Education and Professional Development Training of Methodologists: Based on the Research Materials

The article is devoted to the results of the research “Personnel of Methodologists of the Central Libraries of the Subjects of the Russian Federation”, conducted by the Center for Research on the Development of Libraries in the Information Society of the Russian State Library in 2017. The article presents the results of one of the aspects of the study related to the problems of education and professional development training of employees of methodical services of the Central Libraries of the Russian Federation. 97,9% employees of the methodical divisions have higher education that demonstrates high educational status of the methodical personnel. At the same time, almost one third of the staff does not have the specialized library training. Non-core education is represented by various disciplines, mainly of humanitarian area. Participants of the research also noted the discrepancy between the education of graduates of library qualification and modern requirements of methodical activities and the great need for continuous professional development training of staff of specialized methodical units. The author studied participation of methodologists in the activities of the professional development system, as well as the topics of these activities. There were almost no training events organized specifically for methodologists, and their participation in the numerous training events was not systematic. The analysis of educational needs of methodologists showed the greatest deficiency of events on legal subjects and organization of methodical activities. The results of the study are important for the subsequent development of the professional training strategy and system of professional development training of the personnel of methodical services.