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ABSTRACT

Professional Skillsand Competencies for

Academic Librarianin an Electronic

EnvironmentMs. Susan Mathew K.

Assistant Librarian

University Library, CUSAT, Kochi, Kerala

Development of new technologies in the field oflibrary and information science especially inacademic libraries has resulted in the need for librarystaff to be flexible in adopting new skills and levelsof awareness. In addition to core technology skills,importance is to be given to other skills in commu­nication, management, etc. This paper attempts todescribe in brief the competencies and skills requiredfor an academic library professional in the digitalera .

Keywords: Competencies, ICT skills, Academiclibrarian.

IntroductionThe dynamic environment of the library and information sectorstresses the need for academic library professionals to remainflexible and adaptable to change. To meet this need, theyhave to ensure that their knowledge, competencies and skillsmeet the needs of the community which they serve. Similarly,employers have a responsibil ity to prov ide opportuni-ties forlibrary and information professionals to keep their skills,knowledge and competencies up-to-date. In light of the techno­log ical advancements that are taking place, there is an urgentneed for LIS educators to conduct evaluation and performancemeasurement studies on the effectiveness of their curricula inresponding to the needs and demands of the real world of

204 RECENT TRENDS IN LIBRARIE SPROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES.. .

205

information work. The library and information science curricu­lum must incorporate more technology components to. meetthe intellectual and practical needs of information professionals.

The biggest challenges facing the library profession to?a.yis preparing employees to use technology effectiv~ly..But It IS

not enough for a library professional in an academic library ~o

be a master of technology alone. In the present electronicera what every library professional choose to ignore is ~he .

ma~agement aspect of a library. In addition to th.e technicaland professional skills they have to possess vari-ous oth.erskills like business and management, teaching, leadership,soft skills, etc.

A number of competency studies have been conducted inthe field of library and information studies during the last fewyears in the wake of developments in information tech~ology.

Most of these studies were generally concerned with thecommon competencies needed by LIS professionals. One ofthe major studies on competencies was undertaken ~y theSpec ial Libraries Association (SLA) entitled Competencies forSpecial Librarians of the 21st Century, revised edition, June2003. The SLA identified two main types of competen~y. Theseare two core competencies very essential for every library orinformation professional.

1. Professional competencies related to the speciallibrarians' knowledge in the areas of informationresources, information access, technology, managementand research and the ability to use these areas ofknowledge as a basis for providing Iib.rary andinformation services. Profess ional competencies furtherinclude four major competencies, each supported withspecific skills:(a) Managing Information Organizations.(b) Managing Information Resources.(c) Managing Information Services.(d) Applying Information Tools and Technologies.

2. Personal competencies, comprise a set of skills, attitudbesand values that enable librarians to work efficiently, egood communicators; focus on continuing learn ingthroughout their careers; demonstrate t~e v~lue-added

nature of their contributions; and survive In the newfield ofwork.

Web Junction supported in part by OClC has made acompilation of competency statements that deal with a broadrange of library practice and service. This includes LibraryManagement, Technology (Core Skills and Systems and ITSkills) and Personal/Interpersonal competencies.

Successful running of an organization requ ire certainleadership skills and careful management techniques. It isimportant that academic librarians acquire the sk ills that willenable them to operate effectively in large and increasinglycompetitive organizations.

Important library management competencies are:

(a) Effective financial management using sound businessand financial judgement.

(b) Use appropriate business and management approachesto communicate the library's value to universityadministrators.

(c) Promote the library as a center of lifelong learning forthe community.

(d) Maintain good public relations through communicationand promotion of library's services and needs to allstakeholders.

(e) Maintain a user friendly and safe physical environ­ment to encourage library use by the academiccommunity.

(I) Maintain an awareness of current law and policythat may impact library services, admin istration andup-to-date policies/procedures for staff communi­cation.

(g) Understand the basic principles of marketing and howthey apply to library services.

(h) The librarian has to assist the professional and personaldevelopment of people working Within the informationorganization by creating development plans for staffto gain necessary competencies (knowledge, skills,abilities, behavior, ettltudes).

(i) Management of human resources effectively toincrease productivity wh ich is highly important toachieve the library's mission and goals.

206RECENT TRENDS IN LIBRARIES

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES .. . 207

Personal and Interpersonal competenciesThe library professionals have to develop'good communicationskills to help iluild good relations with co-workers and users.Librarian must anticipate and mainta in awareness of users'needs and wants through user surveys, complaint logs and

other means.

Developing interpersonal competencies helps to maintaineffective relationship with other staff in the library and achieve

common goals.

Library professionals must understand the importance oflifelong learning for all levels of library work and actively pursuepersonal and professional growth through continuing

education.

In an academic library environment the librarian must bealert to the importance of library in the context of highereducation (its purpose and goals) and the needs of students,faculty, and researchers and seek to provide services that willenhance these endeavors. Librarian must be familiar with thestructure, organization, creation, management, dissemination,use, and preservation of information resources , new andexisting, in all formats . The subject knowledge to supportcollection development within the library and research andteaching within the university will come under thecompetencies of technical services. Now the collectiondevelopment of e-resources has assumed much prominencein the world of information. Academic institutions and librarianswill continue to allocate more resources towards technology.Academic libraries will continue to have a crucial role in notonly providing technology for users but also in creating newinformation systems for managing, disseminating, andpreserving information regardless of format . At the same time,trad itional library collections books, serials, sound recordings,maps, videos, films, photographs, archives, manuscripts, etc.,will still need to be acquired, made accessible, and preserved.(Shaping The Future: ASERL's Competencies For Research

Librarians).

Technology CompetenciesAs technology has saturated all levels of library's operationsand services, the library professional in an academic institution

has .to a~ticipate .t he chang ing expectations of users, and beflexible In adapting and adopting new skills and levels ofawareness.

. Listed below are some .of~he basic technology competenciesImportant for an academic librarian:

(a) Knowledqe about relevant developments in informationtechnology like e-mail and Internet, web searchstrategies.

(b) Skills in ~asic computer hardware, troubleshooting andnetworking .

(c) Knowledge about software applications operatingsystems.c '

(d) Automation of library services and its management.

(e) Familiar with web tools like blogs, social networkingRSS feeds, etc. '

In addition to the core technology competencies there~re other technolo~ysystem~ that control the operati;ns in a~Ibrary ~bout which the librarian must have sufficientinformation. A.s lot. of library's resources may be in digitalformat,. especially In large academic libraries, a number ofnew s~I.lls and kno~ledge are involved in creating, selecting,organizing, managing .an? pr?viding access to these digitalresourc~s. -:he academic IIbranan's skills have to be developedfor destqnlnq and developing web-based materials anddocu~en~s for online use.c Self-archiving in open accessreposttorles, metadata harvesting, electronic documentman~gement~ etc. are presenting a whole new dimension ofthe. Information landscape. To summarize, understandingdeslqn and development of webpage, E-resource management,workl.ng .know ledge of programming languages, networksecunty, Intellectual property rights, and copyright issues, etc.~re some other competencies required for a library professionalIn tile current digital age.

Ev~n tho~gh librarians are facing chal lenges for new andemerging Skills, the most important aspect of this change isto b.e. able .to a?apt the existing skills, many of which are~radltlonal.llbrana.nship skills and the ability to remain flexibleIn ~ working ~nvlronment that is constantly changing. Therapldl~ changing environment of academic libraries needsattention of the authorities that manage LIS education in the

208 RECENT TRENDS IN LIBRARIES

country. Information technology competencies demanded bymost of the institutions require particular emphasis in our LIScurriculum.

References

1. Bakeri, A.B.A (2005), " IT Competencies in Academic Libraries:The Malaysian Experience R", Library Review, 54(4),pp. 267-77.

2. Gerolimos, Michalis and Konsta, Rania (2008), "Librarians' Skillsand Qual ifications in a Modern Informational Environment",Library Management, 29(8/9), pp. 691-99.

3. Vijayakumar, K.P. (2005), "Continuing ProfessionalDevelopment of LIS Teachers: A Strategy in Library andInformation Studies in the Digital Age ." Ed. by Devarajan, G.pp. 31-42, New Delhi : Ess Ess Publication.

4 . Abels, E. (2003), "Competencies for Information Professionalsof the 21st Century", available at: www.sla.org/contentjlearn/comp2003/index.cfm (accessed 12 August 2009) .

5. "Shaping the Future : ASERL's Competencies for ResearchLibrarians," available at http://www.aserl.org/statements/competencies/competencies.htm (accessed 12 August 2009) .