, and used talks, discussions, group research, application, and objective-oriented learning, depending on the nature of the topic. Participants were thus able to acquire new knowledge, explore issues, and learn problem-resolving skills. In total, 17 sessions were held, with over 1,000 librarians attending.

Also, in light of the fact that professional certification for libraries has been in use for some time in other countries, and that no such certification system exists yet in Taiwan, in 2013 NCL began to formulate professional standards for public librarians to improve the professional image of librarians. The result is a report entitled “Initial Draft of Professional Knowledge Standards for Public Library Workers in Taiwan”.