If it were related to my job: that is my title was "Sr. Java Programmer", I would read it all, and/or maybe some books depending on my current level of familiar

If it were related to my job: that is my title was "Sr. Java Programmer", I would read it all, and/or maybe some books depending on my current level of familiarity. Given the size of Spring documentation, I would shortcut to my answer as necessary, but make a recurring appointment with myself to spend at least an hour each week reading the rest of the documentation. If it were not, that is my title was "Web Administrator", I wouldn't read it at all -- it is not important for me to know Spring. I would ask the java developers for help and move on with my day, instead reading the documentation for jBoss or WebSphere or whatever is relevant. Chosing what to spend your time learning is a critical function of your career. Imagine if you had spent time learning Flash, Delphi, VMS/VAX, Novell Networking, or any other now-legacy languages or technologies. It's a bit of a betting game, really. Use your intuition.