Multi-sectoral Community of Practice Amongst Librarians

Communities of Practice (CoPs) bring together practitioners who share a common interest and provide a forum for them to improve upon their practice. The City Librarians Community of Practice was formed in late 2019 to fulfil a professional development need among librarians across the city. Librarians from across sectors were invited to join in this multi-sectoral CoP with the intent of it being an opportunity for networking, collaboration, and sharing of best practices. Multi-sectoral communities of practice are not common in the literature, with most CoPs focusing on a narrow subject area of interest or being hosted by a single institution. This study reports on the results of a survey of City librarians, including those who became members of the CoP and those who opted not to join. The survey was intended to garner anonymous feedback on the CoP, to determine its benefits, and to identify potential areas for growth and improvement. While the CoP did not directly impact practice of its members, there have been perceived indirect impacts, including the sharing of information, hearing about librarianship issues from other perspectives, and affective, social elements. Many members preferred an informal, flexible approach over a more rigid, academic slant towards meetings. Regular communication and check-ins with members and potential members is another identified way of handling the natural attrition that comes with CoPs and to continue to keep the CoP relevant and engaging for the librarians of City.