What Is Needed to Educate Future Digital Librarians: A Study of Current Practice and Staffing Patterns in Academic and Research Libraries

摘要

Duetothechangingnatureoflibrarianshipresultingfromtheincreasingamountofinformationavailableindigitalformat,educatingdigitallibrarianshasbecomeanimportantagendawithinlibraryandinformationscienceschools.Todesignandofferappropriatecoursesandteachingapproachesfortrainingcompetentdigitallibrarians,educatorscanbenefitfromfeedbackprovidedbycurrentpractitionersinordertoaccuratelydeterminewhatskillsandknowledgearereallyrequiredfordigitallibrarianstobeeffectiveinthedigitalworkplace.Tothatend,wesurveyedcurrentdigitallibraryprofessionalsinacademiclibrariesintheUnitedStatestoidentifytheiractivitiesandskillsandtodetectanygapsintheirtraining.Weanalyzedinputfromthesurveyresponsestolearnmoreaboutthenatureofdigitallibraryworkpracticesandtoidentifycommonandnecessaryattributes(knowledgeandskills)requiredof"digitallibrarians."Thefindingsfromourstudyhaveimplicationsforthedesignofdigitallibraryeducationthatmeetsrealworkplaceneeds.