A survey of New Zealand academic reference librarians: Current and future skills and competencies

Abstract

A survey of New Zealand academic subject/reference librarians was conducted in mid-2011 to identify the most highly valued knowledge, skills and competencies of reference librarians working in libraries in the tertiary sector. The project was part of an international collaborative project involving 13 countries. The results from New Zealand show that serving academic library customers requires not only traditional ‘reference’ skills, but also skills in customer service, technology support, and training. Good communication skills were also rated highly by respondents, and the high value placed on adaptability/flexibility shows that most respondents expect their roles to continue to change in the next decade. Software troubleshooting skills were also considered important. The results also suggest that traditional paper-based reference sources are expected to become much less important than online ones. There is also a shift towards using social media to interact with customers, and a focus on building sustainable relationships.

Keywords:

• academic libraries
• New Zealand
• reference services
• library surveys
• professional knowledge
• professional skills

Introduction

What skills does an academic reference librarian need in the 21st century? Changes in information and communication technology (ICT) used to communicate with members of an academic library's community mean that library staff involved in providing reference services may need to develop new skills, while at the same time maintaining their traditional skills. These traditional skills include knowledge of reference sources, the reference interview, and the ability to provide information literacy instruction, while the new skills include the use of social media, such as blogs, Twitter, and Facebook to reach out to new clients. This paper reports on the results of an online survey of New Zealand academic library reference staff, asking what activities they carried out as part of their daily activities, as well as what skills and knowledge they judged to be important in the future. The results will be useful to library managers, staff involved in designing professional development programmes, and also to academics in library and information schools that teach reference courses.

The next section of this paper reviews relevant literature discussing changing skills and competencies needed for reference work. This is followed by a description of the study's research design and the main findings. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for academic libraries, and for library and information studies education providers. It also suggests future research to extend the findings to other contexts.

Related literature

The way reference services are delivered in academic libraries changed considerably in the last half of the twentieth century. The rapidly changing nature of the tertiary academic library environment makes these changes essential to ensure that academic reference services remain relevant to all types of customers. The key drivers of these changes identified by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Research Planning and Review Committee (2012) include new delivery models for higher education, on-going technological change, a shift to mobile devices, new models of scholarly communication, and changing user expectations of library services. All of these have the potential to affect library services, and the skills, knowledge, and competencies library staff need to deliver them.

While there is a wealth of professional literature about reference competencies, much of this focuses on specific skills or new service models, such as virtual reference (Pinto and Manso 2012), ebooks (Bell 2009), embedded librarians (Hoffman 2011; Kennedy 2011), or roving reference (Gadsby and Qian 2012). Considerably less attention has been paid to the overall context of reference work in academic libraries, or the range of skills staff need to be effective.

Tyckoson (2011) examined trends in managing library reference services, noting that four core functions of reference work were first identified in the nineteenth century. These are:

1.	Teaching people how to use the library and its resources;
2.	Answering questions from library customers;
3.	Recommending resources to meet customers' information needs; and
4.	Promoting library services to its community (Tyckoson 2011, 259).

These four functions provide a useful framework for understanding the types of skills a reference librarian needs, since these functions involve not only interacting with users and non-users, but also familiarity with the library's collection. What has changed since the nineteenth century of course is how these functions are carried out, but their on-going relevance is striking. For example, Fagan's suggestions for self-directed learning for new reference librarians cover all four areas, including learning about the wider organisation and community, learning about the physical and digital collections, and learning how to conduct a reference interview (2000). Similarly, Duke University Libraries have recently articulated the changing role of subject (reference) librarians, identifying the following broad areas of activity: engagement, teaching and learning, research services and collection development. Digital tools, scholarly communication, technical services, exhibits, fundraising/grants management and external outreach are also discussed (Task Force on Subject Librarian Re-Visioning 2011).

In 2001, Cardina and Wicks (2004) conducted a survey of academic reference librarians to determine how their duties had changed between 1991 and 2001. They found that the mean number of different tasks reference librarians performed increased from 10.6 to 14, face-to-face reference and bibliographic instruction both decreased, and designing web pages and online tutorials was increasing. Wang, Tang, and Knight (2010) analysed job advertisements for academic reference positions in the United States between 1966 and 2009. Their findings showed a steady increase in the number of positions advertised, as well as increasing diversity in position titles in the sampled advertisements. The scope of the positions appeared to increase from the late 1970s, with instruction and outreach more common from 2000. This suggests that the first and last of the core functions Tyckoson discussed have become more important in recent years, in contrast to reference work in the twentieth century, when there was more focus on understanding sources and the reference interview. This is supported by Johnson's 2011 reflection on the changing nature of reference work in the last 25 years, where he notes a generational divide between new staff, who are comfortable using technology to locate resources and interact with users, but lack knowledge of the physical resources that can also be used to answer clients' questions. Knibbe-Haanstra (2008) notes that reference librarians appear to be positive about these changes in reference work, despite the relatively rapid rate of change, and increased responsibilities (24).

Wise, Henninger, and Kennan (2011) examined the skills specified in 441 Australian job advertisements for information professionals, finding that reference skills were the most frequently mentioned professional skill, though overall the most highly ranked skills were what they termed ‘generic’, including behavioural characteristics, interpersonal skills, and IT skills.

The evolution of reference work has also had implications for the way reference is taught in library and information studies programmes. Roy (2010) notes that the current generation of students may have more experience with online sources than print ones, and may be reluctant to use proprietary sources because of their experience finding information through freely available sources such as Wikipedia.

So far no one has examined changes in reference services in academic libraries in New Zealand, though the international nature of the field suggests that many of the changes identified in the literature will also be found there.

Research design

This study used a quantitative methodology to gather data from practicing academic reference librarians. In mid-2011, the authors were invited to be part of an international survey of reference librarians intended to extend previous research examining the competencies required for academic reference librarians (Saunders 2012). Australia also participated in the survey (Haddow 2012). The online survey used in the original US research was modified slightly for the New Zealand context, retaining as much of the original wording as possible to allow the results to be compared. The original list of competencies was developed from the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association (ALA) Professional Competencies and Behavioral Guidelines for reference librarians and from relevant articles in the professional literature.

The survey asked respondents what they did in a typical week, and to identify which skills and competencies they considered important for reference librarians, including general, technology, and personal/interpersonal skills. It also asked them which two or three of these are most important, currently, and in the next decade. The final section of the survey gave respondents an opportunity to describe what competencies they look for in new reference librarians. The survey was anonymous, though respondents were asked to identify their institution in order to track response rates by sector.

An email invitation to complete the online survey was sent out to the managers of all tertiary sector libraries listed in the Directory of New Zealand Libraries, with a request to ask any staff member with reference responsibilities to complete the survey. In addition, a reminder about the survey was posted to tel-sig, an electronic mailing list for the tertiary library sector. The population for the research included the eight New Zealand universities, 18 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs), and three wānanga. Wānanga are further education institutions using Māori ways of teaching and learning. Two respondents came from private training establishments (PTEs). A total of 81 responses were received, with the majority of respondents (67, or 82.7%) employed in university libraries. The additional breakdown of responses was 14.6% (12) ITP libraries, 1.2% (1) wānanga libraries, and 2.4% (2) other libraries (such as PTEs).

New Zealand university libraries contribute data to the CAUL statistics (http://statistics.caul.edu.au), but these only include total staff at different salary bands, and do not identify reference staff. No data are available about reference staff in ITP or other types of tertiary libraries. Most academic libraries do not list individual staff, or their positions, on publicly available websites, so it is not possible to determine the total population. Based on the number of institutions in each sector, the results suggest that coverage of university libraries is reasonable, but coverage of the other types of institutions is low.

Findings and discussion

This section presents and discusses the survey results. The respondents were predominately female (67, or 82.7%), with a majority aged between 41 and 60 (52, or 64.2%). A further 18.5% (15) were aged between 31 and 40, 14.8% (12) were over 60, and only 2.4% (2) were under 30 years of age. Most worked full-time (80.2%, or 65), and over a half (51.8%, or 42) have been members of the library profession for more than 20 years, with a further 30.8% (15) having between eight and 20 years experience as a professional librarian. One-third (27) had worked at their current employer for between eight and 15 years, and approximately one-quarter (24.7%, or 20) between four and seven years. Overall the respondents appeared to have had stable careers, meaning their experience spans the time period during which most of the technological changes affecting reference work have occurred.

Respondents held a range of qualifications. Roughly four in 10 (34) had a Master's level qualification in library and information studies, with a further third holding a diploma in library and information studies. One respondent was currently studying for a Master of Information Studies degree. Approximately 10% (8) held a Master's degree in another discipline. Since most university libraries place a high value on formal qualifications, this result was expected, and it suggests that at least three-quarters of respondents had studied reference work as part of their formal education.

Respondents' job titles were varied, with a range similar to that in Wang, Tang, and Knight (2010). Though 32 (39.5%) identified themselves as a reference librarian, other job titles included Information Services Librarian (9), Subject Librarian (8), and Liaison Librarian (4). Only a small proportion of respondents indicated that they held a management position, which ranged from Team Leader to Library Manager.

The range of activities respondents undertook in a typical week showed considerable variation, and it appeared that no two positions were identical in scope. A majority (60.5%, or 49), mentioned desk shifts, while 56.8% (46) provided training to staff or students, and over a half (53.1%, or 43) were also involved in collection development. Less frequent activities included ICT troubleshooting (24, or 29.6%), and developing online subject guides (20, or 24.6%). Only 9.9% (8) were involved in course liaison with teaching staff. The most common activities were desk shifts, collection development, and training/instruction, though there was again considerable variation across respondents.

The next section of the survey asked respondents to identify which qualifications, skills, and competencies they felt were currently needed for reference work. show the results categorised as general, technology, and personal/interpersonal skills.

Table 1 General qualifications, skills, and competencies.

	n	% (n = 70)
Customer service	65	92.9
Search skills	65	92.9
Familiarity with online reference sources	64	91.4
Traditional reference interviews	58	82.9
Familiarity with paper reference sources	53	75.7
Pedagogic knowledge and skills	51	72.9
Current events awareness	43	61.4
Assessment and evaluation	41	58.6
Master's degree in LIS	30	42.9
Bachelor's degree in LIS	28	40.0
Research/publishing	28	40.0
Marketing	24	34.3
Knowledge of cataloguing	22	31.4
Budgeting	12	17.1
Second Bachelor's degree	12	17.1
Supervisory experience	9	12.9
Negotiating, for instance with vendors	8	11.4
Foreign language	7	10.0
Second Master's degree	5	7.1

Table 2 Technology qualifications, skills, and competencies.

	n	%(n = 70)
Online searching	67	95.7
Software troubleshooting	52	74.3
Social media	45	64.3
Web maintenance	35	50.0
Chat/IM	32	45.7
Hardware troubleshooting	26	37.1
Web design	24	34.0
Programming	3	4.3

Table 3 Personal/interpersonal qualifications, skills, and competencies.

	n	% (n = 70)
Verbal communication	69	98.6
Approachability	67	95.7
Listening	67	95.7
Adaptability/flexibility	64	91.4
Comfort with instruction/teaching	64	91.4
Self-motivated	60	85.7
Written communication	60	85.7
Working in teams	59	84.3
Sense of humour	58	82.9
Building relationships with co-workers	57	81.4
Building relationships with other professional colleagues	57	81.4
Organisational awareness	49	70.0
Conflict management	43	61.4
Stress management	43	61.4

Respondents were also asked to indicate which two or three of these were most important, with the results showing that these were the most frequently mentioned qualifications, skills, and competencies, with the exception of current events awareness, which was not rated as most important.

However, there were some clear differences when respondents were asked which qualifications, skills, and competencies would be the most important for the next decade. compare the skills, knowledge, and qualifications respondents felt were important now with the ones they believed would be important over the next decade. These show similarities and differences in priority, and give some indications about which skills are core to reference work, and which are expected to change because of changes to the context in which reference work is done. Overall the results show that all of the personal skills included in the survey received support from more than 50% of respondents, suggesting that an individual reference librarian's attitudes and personality are considered to be more important than most general or technical skills. Wise, Henninger, and Kennan (2011) found a similar pattern in their analysis of job advertisements for information management positions, which covered a wider range of information-related work. The most commonly required skill employers named in advertisements were behavioural characteristics, followed by interpersonal skills, which were grouped under personal skills in the research reported here.

Figure 1 General skills important now, and in the next decade.

Figure 2 Technology skills important now, and in the next decade.

Figure 3 Personal/interpersonal skills important now, and in the next decade.

Figure 1 indicates that respondents expect the traditional reference interview and familiarity with paper sources to become less important in future, while marketing and research and publishing will increase. They also see a Master's degree becoming more important than a Bachelor's degree, perhaps because of the need for research and publishing, which is more likely to be an integral component of a postgraduate degree.

Figure 2 shows that respondents felt that the most important technical skill would continue to be online searching, and that software troubleshooting would remain important. However, other technology skills are expected to rise in importance, particularly web design, with over 50% of respondents expecting academic reference librarians to need this skill in the next decade. This suggests that respondents expect library services to continue to shift to digital delivery, on the Web or other channels. As a result of this, reference staff will need to be able to develop high-quality digital resources to meet user needs.

Overall, Figure 3 shows that respondents expect there to be little change over the next decade in the personal and interpersonal skills important for reference work, though self-motivation and written communication are expected to become less important, while working in teams is expected to become slightly more important (thus suggesting that ‘self-motivation’ was narrowly interpreted as meaning working on one's own). This again implies that respondents expect priorities to change as academic libraries become more reliant on virtual services and interactions with their clients. This finding is supported by the responses to a question about which aspects of reference work have changed the most in the last 10 years. The most common themes in the responses were the shift to virtual communication and the use of online sources, combined with an increased need for teaching users about information literacy, and being able to solve hardware and software problems. This comment sums up the responses well:

At its core, we are still WHAT we have always been: a service industry to assist and enable our patrons. However the HOW has changed noticeably: electronic resources have increased our options and effectiveness (and sometimes our frustration), certainly our efficiency. With increased connectivity has come a need for critical evaluation — not that we were necessarily less discerning in the 20th century… we merely had fewer options!

The next section of the survey asked respondents what skills or competencies they felt had been lacking in new reference staff. There was considerable variation in the responses, suggesting that most respondents were basing them on their experience of a small number of new staff—in fact one respondent commented that there had been no ‘new hires’ recently. However, one theme that emerged from several respondents was a lack of general knowledge and limited current awareness. This may reflect the tendency for “Google generation” individuals to take a superficial approach to information seeking (Rowlands et al., 2008).

At the end of the survey, respondents were asked to provide additional comments on reference work in the twenty-first century. As with the previous section, there was considerable variation in the responses, with few common themes. One comment reflected the increasing complexity of the modern reference environment, saying that it is increasingly important for employers “to give all staff time to learn new things”, while another emphasised the importance of the traditional reference interview, saying “although the format and delivery mode changes, the ‘traditional’ reference interview skills are more important than ever”. This respondent also acknowledged the outreach aspects of the role, noting that, “relationship-building and marketing skills are becoming more important, especially in academic liaison work”.

Overall the results show that the scope of reference work in academic libraries is expanding, with increasing emphasis on communication and the ability to build relationships with stakeholder groups. One noticeable difference from the original US survey is the lack of support for a second Master's degree. Saunders (2012) found that 28.2% of respondents from US academic libraries supported the need for a second Master's degree, while the equivalent value from the New Zealand results reported here was 7.1% (5). In contrast, support for a second language was roughly the same in the two samples, with 11.9% in the US supporting this, compared with 10.0% in New Zealand.

In many North American universities, librarians have faculty status, which requires them to seek tenure after a specified period of time (usually five to six years). This is not the case in New Zealand, which does not have a tenure system for any academic staff. It is possible that the lower support for a second Master's degree in New Zealand is related to this difference, since library staff are not required to carry out research themselves. In contrast, reference librarians in US academic libraries may feel that a second Master's degree provides not only more detailed knowledge of a specific discipline, but is also better preparation for carrying out original research.

Limitations

Although respondents represented every New Zealand university, plus seven ITP libraries and one wānanga, they are unlikely to be representative of academic library staff with reference responsibilities in New Zealand. The results are likely to over represent the views of reference staff working in universities, while wānanga and ITP library staff are underrepresented. The voluntary nature of the survey means that it is probable that respondents were particularly interested in changes to reference work, which may mean that more traditional views are not well represented.

Conclusion

The data from this survey provide a useful snapshot of the knowledge, skills and competencies of librarians working in reference roles in our tertiary sector. The variation in scope of existing positions shows that there is definitely not a ‘one size fits all’ reference librarian position—academic library managers seem to be taking innovative approaches to providing reference services, adapting them for the context of their parent institution. This may reflect the changing nature of the role of reference librarian today, or uncertainty about the future of the traditional role. The findings from the survey suggest that the nature of the role is changing, with an increasing emphasis on the first and fourth traditional functions of reference work Tyckoson (2011) identified, namely instruction and outreach, and a decreasing emphasis on the second and third, answering reference questions and recommending sources.

Also of interest are the observations relating to a perceived lack of general knowledge/current awareness on the part of new employees. This, together with a relatively high ranking accorded to the current need for familiarity with paper reference sources, suggests that there is a risk that the depth of reference work is at risk of being compromised, and only partially compensated for with greater breadth. This is a key area that needs to be monitored, both by educators, from a curriculum perspective and by library managers, from a training needs perspective.

The most noticeable changes in the skills respondents felt would be needed in the future are in the general qualifications, skills, and knowledge, while personal skills are the most stable. Predictions for future competencies, such as the ability to deliver outreach services and advocate for the library, plus increased research and publishing, provide clear signals for educators to take into account when developing curricula and designing courses. However, curriculum changes will not be enough to provide future academic reference librarians with the knowledge and skills they will need. While educators can emphasise the importance of understanding the organisational context, managers of libraries have the responsibility for ensuring that appropriate training and resources are provided for their specific setting.

The increased support for marketing and outreach suggests that further research is needed to identify the most effective ways of building relationships with members of an academic library's community. In today's environment, academic staff have many demands on their time, with the need to provide high quality teaching, conduct research, and perform service activities within and outside their parent organisations. Reference librarians need to be aware that most academic staff have limited time to engage with the library, and identify simple and effective ways of working with them. Increasing use of social media may be one option for this. Outreach is also important to reach students, who are accustomed to finding information through freely available online sources, and may not be aware of the resources available from the academic library.

When the overall international study is complete any similarities or differences between New Zealand and the other 12 countries will be identified, together with the identification of any overall predictions for future needs. However, there is also further work that can be done within New Zealand. Replicating the survey for the special, school and public library contexts will provide valuable insight into the needs of New Zealand's library community as a whole. Gathering data from a larger sample of reference librarians working in wānanga would also give an insight into the similarities and differences between their perspective and those working in other types of New Zealand tertiary institutions. Given increased trends for collaboration, it would also be very useful to survey the archival community about their perceptions of archival reference work. Identifying points of difference and areas of commonality would greatly assist the development of front-line service for converged institutions.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the academic reference librarians who took the time to complete the survey and give us insight into what their work currently involves. We are also grateful to Laura Saunders and Mary Jordan, from Simmons College, for inviting us to be part of the project, and for setting up the survey on SurveyMonkey. Our research assistants, Bee Suan Wong and Hai Ping (Helen) Liu assisted with data collection and analysis.