Central Massachusetts Regional Library System was a multitype library system serving 244 academic , public , school and special libraries in 72 central Massachusetts communities. It was one of six Massachusetts Regional Library Systems. Collectively, CMRLS libraries serve 924,491 people who live, work or study in Central Massachusetts . Founded in 1963, the library system began as a unit within the City of Worcester, Massachusetts municipal government and served public libraries exclusively. In 1997 it became a multitype, independent non-profit organization working with all types of libraries. Nearly all services were provided free of charge, with major funding through a contract with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners . Due to the collapse of state funding, it was merged along with four other Massachusetts Regional Library Systems into the Massachusetts Library System on July 1, 2010.
19-484: The Central Massachusetts Regional Library System promoted and supported resource sharing, professional development , collaboration, and innovation among all types of libraries in Central Massachusetts. Its services strengthened member libraries and staff, creating a collaborative network that is essential to a high quality and accessible continuum of library services for those who live, work, or study in
38-410: A framework for, and a limited solution to the problem of controlling the rotational speed of a physical plant. Maxwell's solution echoed James Watt 's (1784) centrifugal moderator (denoted as element Q ) for maintaining (but not enforcing) the constant speed of a physical plant (that is, Q represents a moderator, but not a governor, by Maxwell's definition). Maxwell's approach, which linearized
57-1166: A sense of moral obligation, to maintain and improve professional competence, to enhance career progression, to keep abreast of new technology and practices, or to comply with professional regulatory requirements. In the training of school staff in the United States, "[t]he need for professional development ... came to the forefront in the 1960s". Many American states have professional development requirements for school teachers. For example, Arkansas teachers must complete 60 hours of documented professional development activities annually. Professional development credits are named differently from state to state. For example, teachers in Indiana are required to earn 90 Continuing Renewal Units (CRUs) per year; in Massachusetts, teachers need 150 Professional Development Points (PDPs); and in Georgia, teachers must earn 10 Professional Learning Units (PLUs). American and Canadian nurses, as well as those in
76-582: A single workshop to a semester-long academic course, to services offered by a medley of different professional development providers and varying widely with respect to the philosophy, content, and format of the learning experiences. Some examples of approaches to professional development include: The World Bank 's 2019 World Development Report on the future of work argues that professional development opportunities for those both in and out of work, such as flexible learning opportunities at universities and adult learning programs, enable labor markets to adjust to
95-457: Is a physical system ). Newton's approach, using dynamical systems continues to this day. In brief, Newton's equations (a system of equations ) have methods for their solution . By 1824 the Carnot cycle presented an engineering challenge, which was how to maintain the operating temperatures of the hot and cold working fluids of the physical plant . In 1868 James Clerk Maxwell presented
114-557: Is a variety of approaches to professional development or professional education, including consultation, coaching, communities of practice , lesson study, case study , capstone project , mentoring, reflective supervision and technical assistance. A wide variety of people, such as teachers, military officers and non-commissioned officers, health care professionals, architects, lawyers, accountants and engineers engage in professional development. Individuals may participate in professional development because of an interest in lifelong learning,
133-480: Is a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts. It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective action in complex contexts, enabling systems change . Systems thinking draws on and contributes to systems theory and the system sciences . The term system is polysemic : Robert Hooke (1674) used it in multiple senses, in his System of
152-760: The International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM) or the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), and medical and legal professionals, who are subject to continuing medical education or continuing legal education requirements, which vary by jurisdiction. CPD authorities in the United Kingdom include the CPD Standards Office who work in partnership with the CPD Institute, and also
171-545: The transferable skills and theoretical academic knowledge found in traditional liberal arts and pure sciences education. It is used to earn or maintain professional credentials such as professional certifications or academic degrees through formal coursework at institutions known as professional schools, or attending conferences and informal learning opportunities to strengthen or gain new skills. Professional education has been described as intensive and collaborative, ideally incorporating an evaluative stage. There
190-540: The unification algorithm , type inference , and so forth. ...What is a system? A system is a set of things ... interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time. ... But the system’s response to these forces is characteristic of itself, and that response is seldom simple in the real world [a system] is "an integrated whole even though composed of diverse, interacting, specialized structures and subjunctions" Living systems are resilient , and are far from equilibrium . Homeostasis
209-1999: The CPD Certification Service. For example, CPD by the Institute of Highway Engineers is approved by the CPD Standards Office, and CPD by the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation is approved by the CPD Certification Service. A systematic review published in 2019 by the Campbell Collaboration found little evidence of the effectiveness of continuing professional development (CPD). Systems thinking Collective intelligence Collective action Self-organized criticality Herd mentality Phase transition Agent-based modelling Synchronization Ant colony optimization Particle swarm optimization Swarm behaviour Social network analysis Small-world networks Centrality Motifs Graph theory Scaling Robustness Systems biology Dynamic networks Evolutionary computation Genetic algorithms Genetic programming Artificial life Machine learning Evolutionary developmental biology Artificial intelligence Evolutionary robotics Reaction–diffusion systems Partial differential equations Dissipative structures Percolation Cellular automata Spatial ecology Self-replication Conversation theory Entropy Feedback Goal-oriented Homeostasis Information theory Operationalization Second-order cybernetics Self-reference System dynamics Systems science Systems thinking Sensemaking Variety Ordinary differential equations Phase space Attractors Population dynamics Chaos Multistability Bifurcation Rational choice theory Bounded rationality Systems thinking
SECTION 10
#1732798210632228-507: The United Kingdom, have to participate in formal and informal professional development (earning credit based on attendance of education that has been accredited by a regulatory agency) in order to maintain professional registration. In a broad sense, professional development may include formal types of vocational education, typically post-secondary or poly-technical training leading to qualification or credential required to obtain or retain employment. Professional development may also come in
247-628: The World, but also in the sense of the Ptolemaic system versus the Copernican system of the relation of the planets to the fixed stars which are cataloged in Hipparchus ' and Ptolemy's Star catalog . Hooke's claim was answered in magisterial detail by Newton's (1687) Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica , Book three, The System of the World (that is, the system of the world
266-580: The award of professional status are the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications , the Institution of Structural Engineers , and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health . Continuing professional development (CPD) or continuing professional education (CPE) is continuing education to maintain knowledge and skills. Most professions have CPD obligations. Examples are the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors , American Academy of Financial Management , safety professionals with
285-467: The equations of motion of the system, produced a tractable method of solution. Norbert Wiener identified this approach as an influence on his studies of cybernetics during World War II and Wiener even proposed treating some subsystems under investigation as black boxes . Methods for solutions of the systems of equations then become the subject of study, as in feedback control systems , in stability theory , in constraint satisfaction problems ,
304-583: The form of pre-service or in-service professional development programs. These programs may be formal, or informal, group or individualized. Individuals may pursue professional development independently, or programs may be offered by human resource departments. Professional development on the job may develop or enhance process skills, sometimes referred to as leadership skills, as well as task skills. Some examples for process skills are 'effectiveness skills', 'team functioning skills', and ' systems thinking skills'. Professional development opportunities can range from
323-402: The future of work. Initial professional development (IPD) is defined as "a period of development during which an individual acquires a level of competence necessary in order to operate as an autonomous professional". Professional associations may recognise the successful completion of IPD by the award of chartered or similar status. Examples of professional bodies that require IPD prior to
342-589: The library system also ran a temporary staffing service called BiblioTemps, which was suspended in May 2010 and restored by its successor, the Massachusetts Library System, in 2012. Professional development Professional development , also known as professional education , is learning that leads to or emphasizes education in a specific professional career field or builds practical job applicable skills emphasizing praxis in addition to
361-634: The region. Public libraries typically receive less than 2% of municipal funding. Academic libraries fare better, but school libraries much worse. The Central Massachusetts Regional Library System helped libraries to use their resources more effectively and serve their clientele better than they could alone. Its vision was to "create synergy among libraries to enrich the quality of life in Central Massachusetts." Its capacity building and system development activities were grouped into three categories: resource sharing and collection support; reference services and support; staff and program development. In addition,
#631368