Julie Parry Library Management Vol. 29 (1/2): 41-50
This article promised to examine past and future predictions about academic libraries and identify the skills that librarians need to survive in the digital library. I was less interested in the past predictions, and was drawn to read it by the title, hoping for some actual strategies for not only staying aloft but maybe for rising to the top. While I was disappointed since the article was light on strategies, it did provide a few good ideas: "Librarians cannot afford to let architects and designers take the lead on designing buildings...that ignore the changing needs of learners, academics and information professionals". I am certainly beginning to understand the truth behind this having seen the Cybertheque and comparing that libraries that I have worked in before.
On page 45 there was also a good summary of the skills that we should be developing in ourselves as well as recruiting for and coaching for:
- IT
database management
web development
management of media
metadata skills
knowledge of standards - Management
budgets
people
information
physical resources
virtual environments
IT equipment
customer focused services
impact assessment
risk assessment
knowledge of legislation
knowledge of higher education environment - Communication
Presentation skills
marketing and promotion
liaison
securing funding
negotiation - Learning and teaching
Pedagogic skills
expertise in emerging technologies
information literacy
research skills
e-learning - Personal
flexible/adaptable
multiskilled
