Top Skills for Tomorrow's Librarians ....
Source: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2016/03/featured/top-skills-for-tomorrows-librarians-careers-2016/#_
Dear Library Colleagues
Our work environment is a dynamic one. See
the skills listed below, mostly “soft skills” required to continue as a
librarian in the current and future work environment. We constantly need to
explore ways to remain relevant, since we can be relevant in so many ways.
How many can you tick off?
1
Advocacy/Politics
This key competency has two distinct but overlapping
paths: raising awareness of value among stakeholders, with an eye to
maintaining or increasing funding, and building community, organization, and
outreach, with an eye to expanding those services and effectively serving the
constituencies who need them. According to Patrick Losinski, CEO of the
Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH (2010 LJ Library of the
Year), the field needs “people who are very comfortable in the public sphere.
Must participate and be proactive—not rely on past reactive methods.”
To get there, says Rivkah K. Sass, director of the
Sacramento Public Library, CA, and the 2006 LJLibrarian of the
Year, “Library education that includes courses in public policy, budget
advocacy, and building partnerships will be more critical than ever.”
2
Collaboration
Both within the staff and among board members,
community organizations and individuals, and other libraries, the ability to
work collaboratively is hardly a new skill in libraries but one that will be
increasingly important as economies of scale produce everything from shared
collections and off-site storage to complex ecosystems like SHARE and DPLA (the
Digital Public Library of America).
3
Communication/People Skills
Mentioned in some form by virtually everyone we spoke
to is an ongoing necessity to communicate effectively to stakeholders—“to
articulate our value in communities and the ability to speak about all of our
offerings and how those offerings can practically impact people’s lives,”
explains Nicolle Ingui Davies, executive director of the Arapahoe Library
District, Centennial, CO, and the 2016 LJ Librarian of the Year.
This skill is also essential in dealing with library
staff, as in “giving and receiving professional critique, conflict resolution,
and active listening,” specifies Sean Casserley, county librarian, Johnson
County Library, Overland Park, KS, and his executive team. Last but not least,
it comes into play with patrons, “providing meaningful exchanges and
experiences for our users,” according to Rosemary Cooper, director of the
Albert Wisner Public Library, Warwick, NY, the 2016 LJ Best
Small Library in America.
4
Creativity/Innovation
Pam Sandlian Smith, director of the Anythink Libraries
in Adams County, CO, tells LJ, “I think creativity is probably the
most important and the most lacking [skill], not only in library schools but in
education in general.”
5
Critical Thinking
A baseline skill but one still perhaps more honored in
the breach. The most hands-on guidance for librarians looking to develop this
key attribute was offered by Casserley and company, who suggest “following the
guidelines of Richard Paul and Linda Elder. Their work came from the Foundation
and Center for Critical Thinking.”
6
Data Analysis
Both Losinski and Vailey Oehkle, director of the
Multnomah County Libraries, Portland, OR, cited identifying the data needed to
make decisions; knowing how to collect, analyze, and gain insight from that
data; and presenting the accompanying narrative to explain it to others.
7
Flexibility
Not surprisingly, given the pervasive landscape of
rapid change and repeated disruption, many leaders called out flexible thinking
as an essential. That doesn’t mean not having any unmoving goalposts, however.
Sandlian Smith cites the “ability to…balance flexibility with structure.”
Oehkle adds into the mix the related concept of comfort with ambiguity.
8
Leadership
As Eva D. Poole, director of the Virginia Beach Public
Library, sums up, “I believe library schools should be teaching leadership
skills. As my generation retires, we need new leaders, especially those who can
strongly advocate for libraries and library workers.”
Under this heading, also, came some aspects of
self-knowledge: Casserley says these future leaders “should know their
Myers-Briggs profile and have a good understanding of their personal
preferences and work style. They should be aware of other personality styles
and…how to flex to another style [and] know how to develop their own
development plan.”
Beyond these tools, Cooper bottom lines the essentials
of leadership: “Asking hard questions and being willing to listen to the
answers and do something about it.”
9
Marketing
Another staple skill, marketing will be at least as
important in the future as it is right now. Columbus’s Losinski notes that “it
is important to differentiate among communications, community relations, public
relations, advertising, government relations, etc. Few have this skill set.”
Casserley calls out in particular “how to market the library and the services
[it offers] through your social network and how to work with a marketing
department in a collaborative manner.”
10
Project Management
Casserley and Oehkle both cite the importance of
project management expertise, including scheduling and capacity planning.
Related are budgets, facilities, and grant writing.
11
Technological Expertise
Web development (and “whatever comes next in that
space”), technological literacy, and coding were among the specific examples of
tech know-how called out. As Bonnie Tijerina, founder of the Electronic
Resources & Libraries conference, says, “In order to critically evaluate
what we serve up to users, we need more library professionals who can
understand what’s happening underneath the surface.” And because tech is the
fastest changing and most rapidly obsolescent skill set of those named, Oehkle
points out that just as key as existing technical skills is the “willingness to
continually learn new ones.”
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