Developing Librarian Competencies For The Digital Age

Librarianship is both an art and a science. Librarians study the science of information and how to work with clients to help them find solutions to their information needs. They also learn quickly that there is an art to working with people, to finding the answers to tough questions using the resources available and knowing which information resources to use to find the information being sought in short order. But, what technical skills do librarians need to be successful in the future? How can library managers best develop their staffs for success? Developing Librarian Competencies for the Digital Age explores questions such as: What is the composition of a modern library collection? Will that collection look different in the future? What are the information sources and how do we manage those? What are the technical skills needed for a 21st century librarian? How will reference services change and adapt to embrace new ways to interact with library patrons or clients? What kinds of library skills are needed for the librarian of today to grow and thrive, now and into the future? How will service models change to existing clients and how will the model change going into the future of librarianship? What kinds of budgeting challenges are there for libraries and the administrators who oversee these libraries? What do the library professional organizations see as the core skills needed for new graduates and those practicing in the profession going into the future? In answering those questions, the book identifies specific digital skills needed for success, ways of developing those skills, and ways of assessing them.

This topical edited collection is cross-sectoral and international in scope, drawing together the perspectives of practitioners and academics at the forefront of modern collection development. They explore how practitioners can take an active role influencing strategy in this new environment, draw on case studies that illustrate the key changes in context, and consider how collection development might evolve in the future. The collection is divided into four sections looking at the key themes: • The conceptual framework including a review of the literature • Trends in library supply such as outsourcing and managing suppliers • Trends in electronic resources including the open access movement and e-books • Making and keeping your collection effectively including engaging with the user-community and developing commercial skills. Readership: LIS students and all practitioners involved in collection development and management in academic, school, public, commercial and other special libraries.

This book shows how LIS schools and professional organizations can help information professionals to continue their education after finishing formal programs to keep up with the growing demands of the field. As technology rapidly advances, the need for continuing education increases at an accelerating rate. Within 10–12 years of completing formal education, most information professionals' knowledge and skills become out of date, leaving them only half as able to meet the new demands of the profession. Additionally, the increase in online education programs for LIS students can limit their connection with practicing professionals and, in some locations, their engagement with diverse populations. LIS schools and professional development organizations, however, can support professional development in new and exciting ways. Readers will learn how faculty in LIS schools are innovating their courses and providing continuing education experiences. Taking advantage of the benefits of online, digital, and experiential learning projects, they are creating meaningful, collaborative learning opportunities between students and practitioners in the field. The book also addresses how social media tools can help online students experience interactive community learning and network within the profession before they start their positions.

Filling a gap in the existing library and information science literature, this book consolidates recent research and best practices to address the need for diversity and social justice in the training and education of LIS professionals. The development of cultural competency skills and social awareness benefits LIS students, their future employers, and the library profession at large—not to mention library customers and society as a whole. This textbook and comprehensive resource introduces students to the contexts and situations that promote the development of empathy and build cultural competence, examines the research in the areas of diversity and social justice in librarianship, explains how social responsibility is a foundational value of librarianship, and identifies potential employment and networking opportunities related to diversity and social justice in librarianship. A valuable book for students in graduate library and information science programs as well as LIS practitioners and researchers interested in knowing more about the topic of diversity in the profession, Information Services to Diverse Populations: Developing Culturally Competent Library Professionals addresses the political, social, economic, and technological divides among library patrons, covers transformative library services, and discusses outreach and services to diverse populations as well as how to evaluate such services, among many other topics. Appendices containing suggestions for exercises and assignments as well as lists of related library organizations and readings in related literature provide readers with additional resources.

The Medical Library Association Guide to Developing Consumer Health Collections guides both library graduate school students and seasoned librarians from academic, health sciences, and public libraries, to develop, maintain, nurture, and advertise consumer health collections. This authoritative guide from the respected Medical Library Association covers all that is involved in developing a new consumer health library including: Conducting community needs assessments and forging community partnerships Concerns about physical space, computers, and materials Funding, budgeting, and staffing Privacy and confidentiality concerns Publicity and advertising This book guides both graduate library school students and seasoned librarians from all types of libraries—academic, health center, hospital, public, and school--to develop, maintain and nurture not only consumer health collections, but also community partnerships and outreach programs. Examples of librarians’ innovative and creative consumer health initiatives are included. Chapters include all that is involved in developing a consumer health collection including conducting community needs assessments; concerns about physical space, computers, and materials; budgeting, licensing, and staffing; privacy and confidentiality concerns; and community partnership and outreach.

The Library Staff Development Handbook: How to Maximize Your Library’s Most Important Resource provides practical tips, suggestions for resources, and concrete examples for addressing the multiple and varied aspects of staff development. From crafting a job description to recruitment, hiring and retention, and from progressive discipline and succession planning to continuing education, performance appraisals, and the importance of workplace fun, this handbook can serve as a companion for managers, supervisors and library staff as they negotiate the challenging range of staffing issues and the opportunities they provide in the library setting.

Music Collection Development and Management in the Digital Age offers both a theoretical context and practical approaches to the issues facing today’s music collection builders and managers. In this exciting new book, Kirstin Dougan Johnson engages readers with many of the core responsibilities involved with music collections, in both music library and general library settings. The author examines the whole of music collections, incorporating into that vision guidance on the principles and tasks involved with collection building, acquisitions, management, and assessment. Details include music formats and publishing, music identification and discoverability, the context of music collections and the tasks involved in building and scoping them, diversity and inclusion in music collections, budgets and acquisitions workflows, pre- and post-order tasks, collection management and assessment, and future directions for collection development in music. With its focus on issues related to music scores and media in physical and electronic forms, Music Collection Development and Management in the Digital Age directly addresses subject librarians who select music materials in academic libraries. The volume also serves music librarians in other settings, such as public and conservatory libraries. All in all, Music Collection Development and Management in the Digital Age is an essential reference for all who work with music collections, whether in music libraries specifically, general library collections with music holdings, or centralized library acquisitions departments.

The current digital age is impacting the contents and delivery of instructional service in many ways. Instructional sessions not only describe various features of a resource, but these sessions also bring issues like the ethical use of information, copyrights, and the value of open knowledge to light. Librarians are required to help users to learn use these tools. Changing the Scope of Library Instruction in the Digital Age provides emerging information on data visualization tools, creating effective instructions, and instructional design in library sciences. While highlighting the challenges of effectively training new and seasoned librarians in these various aspects of data technology and teaching methods, readers will learn the importance of giving librarians the tools they need to complete their new responsibilities. This book is an important resource for entry level and seasoned librarians, researchers, and instructional design specialists seeking current research on up to date library instruction in the modern technology age.