Describing the Elephant: What Is Continuing Professional Education?

Overview & Synopsis

This paper places continuing professional education (CPE) within the context of the whole of education for librarianship. Using the fable of the blind men and the elephant as an analogy, the discussion explores the who, what, when, where, why, and how of CPE and its relationship to the range of educational possibilities, including: (1) the importance of CPE for every information worker; (2) definitions of the components of CPE, i.e., "continuing,""professional,""education," and "continuing education"; (3) dividing education into its phases, i.e., preschool, K-12, university/college, preservice, CPE, and continuing personal education; (4) the venue for CPE, including formal courses, workshops and seminars, conferences, tutorials, independent study and reading, and teaching, presentations, and publishing; (5) issues of responsibility and quality in regard to participants, funders, providers, and quality assurance; and (6) the issue of competence. (MES)