The Kirkpatrick Model

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Introduction Libraries being proactive in the latest trends and practices is multifaceted and requires many different approaches to achieve. This paper will examine different management models that have proven effective for libraries, looking at the past for guidance, trends in libraries, continuing education in library professionals, and a plan of action for libraries.
Management Models There are several different types of management and assessment models libraries have adopted throughout the years. The Kirkpatrick Model, the Kirkpatrick Plus Model, and Goal Setting will be explored as management models in today’s libraries.
Kirkpatrick Model
The Kirkpatrick Model is one way of assessing the effectiveness of Continuing Education Programs …show more content…

Impact to society is important to measure because libraries are a public service and CEPs often train librarians, and this should affect the public in some way. Watkins, et al., go on to explain that in the Kirkpatrick model, the questions for assessment are developed at the end of the Program, but in the Kirkpatrick plus model, the questions are developed prior to the program’s start or during the program (1998). It is easy to skew results if the questions that assess the value of a program are compiled after the program is complete. According to Watkins, et al., the Kirkpatrick model has resulted in adequate evaluation in the past, but the new, added societal value element will allow for the best evaluation of CEPs in the modern age (1998). Creating end goals that drive the assessment of CEPs will allow librarians to act in a manner that is proactive instead of …show more content…

The Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick Plus models were explored as methods of evaluating the efficacy of CEPs. Goal setting was briefly described as an important component of planning and staying proactive in library operation. The past provides a key to understanding the way the future will head, and this was explained earlier in the paper. Open Access, interoperability, digital movement and the 24- hour library were explained as current trends in the information world. The importance of CEPs and a cohesive plan of action are the last two things discussed in the

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