Core Professional Competencies for Librarians

Continuing Professional Development is an essential part of the modern library information professional’s successful career planning & prospects. The LIS Professionals with better personal, professional and technological competencies have great opportunities and bright future in the modern libraries. Application of new ICT in to the libraries immediately requires improvement of different kinds of skills and knowledge in library information science professionals. Continuous staff training on emerging technologies is essential to learn, improve and develop various kinds of professional skills, knowledge and competencies. Professional competencies can be thought of as flexible knowledge and skills that allow the librarian to function in a variety of environments and to produce a continuum of value-added, customized information services that cannot be easily duplicated by others. They relate to the librarian’s knowledge in the areas of information resources, information access, technology, management and research, and the ability to use these areas of knowledge as a basis for providing library and information services. The technology is complex and librarians have not developed the skills to understand it, exploit it or create it. Those few who do have such skills find they have a very marketable commodity and can make a better living elsewhere. There is an urgent necessity to learn a great variety of professional competencies to accomplish the role of professional librarian in the constantly changing challenging web environment. Professional competences enable librarians to respond effectively and efficiently to the constant development of new technologies. Some of the unique competencies of the LIS Professionals are discussed in the following sections.

1. Technical Skills

In the age of 21st centaury LIS Professional must be aware of emerging technologies. It has become increasingly important that librarians keep up with technology and have certain basic skills. In the current scenario library professional must have the knowledge of HTML, Networking, scripting languages, the ability to deal with the back-end of the OPAC, the ability to translate library services into the online medium, the ability to troubleshoot basic computer and printer problems, or just a good healthy knowledge of emerging technologies.

1.1 Online medium: LIS Professionals need to do so much online these days, way beyond basic catalog and database searching (which sure isn’t easy either). Librarians have to be able to use search engines and use them well. They need to be able to find quality online resources. They need to help patrons set up e-mail and teach basic Internet skills. They need to be able to troubleshoot problems users are having accessing online library resources, at least to the extent where they can figure out if the problem is on the library’s side or the user’s side.

1.2 Ability to troubleshoot new technologies: It is just a part of the good user service we provide in libraries. Most of the time when you are working in library our user facing problem I using the scanner, fix the printer, and troubleshoot any other technology problems they may be having. As we get new computers, printers, scanners, etc. then we will need to learn how to troubleshoot those. The key is just being able to have a decision-tree in your head of what to ask or try when there is a problem. Many librarians cannot troubleshoot this stuff. Most of the time when we troubleshoot any technical problem, we would just throw up an “out of order” sign because we just didn’t have enough computer knowledge to figure out what the problem was. It was really bad user service. Librarians should be able to play with the technologies in the library, to learn what problems commonly come up, and to fix them if necessary, because it is often our responsibility to fix them.

1.3 Ability to easily learn new technologies: Most of the time people comment that there are so many new technological things at the library that they can’t keep up. Whenever we intimated to use new gadget in library we always asked to IT team of that organization to send an expert to the library to teach library professional how to use it. The best way to play with that technology. It is hard to learn to use first time that when a user asking you to use it. Learning about new technology is definitely a skill. People need to learn how to learn about new technologies without having to ask other people for help all the time.

2. Time Management Skills

Time management refers to a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and goals. This set encompass a wide scope of activities, and these include planning, allocating, setting goals, delegation, analysis of time spent, monitoring, organizing, scheduling, and prioritizing. Initially time management referred to just business or work activities, but eventually the term broadened to include personal activities also.
As par fourth law of library science which is “save the time of users”. This also has become more important that librarian muse developed the time management skills. Because to provide better or effective services to our user time also a factor suppose if we do not provide a desired information to a user on its requires time so our whole effort to search that information would be useless if we could not provide their desired information on time. So library professional also need to developed time management skills also.

3. Presentation Skills

This is a huge one. LIS Professional must have highly effective presentation skills. Suppose when he wants to implement a new technology or service for Library clients firstly he must create a proposal for management he must show that what would be the consequence of this new technology which tool to use to train staff, market the service etc. he must show the role of that new technology in currently being used in libraries. he can develop & practice reader’s advisory skills to promote reading habit among all level of users. Through his presentation skills he can increase awareness of the role of libraries & librarians in promoting information literacy. For that he can use variety of presentation techniques to convey information to his users with different learning styles.

4. Communication Skills

Communication has a great importance in providing better services to users. He communicates the value of library service to decision makers, staff and users. When he provides information to the user he must communicate clearly and respectfully with customers and colleagues. Always Demonstrates active listening skills with customers and colleagues in his workplace. Communication is not only must be effective with users only but must have ability to negotiate effectively with publishers, customers, management & vendors.

5. Customer Service

Nowadays librarians must be customer oriented. He can demonstrate a sincere commitment to customer service. Always he must try to observe customer needs & try to provide their desired information on time. Through continual design & improve user oriented information products & competencies he can provide them better customer services. Always show them confidence & competence to deliver perfect customer services. 

6. Evaluation and Assessment Skills

LIS Professionals need to understand how any changes in the way the library provides services will affect all stakeholders. Sometimes he focuses on the needs of one group and ignores the fact that the changes that will benefit one group will not benefit another. With any change, librarians should create a list of all of the different stakeholders and actually discuss how it will affect each of them. When we say “stakeholders” we must mean not only our patrons but staff, IT, and administrators. If you implement a project that library staffs don’t support, the likelihood of success is poor. For that  continually analyzes, investigates and assesses the information service needs of the users & according to our stakeholders needs we can designs and deliver specialized value added information products and services. Time to time we can evaluates the outcomes of the use of library and information resources and services for which we can conducts research to find solutions to the identified information management problems.

7. Managerial skills

In managerial skills we include technical skills, human skills & conceptual skills. Technical skills involve process or technique knowledge and proficiency in a certain specialized field. These skills are more important for Librarian also because library professional also dealing with a huge no. of staff doing the organization’s work. The technical skill involves the Librarian’s understanding of the nature of job that people under him have to perform. Human Skills involve the ability to interact effectively with people. Librarian interacts and cooperates with employees & staff also. Because Librarian deal directly with people, this skill is crucial. Librarian with good human skills is bale to get best out of their people. Conceptual Skills involve the formulation of ideas, conceptualization about abstract and Complex situations levels. Conceptual skills refer to the ability of a Librarian to take a broad and farsighted view of the organization and its future, his ability to think in abstract, his ability to analyze the forces working in a situation, his creative and innovative ability and his ability to assess the environment and the changes taking place in it.. Thus, technical skill deals with things, human skills concerns people, and conceptual-skill has to do with ideas.

8. Knowledge of Policies, Procedures, Issues and Standards

• Maintains current awareness of professional issues impacting libraries
• Demonstrates knowledge of library policies, procedures and service standards

9. Knowledge of Information Sources & Services

• Develop specialized subject knowledge about the purpose of the organization
• Identify materials appropriate to customers’ requirements and their abilities
• Expert knowledge in the content of information resources and ability to critically evaluate and filter them
• Develop and deliver convenient, easily accessible and cost effective information services to the users (CCFR)

 

10. Commitment to Life-Long Learning

• Take responsibility for the development of one’s own professional career
• Remain knowledgeable in current events and technologies
• Pursues learning opportunities, personally or through formal training
• Flexible in adapting to new situations, systems, tools, environments
• Anticipates accepts, adapts and manages change effectively

 

11. Other Skills

• Marketing and promotion of library services
• Project management skills
• Digital rights management
• Knowledge management skills

Source: Southernlibrarianship

Regards
Rajashekara GR