Librarians of the Future: Mastering the Road Ahead

H K KaulDirector, DELNET

Developing Library Network2013

Librarianship in the 21st CenturyThe Trends

OCLC Study: Google and other resources may weaken the relevance of the library.

The Ithaka faculty survey for 2009: Librarians may have no role in faculty information discovery

Mike Shatzkin: within 15 to 20 years the physical library will cease to exist; patrons will access electronic material online, and the meeting places and cyberbars will have migrated elsewhere.

May not be that alarming but the challenge stands

Handling the Universes of Knowledge

To Explore the Universe of Tacit Knowledge Resident in the Minds of People/Experts

To Manage the Universe of Explicit Knowledge

To Explore the Knowledge Needs of the People: Could be Unlimited

To Capture the New Emerging Knowledge: The Universe of Untapped Knowledge: Could be Infinite

Networking - The Universe of Complex Interactions Between Tacit, Explicit and the Unlimited Knowledge Needs of People

Skills for Selecting Quality Content

From Developing Collections Locally to Accessing Collections Globally

Important in the digital environment

A strong relationship between subject experts and library professionals needed

Each library professional should also focus attention on a subject as well

Managing Online Content

To learn search skills which do come with regular use of online resources.

The use of search engines and all such Web resources which help in selecting best online content.

Websites of institutions specializing in similar subjects. Basic knowledge of Web resources and search skills is very

essential

Content Management Systems

For management and the delivery of content: various open source and commercial software are available for this purpose

Understand Library Users

Help information creators understand the requirements of users

Use ICT to bridge the two

Support the use of reliable information by training researchers / users to cite and link reliable content.

UCC Library Subject Portals

UCC Library comprises the Boole Library (Main Campus), Boston Scientific Health Sciences Library (Brookfield) and operates a joint Library service with Cork University Hospital Library. Subject portals cover subject resources and other links, chosen by subject Librarians

Cleveland State University Subject Portals

Portals are available on various subjects which give directions to paid databases and OhioLINK resources, indexing services, full text e-journals, a list of current periodical subscriptions, and links to reputable web sites

Use Subject Portals

Classification Skills

Cataloguing / Metadata Creation Skills

Technology-Savvy Librarians

Ability to Adopt New Technologies

Troubleshooting New Technologies

Database Development

Digital Archiving and Preservation

ICT Skills

Skills to Manage Social Media

Library news and events

New additions to your collection

Links to articles, videos, etc

Community information

Solicit feedback

Respond to people

Post pictures

Anything else

Skills to Manage Social Media

Link wherever possible Talk to people Instruction sessions Print advertising Build a contingent of friends Follow and be followed in return Give it time Maintain communication.

Transforming Traditional into the Online

Project management skills

Mackenzie and Smith in their study remark: “ A review of the curricula of forty-eight graduate library school programs accredited by the American Library Association revealed:

Of the 48 programs reviewed, 43.8% did not require management-related courses. A review of twenty-four program syllabi revealed that 58.3% of the management courses included human resource management concepts and 54.2% included strategy, planning and process. The results suggest that the library profession has yet to agree upon the requirements for preparing future librarians for managerial positions and leadership roles.

Ability to Manage Change

Capacity to Manage Within Changing Trends

Network

Create the ‘Pull’ around you

The more you network with students, faculty and web resources the more successful you will be

Use Technology Tools like e-book readers

Be data-driven

Be human

Digital Discovery

Search the Web RegularlyEncourage Group Discovery

Evaluating Users’ Needs

Users’ Who Come to the Library

A complete and detailed list of users needs to be prepared What we feel the user may need, may not be the correct

assessment The users’ needs may change from time to time. There is a need

to understand the current and possibly future needs of users

Collection of information through questionnaires, interviews and observations

Open-ended and frank interviews with users Classification of data collected The analysis of data and recommendations made with action-

pointsUsers’ Who don’t Come to the Library

Servicing the Users

Open access content is increasing in size, but all of it is not of high quality.

There is a need to see how best content reaches the users.

Librarians will have to strike a balance and the Governments around the world will have to look into how publishers

of commercial content collaborate in disseminating content at affordable costs.

Contracting Library Services by Managements

Environment Friendly Bookstores

Many of the book stores are creating good environments within their stores so that readers can browse books, sit in corner and even have snacks and refreshments within the bookstores.

These environments are preferred by many casual readers as they are interested in the latest titles and they can browse without any charge. It is likely that limited browsing facility may be given by bookstores online as well. How do the librarians counter this move?

Ability to Market Library Services

In order to expand the use of library, LIS professionals need better marketing skills. The more one is able to market, the more users will join the library and the better that will be for library resources. With the online facility it is possible to market information resources to students,

faculty and the general public. The more a librarian does it in future, the more relevant his or her library would be.

The Discipline-specific Knowledge

Information resources are getting so interwoven that a library professional in future has to look at the universe of knowledge through the domain in which he is specializing. For otherwise, he will be lost in the amount of information available on other subjects. Each library professional has to develop discipline-specific knowledge so that he can help students, researchers and others in getting appropriate information. In addition to having the discipline-specific knowledge the library professional should be technically sound, analytical, creative, able to satisfy various types of library users, self-motivated, with communication and leadership skills.

Generic Skills

No.

1

General Skills

Information literacy

Description

“empower people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals.”

In LIS context, “IL can be defined as ability to recognize when information is needed and being able to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information.”

2

Communication

“the ability to exchange feelings, ideas and information with others in an appropriate manner. Communication consists of the two key aspects of oral and written skills. Oral communication involves using the human voice to effectively articulate a message to an intended audience. Written communication involves using text or graphics to effectively transmit a message to an intended audience.”

Generic Skills

No. General Skills Description

3 Critical thinking

“the ability to reach conclusions through reflection and evaluation by applying independent thought and informed judgement.”

4 Teamwork

“the ability to work effectively with others in a group with the view to achieving defined goals. Two distinct roles necessary for teamwork are the team member and the team leader. A team member makes a productive contribution to the collaborative effort of the group by participating in the pursuit of group goals under the guidance of the team leader. The team leader makes a productive contribution to the collaborative efforts of the group by providing guidance to ensure desired goals are met.”

Generic Skills

No. General Skills Description

5 Ethics and social responsibility

“an awareness of the need for and commitment to the maintenance of high professional standards and social justice.”

6 Problem solving

“the ability to find effective solutions to problems through creative reasoning.”

7 Leadership

“a relationship that involves the mobilizing, influencing, and guiding of others toward desired goals.”

Training in Skills

M. Cristina Pattuelli after making a study of nearly 2000 courses being offered by LIS schools in USA and Canada finds that LIS education courses are facing challenges and are getting redefined.

Similarly knowledge organization courses are also facing challenges.

Joanne Gard Marshall survey for the project MUSE found that the main subjects that are going to be important for study and research in future include the following:

Technology 91% Development of Subject Expertise 84% Management 69% Communication and Marketing 66% Finance 56%

Manage change as the digital content will overshadow the print content

Learn skills to collect tacit knowledge within your sphere of activity

Understand the growing patterns of the universe of knowledge

Learn how to record requests of users, link them with sources of knowledge

Specialise in available and new resources on a subject

Manage online content

Become collectors of selective information through various types of sources

Understand the skills that are needed to classify digital and online resources

Learn new skills for cataloguing digital documents

Have knowledge of search engines;

Master new technologies

Be able to develop a database on any subject in the library

Be familiar with archiving and preservation of the digital data

Manage social media

Have the capacity to visualize the importance of new projects, costs involved and implementing them well

Learn management and business skills

Initiate several approaches in order to understand the needs of users

Be conversant with the copyright rules

Learn better marketing skills

Have generic skills including communication and leadership skills

Have personal attributes including being creative, technical and flexible

Have non-professional skills

A serious effort is needed to overhaul the course content of LIS education in India and allow outside experts to take classes in chosen subjects

Illustrations courtesy Google