Keeping the roses watered: the continuing professional development of librarians in New Zealand

Continuing professional development is a necessary aspect of keeping up to date in a rapidly changing profession. Librarians are no more immune to evolutions in technology and innovation, service provision and customer expectations than any other professional group. This paper explores the current New Zealand setting and context of CPD for librarians, and discusses the outcomes of a CPD Needs Assessment conducted in 2005 for this sector of the information society. Findings include the key topics, delivery methods, and other factors seen as important by librarians and their managers. Differences between types of libraries, and between librarians’ and their managers’ views, are noted.