The career development of a Web officer

Notes from the workshop at UKOLN on 11 October 2000

Peter Griffiths’ syndicate

Job issues - structures

A range of job titles in the group, reflecting earlier concerns over meaningful names. Who are these names meant to inform (or impress?)

Web work is often tacked onto other library jobs. Anywhere else in the organisation, if you asked for a designer, a technical writer and an information manager, you would be given three people.

“Innovatory approaches” are needed

Job issues - libraries and their place in the authority A vision is needed that can be sold to Chief Executives to

convince them of the true value of Web services (and librarians’ contribution).

Problems commonly encountered with central IT services which expect to take over successful library Web sites and often place unworkable restrictions on other software. But library automation systems are dumped back on the library as being of no interesting to IT shops or FM suppliers of IT facilities.

Low status and priority for libraries in many authorities affects ability to deliver. Conflicting priorities can divert resources away from libraries now charged with supporting and delivering key services such as Web sites. In rural authorities there is a problem getting maintenance support over distance, and a general problem about maintenance at weekends when only libraries are open.

Job issues - reward

We need a proper rate for the job. Librarians’ pay is pretty low anyway in local government but the failure to reward these experts skills is a further demotivator.

Decent salaries are what are really needed. Adequate resources are needed to stop sites from

running into the ground. A receptive and understanding corporate culture helps, but staff are demotivated if they can never get work adequately finished.

Customer appreciation [i.e. “stroking” by people who commission Web sites] would motivate staff but the customers don’t understand this. A little praise would be welcome.

Job issues - library culture

Librarians don’t complain enough. Even after we cut services back, surveys continue to say we are wonderful. We must manage expectations in order to make them realistic. Unfortunately people expect that librarians will be nice to them!

Problem : we need to pay librarians enough for their skills to retain them BUT many of us get part of our reward by working for the common good - pay is not everything

Libraries are shedding some IT roles, e.g. community information databases

Futures - the scenario

Electronic services can only increase in future. The opportunities will not decrease although they may change.

Money is flowing into Web work despite what we said earlier about resources. New Opportunity Fund and other money is targeted onto it. e-government targets will continue to accelerate progress

Our skills will be in demand. We are competing for funds with others in the local arena such as

heritage services who want to produce very similar products. Many apparently unique local resources such as parish registers are

being published on a national or international scale, e.g. by the Mormons There is far greater integration in the Web arena between library sectors

than there is in the library field itself (e.g. joint work between HE, FE and local authorities)

However we need a new performance indicator model because clients for Web services do not need to visit the physical library. If physical visits do not count then how are we going to measure performance?

Futures - where are we going to work? Knowledge management seems to offer possibilities for Web

literate librarians. So does consultancy (especially if this means freelance Web

work). People increasingly have more than one job, and library work

is often a second household income. Both of these suggest that money is not the only motivation. (see common good above)

Job descriptions may need to be widened to cope with these developments.

Geographic constraints are a limitation (e.g. London house prices are unaffordable once you move out). [Afterthought - couldn’t forward looking authorities employ virtual employees on Web duties who could live well away from their area?]

Structures

Librarians could be posted elsewhere in the organisation - they don’t have to work in the library, and maybe they won’t return to the library afterwards– however there needs to be a way of maintaining

“core” librarian skills for those who will return after a period of months or years

One outcome from a conference might be a model team structure and job descriptions

The professional bodies have a role - see (10)

Take control!

Educate yourself - about the Web, about the authority

Do some awareness work with yourself as the client!

Be aware of political factors - – find ways to support the Chief Executive’s office,

such as an intranet– be aware of the power struggles and vacuums

Professional bodies

should be providing more of a lead seem less concerned about this area of local authority

library work than about public libraries themselves - shortsighted?

more ideas about library Web work seem to come from other sectors such as academic libraries than from the professional bodies

could be providing practical guidance such as providing model templates for applications for NOF and other grant money

could be establishing model standards and job descriptions for Web work