Knowledge and Skills Competencies for Humanities Librarians Supporting Postgraduate Students

摘要

This paper reports on an aspect of a 2016 masters study which addresses the research question: what knowledge and skills do humanities librarians require to effectively provide support to postgraduate students in the digital age? The study adopted a qualitative approach using a multiple case study design, within a constructivist paradigm, to respond to the research question, with core competency theory used to provide theoretical support. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with purposively sampled librarians and postgraduate students from Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape, all of which are situated in the Western Cape of South Africa. A significant finding of the study is that a mixture of discipline-specific knowledge and skills, generic skills and personal attributes are required by humanities librarians to effectively support postgraduate students, especially in the current digital age. The study presents a knowledge and skills framework that could be used to ascertain humanities librarians' current knowledge and skills as well as establish areas for further knowledge and skills acquisition.