Shaping the Future of Education for the Medical Library Association

Abstract

Objective: Inform health sciences information professionals about the newly developed structure for educational programming for the Medical Library Association (MLA) based on MLA’s Professional Competencies.

Methods: MLA appointed the Education Steering Committee and six Education Curriculum Committees to develop education content based on the Association’s revised Professional Competencies. The Competencies provide the framework that define the skills to be gained as a result of educational offerings. The Education Curriculum Committees are charged with: 1. Designing and planning curriculum and educational offerings and resources; 2. Providing direction, expertise, and knowledge to creators and instructors of educational offerings with respect to content and instructional design; 3. Reviewing and assessing offerings to ensure they are high quality and current, meet learning outcomes, and have a succession plan. The work of the Curriculum Committees is shaped by the curriculum priorities document set forth by the Education Steering Committee, beginning with a “Bootcamp” that incorporates foundational offerings across the Competencies.

Results: The Education Curriculum Committees suggest topics and speakers for MLA’s monthly webinars and for Continuing Education courses offered at the Association’s Annual Meetings. In the past year, Education Curriculum Committees have engaged with subject matter experts and with professional instructional designers to create online self-paced courses. A middle management symposium, sponsored by the Leadership & Management Education Curriculum Committee, was offered at the MLA 2019 Annual Meeting. Curriculum Committees are exploring other modes for providing educational content, such as podcasts, journal clubs or discussion groups. Existing courses and webinars are tagged with Professional Competencies in MEDLIB-ED, MLA’s continuing education portal.

Conclusions: MLA’s Professional Competencies provide a meaningful framework for planning and organizing educational offerings. Education Curriculum Committees follow the curriculum priorities to plan their work, but also have flexibility to be innovative in suggesting other possible content and methods to support professional development and education for information professionals.