Medical Library Association | Education : Self-Directed Learning Program

Self-Directed Learning Program

Introduction

The concept of self-directed learning depends on the initiative of the individual health sciences librarian. It is in keeping with Platform for Change, MLA's educational policy statement, which asserts:

"Lifelong learning must be a cornerstone of every individual's professional development plan. Graduate programs of library and information science education, MLA and its chapters and sections, NLM, employers, commercial vendors and publishers, and other professional associations are all potential providers of educational opportunities, yet the ultimate responsibility for lifelong learning and professional development rests with the individual."

and again,

"Individuals must assume personal responsibility for aggressively seeking lifelong education and professional development opportunities from a variety of sources." ---Platform for Change

Starting a self-directed learning project:

allows librarians to design courses of study of immediate use and interest to them;
allows projects that can be accomplished within time frames convenient to the learner;
allows librarians who cannot travel to MLA or chapter meetings to participate in lifelong learning projects and gain credit toward the Academy of Health Information Professionals;
provides links between learners and experts in various fields; and
informs MLA of topics of interest to librarians around the country.

The key components of the independent learning project are:

the librarian/learner,
the mentor,
the learning contract, and
MLA.

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