Thursday, February 7, 2008

Let's begin

Librarian's do fly: strategies for staying aloft
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


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