What makes a good Professional Development Library

[BradM]

I was just assigned to be the PD officer for my squadron. We didnt have a recent one and there is no library in our meeting place. So what materials would make up a well stocked in house PD library?

Thank you!
SM Brad Melillo

[arajca]

A good starting point is the "Read to Lead" list on the CAP PD website.

[Eclipse]

This link http://www.capmembers.com/forms_publications__regulations/, and the corporate notebook, is all you need.

[AdAstra]

Refer to CAPR 50-17, para 2-2:
Member Professional Development Program. This library should be kept current and maintained separately from the administrative files. Contents should include professional development-oriented material. As a minimum, it should contain CAPR 50-17; CAPR 35-5, CAP Officer and Noncommissioned Officer Appointments and Promotions; CAPR 39-3, Award of CAP Medals, Ribbons, and Certificates; and CAPR 50-4, Test Administration and Security; all senior member specialty track study guides; and the new senior member binder. The senior member binder is sent to all new senior members and is available for purchase by units through Vanguard. It includes a cloth, zippered three-ring binder; welcome letter from the CAP National Commander; Civil Air Patrol Vision and Mission Pledge card; CAP Enduring Competencies card; uniform wear mini-posters; CAP grade (rank) mini-posters; the Civil Air Patrol Ethics policy; the CAP Great Start booklet for adults; CAP member static sticker. In addition, each wing should have the current Air Force Distance Learning (AU A4/6) Catalog (available only on the Internet at www.au.af.mil/au/afiadl). Other helpful materials include Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) publications pertaining to CAP and training materials from the American Red Cross, Federal Communications Commission, FEMA, and the USAF.

It's great to simplify the "library" down to a link to the Publications page, but it's most useful to have hard copies of frequently-used publications on hand, especially for new members.

My ProDev library also includes:
     > CAP Foundations Course material
     > Summary Conversation Guide - remember that this contains test answers for the six CAP Foundations quizzes and the CPPT quiz, and must be locked up per CAPR 50-4
     > Great Start Handbook
     > CAPP 50-2, Core Values
     > CAPP 50-7, Mentoring Guide
     > CAPP 151, Respect on Display
     > Cadet Drill Guide
     > OpSEC course
     > Introduction to Safety Course
     > CPPT material
     > Equal Opportunity Course
     > ORM course material
     > CAP Officer Basic Course material
     > Squadron Leadership School material
     > Corporate Learning Course material
     > Unit Commanders Course material
     > Air University Press catalog
     > AU-2, Guidelines for Command
     > AU 24, Concepts for Air Force Leadership
     > Commanding an Air Force Squadron in the 21st Century, Smith
     > Sharing Success - Owning Failure, Goldfein
     > Heirpower! Eight Habits of Exceptionally Powerful Lieutenants, Vasquez

[BradM]

Thank you everyone

Thank you Lt. Col Wiest!

Happy new years to all!

[IceNine]

The World Wide Web seems to work well for me.

[Thrashed]

That was my thought. A computer with internet connect is all you need. A printer would be the gravy on top.

[Eclipse]

NHQ now packages the entire library(s) into 1 .zip file of .pdf's.

The whole thing is about 20 Mb - most phones have 100 times that, or your favorite Hello Kitty Flash Drive for those w/o internet access.


The advantage of not maintaining a local library is a quick answer to several SUI questions, whereas having hardcopies needlessly opens the PDO to unnecessary findings.

[Camas]

The advantage of not maintaining a local library is a quick answer to several SUI questions, whereas having hard copies needlessly opens the PDO to unnecessary findings.

Having hard copies is a plus. Not having them opens a PDO to findings. Telling a member of the IG team you don't have hard copies will earn you a find. No questions! No discussion!

[Eclipse]

The advantage of not maintaining a local library is a quick answer to several SUI questions, whereas having hard copies needlessly opens the PDO to unnecessary findings.

Having hard copies is a plus. Not having them opens a PDO to findings. Telling a member of the IG team you don't have hard copies will earn you a find. No questions! No discussion!

100% incorrect.

[SarDragon]

During  every SUI I've done as a Admin Officer, I have shown an inspector a CD with the current download of publications, and that has been sufficient to satisfy the requirement.

[Eclipse]

During  every SUI I've done as a Admin Officer, I have shown an inspector a CD with the current download of publications, and that has been sufficient to satisfy the requirement.

Correct - or simply answering "we access all of the regulations online" is also sufficient.

There is no requirement to even have an admin officer or professional development officer, so, with the exception of a few points, anything noted under those functions would be an observation at best.

Findings are only for items required by regulation, anything else is done at the pleasure of the commander or because of command directive from higher HQ, and even with that - if the Group CC directed each unit to have a hardcopy PD library, he could replace you as commander for not having it (i.e. insubordination), but it still would not be an SUI finding.

[Eclipse]

The SUI question(s):

a.      Does the PDO maintain a library of materials used in the Senior Member Professional Development Program?
b.      If a library is maintained:
(1)      Is the library should be kept current and maintained separately from the administrative files?
(2)      Does the library contain the materials listed in CAPR 50-17 para 2-2?


There are 3 possible answers to this question:
Yes - in which case the rest become relevant.
Yes, online, in which case the next two questions are automatically "yes".
No. (in which case the rest of the questions are not relevant).

The follow-up to the "no", could be "why not"?

To which any sane PDO, AO, or CC would answer "because maintaining them locally is unnecessary when we can access them
directly online..."

The relevant part of 50-17:

2-2. Reference Library.  CAP PDOs should maintain a library of materials used in the Senior
Member Professional Development Program.  This library should be kept current and maintained
separately from the administrative files. 

(The rest is just detail on what is recommended to be in the library)

A: "should" (vs. will)

B: Nowhere does it say "hardcopy"

And you won't find a more up-to-date, "separate" copy than on NHQ's website.  There's nothing wrong with a flash drive
or a CD, but that does leave you open to findings if they are checked and some are found to be out of date.

[SarDragon]

And you won't find a more up-to-date, separate copy than on NHQ's website.  There's nothing wrong with a flash drive or a CD, but that does leave you open to findings if they are checked and some are found to be out of date.

That would be really hard to do when the CD is created from a fresh download less than 24 before the SUI.

[Eclipse]

And you won't find a more up-to-date, separate copy than on NHQ's website.  There's nothing wrong with a flash drive or a CD, but that does leave you open to findings if they are checked and some are found to be out of date.

That would be really hard to do when the CD is created from a fresh download less than 24 before the SUI.

Absolutely - no argument there, but the fact that you have a unit SOP that requires they be downloaded leaves
you open unnecessarily to a finding.

Better to have your official library be online, but still have a CD handy in case.

[RiverAux]

So, if this requirement can be met by just downloading something from NHQ and having it handy is it even relevant as something a squadron PD officer should be doing?  Whats the point? 

Back in the old days when hardcopies were the only game in town, it made sense for each squadron to maintain a library of the relevant publications, but that is no longer the case. 

I'd suggest dropping that requirement in favor of something that is more important to the functioning of the PD program at the local level. 

[Eclipse]

I'd suggest dropping that requirement in favor of something that is more important to the functioning of the PD program at the local level.

Yep.

For a lot of reasons, the SUI/CI system is having a very hard time keeping up with CAP's evolving program, despite the fact that to some unfamiliar with dealing with government agencies the progress seems glacial.

There are any number of areas on both SUI's / CI's, which generate findings despite regulatory ambiguity, outright conflicts, or practical operations.

[AirDX]

The advantage of not maintaining a local library is a quick answer to several SUI questions, whereas having hard copies needlessly opens the PDO to unnecessary findings.

Having hard copies is a plus. Not having them opens a PDO to findings. Telling a member of the IG team you don't have hard copies will earn you a find. No questions! No discussion!

Incorrect, as evidenced by my recent SUI as squadron SDO and SAV as Wing Ass't SE.  Both "libraries" demonstrated by pointing to the 'net connected computer.

[Defender]

Thanks for all the great ideas.  I inherited (my first duty was PDO) quite the antiquated
array of three ring bindes and out of print books.   No longer in that position, but in a place to
do some reorganization of it with the current PDO....so I think we'll be using y'alls collective
"idea library" in abundance.

Thanks again....