Part 3: "What is an Information Professional in the Digital Age?"

Outline
Definition of an Information Professional
Traditional Roles
Accreditation
The Digital Age
New, Improved Roles
Information Seeking Behaviors
Reassessing User Behaviors
Challenging Assumptions

The Digital Age Traditional roles have given way to a NEW VISION for the 21 st century and how we manage (view, organize, search, retrieve, locate, preserve, archive, store, collect, research, develop, disseminate, apply, and analyze) information in print and electronic formats using the Internet, books, databases, catalogs, information systems, and people to solve information problems

Traditional Roles
Special Librarians, i.e. law, music, medicine, art, and others
Technical Services Librarians
Preservationist Librarians
School Library Media Specialists
Public Librarians
Academic Librarians
Reference Desk Librarians
Government Document Librarians
Archivist Librarians
Non-profit Librarians
Manager, Information Services
GIS/Spatial Librarians
Cataloger

New, Improved Roles for Information Professionals (Non-traditional Roles)
Archives and Records Managers
Community Informatics
Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
Information Preservationists
Information Technologists
Computer Technologists
Technical Support/Helpdesk
Computer Scientists
Information Scientists
Information Policy Specialists
Information and Retrieval Analysts
Knowledge Managers
Information Managers
Compliance Specialists
...and Librarians

The Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Real World
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) under the U.S. Dept. of Labor, a Librarian is an Information Professional
An Information Professional can perform many duties, one of which is Librarian
Traditional duties of Librarians are involved with various tasks involving quickly changing technology: user services, technical services, and administrative services – BLS
An Information Professional is necessarily involved with many aspects of changing technologies including catalogs, databases, systems, indexes, software, Internet, social networking, and print/electronic resources
Librarians are typically classified according to the type of library in which they work or special populations they serve - BLS
The Bureau of Labor Statistics site mentions the MLIS degree, but not the other 15 iterations of ALA-accredited programs

The Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Real World
Information professionals work in a variety of contexts and organizations... not only libraries, but in public service, and at all types of organizations

Federal Classification and Job Grading Systems
An old system exists at the federal level
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) currently lists just five series within the 1400 Library and Archives Group:
1410 Librarian Series
1411 Librarian Technician Series
1412 Technical Information Series
1420 Archivist Series
1421 Archivist Technician Series

BLS and OPM Confusion
Computer Scientist
Computer and Information Scientist
Library and Archives Group
Information and Arts Group
Inspection, Investigation, Enforcement, and Compliance Group
...there are many distinctions within groups, series, and occupations listed, adding to the confusion

Why the confusion?
Information degrees are offered in Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology-based programs, schools, and universities
Some programs are accredited while others are not
There is distinction among professional as to the nature of Information work in the field
BLS and OPM distinguish between “computer” and “information” among series, groups, and professional occupations

Reference
http://www.opm.gov/fedclass/html/gsseries.asp#1400
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm
http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/education/
accreditedprograms/standards/standards_2008.pdf
http://www.sla.org/PDFs/Competencies2003_finallocked.pdf
http://www.abet.org
http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco1002.htm#life

To be continued...
Please join me the week of 22 March 2010 for more information in “ What is an Information Professional in the Digital Age?”
Contact Alina J. Johnson
[email_address]
www.linkedin.com/in/alinajjohnson
www.umich.edu/~alinaj
(c) 2010 Alina J. Johnson- All Rights Reserved

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