Evolving Roles for Electronic Resources Librarians

Engel, Debra; Robbins, Sarah

doi:10.4018/978-1-59904-891-8.ch007

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Another subsequent potential limitation is that some job ads posted on ALA Joblist may point to a Web page where the position is more fully described. These Web pages are typically removed from the Web after the position is filled, making the information more difficult to obtain [20].…”

Section: Data Selection and Data Preprocessingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Current Market Demand for Core Competencies of Librarianship—A Text Mining Study of American Library Association’s Advertisements from 2009 through 2014

Yang

Zhang

et al. 2016

Applied Sciences

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As librarianship evolves, it is important to examine the changes that have taken place in professional requirements. To provide an understanding of the current market demand for core competencies of librarianship, this article conducts a semi-automatic methodology to analyze job advertisements (ads) posted on the American Library Association (ALA) Joblist from 2009 through 2014. There is evidence that the ability to solve unexpected complex problems and to provide superior customer service gained increasing importance for librarians during those years. The authors contend that the findings in this report question the status quo of core competencies of librarianship in the US job market.

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Section: Data Selection and Data Preprocessingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As others have claimed, analyzing librarian job advertisements (ads) can help accomplish this task [4]. Library school faculty may use these findings to develop curricula more closely aligned with real-life requirements of the workplace.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Market Demand for Core Competencies of Librarianship—A Text Mining Study of American Library Association’s Advertisements from 2009 through 2014

Yang

Zhang

et al. 2016

Applied Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Another appeal of this source of data is that it is published, and so takes little effort to collect. Engel and Robbins (, p. 114) express fears about the threat to long‐term access to data about career developments arising from the increase in online advertising and the tendency for printed advertisements to be “skeletons” without a full job description, which is offered on application. However, as Sutton's () use of the Internet Archive demonstrates, full details of jobs can often be recovered.…”

Section: The Character Of the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Evolving academic library specialties

Cox

Corrall

2013

J Am Soc Inf Sci Tec

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The purpose of this review is to examine the shaping of librarianship in the academic context through the literature of career specialties, with Abbott's (1988) system of professions providing an analytic framework. The specialties investigated are systems librarian, electronic resource librarian, digital librarian, institutional repository manager, clinical librarian and informationist, digital curator/research data manager, teaching librarian/ information literacy educator, and information and knowledge manager. Piecemeal literature based on job advertisements, surveys, and individual case studies is consolidated to offer a novel perspective on the evolution of the profession. The resilience of the profession's core jurisdiction is apparent despite pressures to erode it. Forays into teaching, and more recently into open access and data management, can be understood as responses to such pressure. The attractions but also the risks of embedded roles and overextended claims become apparent when comparing past and prospective specialties.

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“…Engel and Robbins (2008) suggest that ER librarians are "expected to be bridge builders within their library organizations" and that they often bring together staff from across library functions to "focus on the current challenges of 'any time, any place' delivery of library resources and services" (p. 116). In the ER literature, the bridge metaphor often arises in terms of ER librarians as bridges between colleagues within their own institutions.…”

Section: Theme One: Metaphors Of the "Bridge" And "Translator"mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In their content analysis of ER position listings from 2001 to 2006, Engel and Robbins (2008) identified teamwork and collaboration as frequently listed responsibilities that were not directly ER-managementrelated (p. 111). In fact, they argue that "the emphasis on communication and collaborative skills for these [ER] positions is an indication of the strong role electronic resources librarians play in fostering a team environment within their organizations" (Engel & Robbins, 2008, p. 116).…”

Section: Theme Two: Collaborating In a "Web Of Relationships"mentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical communicator: A new model for the electronic resources librarian?

Hulseberg¹

2016

Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship

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This article explores whether technical communicator is a useful model for electronic resources (ER) librarians. The fields of ER librarianship and technical communication (TC) originated and continue to develop in relation to evolving technologies. A review of the literature reveals four common themes for ER librarianship and TC. While the technical communicator model does not capture all aspects of ER librarianship, it does highlight the key communication roles played by ER librarians and the personal qualities of versatility and flexibility required of them. Suggestions for further research at the intersection of ER librarianship and TC are presented.What models or metaphors do we have for the role of the electronic resources (ER) librarian? One that is often cited in the literature is that of ER librarians as "jacks-and jills-of-all-trades" (Albitz, 2002, p. 598), versatile librarians who are expected to be adept in a range of library areas, including anything from acquisitions to reference to systems. This article explores another possible model, that of ER librarian as technical communicator. Technical communication (TC) work is described as follows by one TC graduate program: "We typically study how people communicate at work and we focus upon making documents that are clear, concise, accurate, thorough, and easy for the audience to use" (Minnesota State University Mankato, Department of English, 2015, Prospective Students section, para. 1). While working as an ER librarian in an academic library and simultaneously pursuing a master's degree in TC, the author was surprised to discover the extent to which ER management work connected with TC. This discovery served as the impetus for further exploration of the intersections between ER librarianship and TC.The purpose of this article is to explore whether the technical communicator is a helpful model for ER librarians, and to consider what we might learn from the two roles as they evolve in relation to changing technologies and economies. This approach to considering models for ER librarianship was inspired in part by the work of Hart and Conklin (2006), who conducted focus groups with technical communicators to "explore the state of current practice in the technical communication field and to develop visual and verbal models that more accurately describe that practice" (p. 396). Their article raised the questions: what are the current models and metaphors for ER librarianship, and might looking at ER librarianship in relation to TC provide new ways to think about the work?This article begins with brief overviews of the history of the professions of ER librarianship and TC, including recent efforts to develop competencies or bodies of knowledge for the fields. Next, it considers technical communicator as a model for ER librarianship through an examination of four common themes from the literature of the two fields. Finally, it closes with concluding thoughts and directions for future research. This article is based on a review of literature on the origins, co...

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Evolving Roles for Electronic Resources Librarians

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Current Market Demand for Core Competencies of Librarianship—A Text Mining Study of American Library Association’s Advertisements from 2009 through 2014

Current Market Demand for Core Competencies of Librarianship—A Text Mining Study of American Library Association’s Advertisements from 2009 through 2014

Evolving academic library specialties

Technical communicator: A new model for the electronic resources librarian?

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