Abstract
As the demand for electronic resources librarians increases, there is an expectation that graduate programs and continuing education will supply librarians with the appropriate qualifications. However, there are no agreed-upon competencies for this specialty. Sarah Sutton is conducting research for her doctoral dissertation to develop a definitive set of core competencies for electronic resources librarianship. She discussed using the position requirements in job advertisements as a way to learn what competencies employers are seeking in prospective applicants.
INTRODUCTION
Sarah Sutton explained that she wants to identify a definitive set of core competencies for electronic resources librarians as part of the research for her doctoral dissertation. Why would this be important or even necessary? Sutton pointed out that there is an increasing demand for electronic resources librarians and an expectation by employers that master's degree programs in library science and continuing education efforts will supply librarians with the appropriate competencies. On the other hand, educators seem to be relying on employers to identify the appropriate competencies. Also, the recently adopted American Library Association (ALA) Core Competencies in Librarianship are primarily general competencies,Footnote 1 and refer those seeking specialist competencies to specialist professional organizations. However, there are no national or international serials or electronic resources organizations which have adopted any competencies for electronic resources librarians. Clearly there is a void waiting to be filled.
Sutton described her research plan. She is starting by asking what competencies librarian employers seek for electronic resources librarian positions. Later, she will address additional questions about what competencies are taught in master's program courses and which are taught in continuing education courses. Then, she plans to explore any differences between the competencies sought by employers and those taught in graduate or continuing education courses. She will also examine the relationship between the ALA Core Competencies of Librarianship and the competencies for electronic resources positions sought by employers and taught in Master's degree programs and continuing education courses. This article focuses on the first component of her research plan, identifying competencies sought by employers.
BACKGROUND AND DEFINITIONS
Using a systems approach as identified in The System of Professions, Footnote 2 Sutton demonstrated how electronic resources librarianship is a profession. She shared Reitz's definition of electronic resources as “information containers that require the mediation of a computer in order for their contents to be accessed and used,”Footnote 3 and provided her own definition of an electronic resources librarian as a “librarian whose job responsibilities include the acquisition, organization, maintenance, and provision of access to electronic resources.” Sutton listed several published definitions of competency, and shared her own as “the knowledge and skills possessed by individual members of a profession that allow the profession as a whole to retain jurisdiction over the work it does, and the qualifications sought by employers (as described in job advertisements) of members of a profession.”
PRIOR RESEARCH
Quite a bit of prior research has been done on electronic resources librarianship in three areas: (1) identification of core competencies, (2) changes in competencies over time, and (3) the degree to which competencies for electronic resources librarianship are taught in master's programs. Advertisements for positions have been used to identify competencies and analyzed to support hypotheses about changes over time or coverage in librarian education. However, these studies were not generally easily replicated. Analysis of changes over time reveals that the types of libraries seeking positions have broadened. The total number of advertisements doubled from 1994 to 1995 and then again from 1995 to 2000. Sutton noted that in the 1990s the majority of job advertisements had a public services orientation, whereas a technical services orientation was predominant in the 2000s.Footnote 4 Interestingly, traditional competencies were consistently required by employers, while newer skills were listed as desirable qualifications.Footnote 5
An examination of data from master's degree course descriptions and syllabi, as sources for competencies being taught, revealed some interesting results.Footnote 6 Advertisements mentioned qualifications that were infrequently found in course syllabi. They included skills or knowledge in the following areas:Footnote 7
| • | Interpersonal communication | ||||
| • | Metadata schemata | ||||
| • | Budgeting and financial management of libraries | ||||
| • | Digital libraries and collections | ||||
| • | Database design and management | ||||
| • | Marketing | ||||
Serials librarians have written about the need to improve library education in the area of serials.Footnote 8 Specifically, they have expressed a concern that those who administer and teach in master's programs do not consider serials important since historically very few programs have included a separate course devoted entirely to work with serials.Footnote 9 Sutton's recent research on library school curricula, however, reveals an increase in the continuing resources content available to students.Footnote 10
METHODOLOGY
Starting with the premise that advertisements for positions are a logical source of competencies, Sutton shared an interesting quotation: “no organization wants to hire incompetent people.”Footnote 11 Other authors point out that advertisements are created to describe the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in order to fulfill the responsibilities of the position being advertised.Footnote 12
To conduct her research, Sutton identified a number of sources for job advertisements that were published between January 2005 and December 2009. These included the electronic discussion lists ERIL-L (Electronic Resources in Libraries) and SERIALST; the Web sites “NASIG Jobs,” “ALA JobLIST,” and “LISJobs.com”; and the publication College & Research Libraries News. She limited her search for professional position advertisements containing the word electronic, the word services or resources, and the word librarian, coordinator, or specialist in the position title. She included positions with dual titles, such as Systems/Electronic Resources Librarian. Duplicates published within twelve months of each other were eliminated, and advertisements needed to provide complete information. A total of 246 were identified through this process for further analysis.
Sutton used content analysis to identify words or phrases used to describe a competency and then coded and counted the number of occurrences of each competency in the advertisements. She created a set of instructions to test her methodology on a random sample of twenty-five (a 10 percent sample) in hopes that these instructions would be readily replicable. She then used these instructions to code all 246 advertisements.
RESULTS
From these 246 advertisements, Sutton identified seventy-six competencies sought by prospective employers. The most frequently listed requirement was an ALA-accredited Master of Library Science (MLS) degree, followed in order by experience with an integrated library system, ability to work collaboratively, familiarity with industry trends, and a customer service orientation. Competencies important for electronic resources librarianship in the list of the top twenty-five most frequently cited in advertisements include:
| • | Analytical and problem solving skills | ||||
| • | Experience managing/maintaining electronic resources | ||||
| • | Experience with, knowledge of, or skill using technology | ||||
| • | Experience with link resolvers and knowledge of OpenURL standards | ||||
| • | Experience licensing electronic resources | ||||
| • | Flexibility in the face of change | ||||
| • | Experience with or knowledge of serials and/or electronic resources acquisitions | ||||
| • | Cataloging related skills and/or experience | ||||
| • | Experience with or knowledge of electronic management systems | ||||
| • | Experience working with electronic resources vendors | ||||
Additional competencies important for electronic resources librarianship mentioned in the advertisements that were outside the top twenty-five include:
| • | Experience troubleshooting electronic resources | ||||
| • | Experience with or knowledge of federated search engines | ||||
| • | Experience with or knowledge of the administrative functions of library subscription databases | ||||
| • | Ability to incorporate new technologies and innovations into existing operations | ||||
CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
What is the significance of the research Sutton is undertaking? She believes it will legitimize electronic resources librarianship and strengthen its jurisdiction. The research will also provide educators with an understanding of the competencies employers seek, so that master's degree programs can in turn provide employers with competent professionals.
Additional questions came up during the discussion period. Is experience working with usage statistics a competency? Sutton indicated that it is, as well as other software skills like knowledge of Excel, Access, and Structured Query Language (SQL). Someone asked which Master's courses would be helpful in meeting electronic resources librarianship competencies. Sutton suggested cataloging and metadata, any that discuss online repositories, and courses from management programs on financial issues and business practices. Does the size of an employer's institution make a difference in the requirements? Sutton did not analyze the advertisements based on size but noted that most electronic resources librarian positions are in academic libraries, with a few public, special, or consortial positions. Someone asked if she analyzed trends or other changes over the time of her study. Sutton replied that she had not yet done so, but has the data should she decide to pursue a longitudinal examination. Sutton also wondered if the maturity of an electronic resource librarian position at an institution impacted the list of requirements, but decided not to analyze this facet.
Sutton invited audience members to assist with analyzing job advertisements as a way to test her methodology. Otherwise, we should all look forward to seeing her dissertation published before the next NASIG conference in 2011.
Notes
1. American Library Association, “ALA's Core Competences of Librarianship,” January 27, 2009, http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/careers/corecomp/corecompetences/finalcorecompstat09.pdf (accessed July 8, 2010).
2. Andrew Abbott, The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988).
3. Joan M. Reitz, ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science, s.v. “Electronic Resource,” http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_e.cfm#eresource (accessed July 8, 2010).
4. Rebecca S. Albitz, “Electronic Resource Librarians in Academic Libraries: A Position Announcement Analysis, 1996–2001,” Portal: Libraries and the Academy 2, no. 4 (October 2002): 589–600, doi:10.1353/pla.2002.0069.
5. Hanna Kwasik, “Qualifications for a Serials Librarian in an Electronic Environment,” Serials Review 28, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 33–37, doi:10.1016/S0098-7913(01)00167-8; Michael L. Bradford and others, “Education and Electronic Resources (ER) Librarianship: How Library School Programs Are Meeting the Needs of the ER Librarian Position,” Collection Management 32, no. 1/2 (February 2008): 49–69, doi:10.1300/J105v32n01_05.
6. Bradford and others, “Education and Electronic Resources (ER) Librarianship”; Sarah W. Sutton, “Formal Education in Work with Continuing Resources: Do Barriers Really Exist?” Journal of Education for Library & Information Science 50, no. 3 (Summer 2009): 143–151; Khalid Mahmood, “A Comparison between Needed Competencies of Academic Librarians and LIS Curricula in Pakistan,” Electronic Library 21, no. 2 (2003): 99–109, doi:10.1108/02640470310462434; Kayvan Kousha and Mahshid Abdoli, “Subject Analysis of Online Syllabi in Library and Information Science: Do Academic LIS Programs Match with Job Requirements?” in World Library and Information Congress: 74th IFLA General Conference and Council (Quebec: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2008), http://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla74/papers/123-Kousha_Abdoli-en.pdf (accessed July 8, 2010).
7. Kousha and Abdoli, “Subject Analysis of Online Syllabi.”
8. Esther Green Bierbaum, “Plugged-in Jell-O™: Taught or Caught?” Serials Librarian 29, no. 3/4 (December 1996): 89–103, doi:10.1300/J123v29n03_10; Ruth C. Carter, “Education for Serials: A Presentation at the Phinazee Symposium,” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 16, no. 3 (October 1993): 59–70, doi:10.1300/J104v16n03_07; Mary Elizabeth Clack, “Serials Education for Librarians,” Serials Librarian 11, no. 3/4 (April 1987): 181–183, doi:10.1300/J123v11n03_19; Peter Clayton, “Education for Serials Librarianship: A Library School Perspective,” Australian & New Zealand Journal of Serials Librarianship 4, no. 2 (1993): 109–114; Linda Golian and Ellen Leadem (presenters) and Katy Ginanni (recorder), “Preparing Tomorrow's Serial Leaders: Creating New Alliances among Library Schools, Libraries, and Serials Professionals,” Serials Librarian 28, no. 3/4 (April 1996): 291–295, doi:10.1300/J123v28n03_13; Elizabeth Hanson and Germaine Linkins, “Serials Education in Library Schools,” Journal of Education for Librarianship 23, no. 2 (Fall 1982): 83–95; Lois N. Upham, “Serials Education in the United States: Where are We Now?” Advances in Serials Management 3 (1989): 131–151.
9. Clack, “Serials Education for Librarians”; Clayton, “Education for Serials Librarianship”; Hanson and Linkins, “Serials Education in Library Schools”; Upham, “Serials Education in the United States.”
10. Sutton, “Formal Education in Work with Continuing Resources.”
11. William Fisher, “Core Competencies for the Acquisitions Librarian,” Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services 25, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 181, doi:10.1016/S1464-9055(01)00190-7.
12. See also: John Cullen, “A Review of Library and Information Service Job Advertisements: What Do They Tell Us about Work in the Irish Library Sector?” Journal of Information Science 26, no. 4 (August 2000): 278–281, doi:10.1177/016555150002600409.