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6 - Library staff roles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2018

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Summary

Assess and develop staff skills and expertise

AS TECHNOLOGY HAS developed and also as libraries have changed focus over recent years, so the traditional role of the librarian has changed. A librarian in a modern research library needs to be outgoing, multi-talented and agile, able to adapt and continually learning and developing new skills. Even long-standing activities such as collection development require new approaches in monitoring and managing stock, whilst developments in open access, bibliometrics and research data demand a wide range of new tactics.

As Parker (2012) puts it, ‘we are moving from a cosy library to a scary library’, where our role is less about being custodians of knowledge and more about ‘assisting to increase the productivity of research and scholarship’. This can be intimidating for staff; Hansson and Johannesson (2013) talk about librarians feeling insecure in approaching researchers, so it's essential to have a well considered, focused staff development programme available.

Initially, it may help to do an audit. Identify the different aspects of the library provision to researchers; what do you do now and what else do you want to achieve? What skills will be needed to meet your aspirations? How might these be developed? Can existing staff help their colleagues? Do new roles demand new staff with different skills? What are the priorities? What is the timescale? What will happen if you don't deliver the relevant training?

Once you have a definitive (for now) list of skills, you can start to look at how you might address their development. Is there material available online, are there trainers who can run courses for staff, do staff need to be sent on training courses? Some excellent OER (open educational resource) materials are becoming available, though they may need repurposing for your own situation.

Loughborough University Library worked with the Digital Curation Centre to develop training sessions on research data management for their staff. It was felt important to take the time to build up staff confidence as ‘people haven't always enjoyed learning’ (Helen Young, Loughborough University).

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Publisher: Facet
Print publication year: 2016

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  • Library staff roles
  • Moira J. Bent
  • Book: Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
  • Online publication: 08 June 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.29085/9781783301218.007
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  • Library staff roles
  • Moira J. Bent
  • Book: Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
  • Online publication: 08 June 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.29085/9781783301218.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Library staff roles
  • Moira J. Bent
  • Book: Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
  • Online publication: 08 June 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.29085/9781783301218.007
Available formats
×