the road ahead 5 transforming professional...

The road ahead 5 Transforming Professional Competencies

Sheila Corrall Professor & Chair LIS Program [email protected]

The Future of Academic Libraries A Symposium at The Open University Thursday, March 17, 2016

Information Culture & Data Stewardship

The road ahead 5

Transforming professional competencies Whicharethekeychallengesinthewiderorganiza4onandenvironmentalcontext?

Howareacademiclibrariesevolvinginresponse?

Whataretheimplica4onsforcompetencydevelopment?

Outline •  Se?ngthescene

–  Trendsanddevelopmentsintheinforma4onfield

•  21Cservicemodels–  Rolesandcompetenciesfor

thedigitalnetworkworld

•  Newcompetencyframeworks–  Definingcategoriestohelp

servicetransforma4on


•  Rapiddevelopmentandconvergenceofdigitaltechnologiesincludingnewdevices,formats,andstandardsàrequirescon4nuouslearningforinfoprosandendusers

•  Massivegrowthinnon-specialistinterac4onwithinforma4onincludingcontentproduc4on,sharing,andtaggingàrequiresmorespecializedworkforinfoprostoaddvalue

•  Evolu4onofthenetworksocietyaspar4cipatorycultureincludingopensystems,socialmedia,andprivacyissuesà requiresmakerspaces/collaboratories,andcapacityto

engagewithonlinecommuni4esandlegal/ethicalissues

“growthindepth,sophis4ca4onandcomplexityoflibraryservices”(Shumaker&Talley,2009,p.9)

General trends

Technology trendsAdvancesinnatureandapplica4onofcyberinfrastructure

func4onalcomprehensivenessless more

less

more

techno

logycapacity

Increasingcapacityandfunc4onalcomprehensivenessofcyberinfrastructureenablebothdepthandbreadthapproachestodiscovery(NSF,2003,p.45)

depth

breadth

ACP

Technology trendsDemandshumaninfrastructuretomatchtechnologyinfrastructure

func4onalcomprehensivenessless more

less

more

technicalcapacity

Infoprosexpectedtodelivermorefunc4onalityathighercapacitywithincreasingtechnologicalcapabilityavailabletoinforma4onservices(Corrall,2005,p.30)

depth

breadth

NDL

Informa4onformats

Serviceofferings

Userpopula4ons

Professionalexper4se

Domainknowledge

Businessunderstanding


Participatory culture “Apar4cipatorycultureisaculturewithrela4velylowbarrierstoar4s4cexpressionandcivicengagement,strongsupportforcrea4ngandsharingone’screa4ons,andsometypeofinformalmentorshipwherebywhatisknownbythemostexperiencedispassedalongtonovices.Apar4cipatorycultureisalsooneinwhichmembersbelievetheircontribu4onsmacer,andfeelsomedegreeofsocialconnec4onwithoneanother(attheleasttheycarewhatotherpeoplethinkaboutwhattheyhavecreated).”

(Jenkinsetal.,2006,p.3)

PhaseOne.Emergence(1985-1993)

PhaseTwo.WakinguptotheWeb(1994-1998)

PhaseThree.Push-buconPublishing(1999-2004)

PhaseFour.UbiquitousConnec4ons(2005-2011)

(Delwiche&JacobsHenderson,2013,pp.4-7)


Participatory librarianship “Par4cipatorylibrarianshiprecastslibraryandlibraryprac4ceusingthefundamentalconceptthatknowledgeiscreatedthroughconversa4on.Librariesareintheknowledgebusiness,thereforelibrariesareintheconversa4onbusiness.Par4cipatorylibrariansapproachtheirworkasfacilitatorsofconversa4on.Beitinprac4ce,policies,programsand/ortools,par4cipatorylibrariansseektoenrich,capture,storeanddisseminatetheconversa4onsoftheircommuni4es”(Informa4onIns4tuteofSyracuse&ALAOfficeforITPolicy,n.d.)

Four methods of facilitation Access–toar4factsof

conversa4on(e.g.,books,journalar4cles)

Knowledge–representedbyinstruc4onandevalua4onoflearning

Environment(e.g.,privacyandfilteringpolicies)

Mo4va4on–includingmarke4ngandoutreach

(Lankes,2010,p.65)


Specific developments •  Blurringofboundariesbetweenestablishedprofessionsand

emergenceofhybrid/blended/thirdspaceprofessionals–  Convergence,regrouping,andcrea4onofmicro-special4es

•  Increasingspecializa4onandmul4disciplinaryworkingmeansupskillingincoreareaandnewknowledgeofotherdomains–  PreferenceforT-shapedorπ-shapedoverI-shapedpeople

•  Newthinkingaboutlibrary,archival,andpersonalcollec4ons–  Inside-out,collec4ve(orshared)collec4ons,discoverability

andstewardshipatscaleàthe“inside-out”“living”library•  Promo4onofnewservicemodelsandmindsetsforacademic,

publicandspeciallibrariesandinforma4onorganiza4ons–  Conceptofspace-as-service(physical/virtual)andmoving

beyondservice-as-supporttoprac44oner-as-partner

Hybrid and Blended

Specialist Roles

LibraryandInforma4onScience

“Contentexperts”

Informa4onTechnologyand

Media“Conduitexperts”

AcademicandProfessionalDisciplines

“Contextexperts”

KnowledgeManagement

Lawyer

Biocurator

ClinicalLibrarian

RepositoryManager

LearningTechnologist

Informa4onist

(Corrall&Lester,1996;Corrall,2008;Corrall&Cox,2008;Corrall,2010)

ChiefInforma4onOfficer

DataScien4st

Information Specialists in Context


Blended librarianship “...anacademiclibrarianwhocombinesthetradi4onalskillsetoflibrarianshipwiththeinforma4ontechnologist’shardware/soowareskills,andtheinstruc4onaloreduca4onaldesigner’sabilitytoapplytechnologyappropriatelyintheteaching-learningprocess.”

Ablueprintforredefiningtheteachingandlearningroleofacademiclibrarians(Bell&Shank,2004,p.273)

T-shapedpeople

“Theyhaveaprincipalskill(thever4callegoftheT),buttheyaresoempathe4c,orunderstandingofusers’needsorsitua4on,theycanbranchoutintootherskills(thetopoftheT)anddothemaswell.”

(Bell&Shank,2007,pp.9-10)


T-shaped, Pi-shaped, and Comb-shaped

“theknowledgeeconomyrequiresalleconomicactorstodevelopasetofcompetencesanddynamiccapabili4estocompletea‘T-shapedknowledge’configura4on,which…includesbothver4calcompetences(I-shapedcompetences)(i.e.,technological,industrialspecializa4on)and‘horizontalcapabili4es’.Thelacerexpressionreferstoboundary-crossingcapaci4es...,orcapabili4esthatalloworstronglysupportconnec4ons/linksofvariouskinds.”(Barileetal.,2015,pp.1180-1181)

Interactivity

200021stCenturyServiceModels2010

Informa4onist(Davidoff&Florance,2000)

CivicLibrary(Schull,2004)

EmbeddedLibrarian

(Dewey,2004)BlendedLibrarian

(Bell&Shank,2004)

Library2.0

(Casey,2005)

OpenLibrary(Larsen,2007;

Johannsen,2012)

Par4cipatoryLibrarianship(Lankesetal.,

2007) Innova4onCommunity

(Xiaobin&Jing,2009)

CommunityBuilding(McCook,2000;Hill,2009)

TotallyDIY

Library(Choh,2003)

Community/Campus

Engagement(Goulding,2009;

Williams,2009)

Bou4que[Academic]Library

(Priestner&Tilley,2010)


Informationist “Atthemostbasiclevel,aresearchinforma4onistcanbedefinedasanembeddedinforma4onprofessionalwhoprovidesspecializedservicestoresearchersattheirpointofneed,suchasinalaboratoryorclinicalresearchse?ng.Thesespecializedservicesmayincludeavarietyofac4vi4esspanningtheresearchlifecycle,includingexpertsearching,datacura4on…andguidanceonscholarlycommunica4ons.”(Federer,2014,p.1)

Pi-shapedpeople

Definingacributes•  Formaltraininginboth

informa4onscienceandasubjectdomainexper4se

•  Deepunderstandingofworkculture(e.g.,knowledgeofresearchmethods)

•  In-contextworkasateammemberorexpertconsultant

•  Cri4calappraisalandliteraturesynthesisand/orcomplexbiosciencedataanalysis

(Rankinetal.,2008,p.198)


Evolving academic library specialties “Professional

autonomygiveswaytoastressoncollabora4on,persuasion,and

boundarycrossing.”

“Thesamefactorsthathavecreatednewspecial4esareac4velyreshapingexis4ngroles.”

Hybrid,blended,embeddedrolesareexci4ngandsignificant,

butrequirecon4nuouslearningtodevelopknowledgeandskills(Cox&Corrall,2013,pp.1536,1538)


Themes •  Data-intensiveins4tu4ons•  Contextually-situated

informa4onwork•  Solu4ondevelopers(and

notserviceproviders)•  Cross-boundary

interdisciplinaryteamwork•  Collabora4on,co-working,

andpartnership•  Communica4onand

conversa4on•  Engagementcentered(and

notcollec4onsoriented)

Implications •  Higherleveltechnologyskills

essen4alforeveryone•  Contextualunderstandingisa

cri4calsuccessfactor•  Backroomtasksreinventedas

frontlinecontribu4ons•  Tradi4onalspecial4es

overlappingandcoalescing•  Rela4onshipmanagement

becomesakeycompetence•  Real-worldexperiencefully

integratedincurriculum•  Lifelongprofessionallearning


Aspecialistprofessionoraprofessionofspecialists?

(Salo,2015)

Key core skills for a participatory culture (IMLSSalzburgCurriculum)•  Transforma4vesocial

engagement•  Technology•  Managementfor

par4cipa4on•  Assetmanagement•  Culturalskills•  Knowledge/learning/

innova4on(Lankesetal.,2015)

Boundary-spanning roles and skills Family of data scientist roles •  Dataanalyst•  Dataarchivist•  Dataengineer•  Datajournalist•  Datalibrarian•  Datasteward/curator

(Lyon&Brenner,2015)


Framing information service competencies

Professional

Technical

Essen4alEnablers(bothgenericandcontext-specificskills/knowledge)

SpecialistProfessionalKnowledgeBase–willevolveandexpandover4me

SurvivalSkills(neededbyallprofessionals)

Interpersonal

Personal

Organiza4onal

Managerial

CoreCompetence(necessary,butnotsufficient)

CPD

(Corrall,2005,p.35)


Interpersonal

Personal

Organiza4onal

Managerial

ProfessionalCPD

Technical

Publishing

CoreCompetence

Essen4alEnablers Survival

Skills

RelatedProfessionalCompetencies

Expanding the core into other related

professional domains


(MLA,2007)

(CARL,2010)

(FLICC,2011)

(CILIP,2013)

(SLA,2012)

“Yourcorecompetenciesshouldsetyouapart”(Moore,2012,p.18)


Terminology and frameworks Professional

competenciesCorecompetenciesFounda4onal

competenciesFunc4onal

competenciesGenericskillsEnablingcompetenciesTypically6-8categories

brokendowninto30+elements

à12+categoriesandc.100elements


Introducing threshold competences “Acoreconceptisaconceptual‘buildingblock’thatprogressesunderstandingofthesubject…butitdoesnotnecessarilyleadtoaqualita4velydifferentviewofsubjectmacer.”“Athresholdconcept…representsatransformedwayofunderstanding,orinterpre4ng,orviewingsomethingwithoutwhichthelearnercannotprogress.”(Meyer&Land,2003,pp.1,4)

Acorecompetenceisadefiningacributethatformstheessen4alanduniquefounda4onofaspecificprofessionalfieldAthresholdcompetenceisatransformingacributethatenablestheeffec4veapplica4onofacorecompetenceinthefield,andwhichisessen4alforthecorecompetencetobeusedtofulleffectAthresholdcompetenceisnotuniquetothefield,butcombineswithcorecompetencestoformuniqueanddis4nc4vecapabili4es


Elaborating the concept Characteristics of threshold concepts and threshold competences MeyerandLand(2003)iden4fyfivelikelycharacteris4csofathresholdconceptas:

a)  Transforma4veb)  Irreversiblec)  Integra4ved)  Boundede)  Troublesome

Candidates for threshold competences in academic libraries Contemporaryservicemodelssuggestthreekeyareaswhereenhancedcapabili4esareimportantandurgent:

Ø  TechnologicalfluencyØ  Rela4onshipbuildingØ  Reflec4veprac4ceProfessionalprepara4onandcon4nuingeduca4onprogramsneedtofocusonkeycapabili4es


Selected References Barile,S.,Saviano,M.,&Simone,C.(2015).Serviceeconomy,knowledge,andthe

needforT-shapedinnovators.WorldWideWeb,18(4),1177-1197.Bell,S.J.,&Shank,J.D.(2007).Academiclibrarianshipbydesign:Ablendedlibrarian’s

guidetothetoolsandtechniques.Chicago,IL:ALA.Cox,A.,&Corrall,S.(2013).Evolvingacademiclibraryspecial4es.JASIST,64(8),

1526-1542.Delwiche,A.,&JacobsHenderson,J.(Eds.)(2013).TheparHcipatoryculturehandbook.

NewYork:Routledge.Federer,L.(2014).Exploringnewrolesforlibrarians:TheresearchinformaHonist.San

Rafael,CA:Morgan&Claypool.Lankes,R.D.(2010).Innovatorswanted:Noexperiencenecessary.InS.Walter&K.

Williams(Eds.),Theexpertlibrary:Staffing,sustaining,andadvancingtheacademiclibraryinthe21stcentury(pp.52-75).Chicago,IL:ACRL.

Meyer,J.,&Land,R.(2003).Thresholdconceptsandtroublesomeknowledge:LinkagestowaysofthinkingandpracHsingwithinthedisciplines.U.ofEdinburgh.

Moore,G.(2012).Yourcorecompetenciesshouldsetyouapart.InformaHonOutlook,16(1),18-19.

Rankin,J.A.,Grefsheim,S.F.,&Canto,C.C.(2008).Theemerginginforma4onistspecialty:Asystema4creviewoftheliterature.JMLA,96(3),194-206.

Salo,D.(2015).Aspecialistprofession,oraprofessionofspecialists?NewYork:LJ.

Sheila Corrall Professor & Chair LIS Program [email protected]

The Future of Academic Libraries A Symposium at The Open University Thursday, March 17, 2016

Thank you for listening Questions? Concerns?

Challenges?

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