Developing technological competencies and skills of librarians

Developing
Technological
Competencies and
Skills of Librarians
by Fe Angela M. Verzosa

2nd LibraryLink Conference
- "Preservation: Trends and Challenges” August 25-27, 2010

How can the Librarian “preserve”
her/his role in the business of
gathering, organizing, and storing
information and data?

With the overwhelming advancements
in technology, what are the major
technological competencies/skills
librarians should possess in this
technological age?


“Libraries need to offer traditional
services more efficiently and new
services which appeal to those
comfortable with new ways of accessing
information.”
Anonymous


What are competencies?
Competencies are the abilities, qualities,
strengths and skills required for the
success of the employee and the
organization.
In the 21st century, technology is
becoming increasing crucial in effectively
running libraries.


Information Technology
• information revolution in the 21st century
• Information needs to be delivered in a timely
IT-driven manner for efficiency
• overwhelming information explosion requires
technology to locate, filter, organize and
access it
• Librarians are now frontliners in information
dissemination as IT-specialists and providers


21st century library setting:
3 major paradigm shifts
• transition from paper to electronic media as the dominant
form of information dissemination, storage and retrieval
*Convergence of different media, such as text,
graphics, and sound, into multimedia resources, has
direct impact on this transition.
• increasing demand for accountability, with focus on
quality customer services, performance measurement,
bench marking, and continuous improvement
• new forms of work distribution (work-teams) resulting in
downsizing, re-engineering, outsourcing etc.


Abilities/Attitudes

• ability to embrace change
• comfort in the online medium
• ability to learn new technologies
• enthusiasm for new learning – keeping up
with what is new, current
• ability to compare, assess, use the right
technologies


Ranking of Skills


Librarians’ current skills
Traditional Technological
• Organizing collections • Database development
• Managing collections • Database management
• Preserving collections • Digital preservation
• Making them available • Website development
for use and management
• Promoting their use • Social Networking


Technology competencies

• Email Skills
• Internet skills
• Search strategies
• Library 2.0 skills
• Information literacy
skills
• Social networking
literacy skills

Library 2.0

• a service model premised on constant and
purposeful change
• and user participation in the creation and
maintenance of services
• while maintaining the goal of extending the
library’s reach to its potential users
• and keeping up with new technologies, current
trends and customer expectations


Social Networking Literacy Competencies


Creating content

• Creating, contributing,
and revising content
- in various formats
- within and beyond library walls
- in a variety of social networking sites
• Creating a library presence
- pages, groups, other applications


events

photos

discussion
board

guides
catalogs
web


Photos
videos

Catalog
search

polls

Photos
Events
YouTube videos
Notes

Info-Profile


WorldCat
application

Feedback


…for Marketing/Promotion

University of Central Florida promotes their Ask a
Librarian service through their MySpace page


Using Ning as a tool…

over 2,500 librarians belong to the
2nd LibraryLink Conference Ning
Library 2.0 social network

an online service to
help people catalog
their books easily

Also connects people with same books


A blogging library …


Blogs as Library News Vehicles


Video-sharing for Library
Tours
an engaging way to introduce new students to
the campus library as well as to its librarians


Library News on Flickr flickr
Ohio Univ Libraries on

Invites comments


Wikis as Subject Guides


PAARLWiki links to articles, lectures, library websites,
library organizations, library grants, anything library-related…


So, why bother with developing
technological competencies?

• provide better service
• save money
• create a culture of learning
• improve distribution of
staff work


Providing better
service to meet all
patrons’ needs and
requirements


Save Money

• If librarians are trained
to handle the library’s
technology needs,
there is no need to
spend money on costly
tech support


Create a Culture of Learning
• To reassert ourselves as a profession of
knowledgeable information finding experts,
we must take full advantage of all
opportunities for continuing education
•Creating a culture of learning
can unify the staff across
departments and help improve
the sharing of knowledge and
skills


Improve staff work distribution
• Often one or two members
of a library staff are unfairly
burdened with technological
responsibilities. Creating
set competencies to be
trained in will take the strain
off, and more evenly
distribute the technology
related workload.


What are the avenues that librarians must take
in order to develop professionally ?


Avenues for professional development
• Conferences
• Workshops
• Credit Courses
• Summer Institutes
• Internships/Apprenticeship
• On the Job Training
• Self-taught
• Other: meetings, listservs, professional visits,
networking, and others.


How to keep current…
• Workshops
• Listservs
• Literature
• Conferences/meetings
• Classes
• Research
• Networking with other professionals
• Professional organizations


Questions?

Contact famverzosa@yahoo.com


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