Educating the academic librarian as a blended professional: a review and case study

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the phenomenon of the hybrid information specialist in the academic library setting. It does this in relation to curriculum development for preparatory and continuing professional education for librarianship and makes particular reference to the contemporary iSchools movement.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews trends and developments in academic information services and the information science academy in the context of continuing technological advances and educational change. It presents a case study of curriculum development and portfolio renewal, using the specialist roles of digital library manager and information literacy educator to show how the principles of interactive planning can be applied in articulating an academic strategy to meet the changing demands of educational institutions, professional bodies and employers.FindingsThere are significant parallels between professional education and professional practice in the shifting boundaries, expanded portfolios and challenged identities evident in the current information marketplace. A combination of continuous incremental development with periodic fundamental review enables professional educators to meet the changing mandates of different stakeholder groups. When combined with a strong professional focus, the breadth and depth of multidisciplinary expertise found in a research‐led iSchool facilitates the design of specialised pathways and programmes for practitioners moving into blended roles.Practical implicationsPractitioners intent on careers in academic libraries should consider the opportunities and demands of hybrid blended roles when choosing educational programmes and pathways.Originality/valueThe paper provides a conceptual framework to illustrate the nature of emergent professional roles and current challenges facing professional educators. Ackoff's interactive planning theory is used to illuminate the problem of academic planning in complex pluralist contexts.

Fostering New Roles for Librarians: Skills Set for Repository Managers — Results of a Survey in Italy

“…He generically concludes that 'support for IRs involves many skills, ranging from the ability to create metadata and integrate information systems to the ability to promote the IR as an indispensable information management tool' (Walters, 2007, p. 223). Corral presented a model of blended information professionals based on three traditional specialist professional groups and includes repository librarians in the e-content and digital library specialists group (Corral, 2010).…”

Blended Librarianship

“…Sheila Corrall correctly points out that "partnering and collaboration are central to Bell and Shank' s concept of the 'blended librarian'." 25 In contrast, Wolfe, Naylor, and Drueke' s claim that blended librarianship is in direct opposition to the learning commons model. They explain that the learning commons "brings together librarians and staff with specific skills whereas in the blended librarian model the reference librarian is FOR YOUR EnRIChMEnT expected to be expert in all areas."…”

“…. " 28 Obviously, librarians are not going to be playing only one role. As James Neal points out, in his discussion of the future of academic libraries, the core responsibilities are information selection, acquisition, synthesis, navigation, distribution, interpretation, education, application, and preservation dominate.…”

Putting Research into Practice: An Exploration of Sheffield iSchool Approaches to Connecting Research with Practice

“…Fifteen articles (40.5 percent of the sample) appeared to display all these characteristics, suggesting that they may represent good examples of connecting research with practice. Among the most explicit examples of relating research to practice were two articles that dealt with the practice of research (Gorrell et al, 2011;Idrees et al, 2011) and four articles dealing in whole or in part with the practice of education (Corrall, 2010;Levy et al, 2009;Sen & Ford, 2009;Webber, 2010). This may suggest that direct statements linking research to practice can be most clearly discerned in studies that emerge directly from the current practice context of the authors themselves, either as researchers or as educators.…”