Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarians Update ALAMW 2014 1-25

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Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarianship: Update and DiscussionDr. Sarah W. SuttonEmporia State UniversityJanuary 25, 2014, ALA Midwinter Conference

+Overview

Background & development: the story of the CCs for ERL

What are they being used for?

The future.

+Background

“Electronic resources librarianship ‘has become one of the most critical [positions] in academic

libraries over the last decade and a half’” (Downes & Rao, 2008, p.60.

First ERL job ad appeared in 1990.

Technology driven.

Close ties to serials librarianship.

+Background

“The design of specialized learning experiences takes into account the statements of knowledge and competencies developed by relevant professional organizations” (COA, 2008, p. 8).

2010: Research conducted to identify:

Competencies sought by employers, and

Where those competencies were developed: formal higher education (MLS) or informal continuing education.

+Background

+Background

+Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarianship“The competencies required of an ERL will encompass a subset of the following:”

1. Thorough knowledge of the life cycle of electronic resources.

2. Theoretical and practical knowledge of the structures, hardware, and software underlying the provision of access to electronic resources, and their interrelatedness at a greater depth that is required of a generalist.

3. Understands the complex range of data generated by and related to electronic resources.http://www.nasig.org/uploaded_files/92/files/CoreComp/CompetenciesforERLibrarians_final_ver_2013-7-22.docx

+Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarianship“The competencies required of an ERL will encompass a subset of the following:”

4. Effective communication skills which allows them to synthesize easy to understand summaries of complex and ambiguous phenomena for a broad range of internal and external audiences.

5. Demonstrates the capability to effectively supervise, train and motivate staff as well as familiarity with technology systems administration.

http://www.nasig.org/uploaded_files/92/files/CoreComp/CompetenciesforERLibrarians_final_ver_2013-7-22.docx

+Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarianship“The competencies required of an ERL will encompass a subset of the following:”

6. The ERL works with concepts and methods that are very much in flux, and so has an abiding commitment to ongoing professional development through continuing education, attendance at professional conferences, webinars, following related professional literature, blogs and listservs, and other learning venues.

http://www.nasig.org/uploaded_files/92/files/CoreComp/CompetenciesforERLibrarians_final_ver_2013-7-22.docx

+Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarianship“The competencies required of an ERL will encompass a subset of the following:”

7. The ERL demonstrates the following personal qualities:

a. Flexibility, open-mindedness and the ability to function in a dynamic, rapidly changing environment,

b. A high tolerance for complexity and ambiguity,

c. Unrelenting customer service,

d. Skillful time management.

http://www.nasig.org/uploaded_files/92/files/CoreComp/CompetenciesforERLibrarians_final_ver_2013-7-22.docx

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

Methodology: A qualitative examination of

Conference programs

Journal articles

Responses to an informal survey

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

Resulting themes:

Workflows & staffing

“One person can’t do all this!”

Education

To create job descriptions & ads

Other

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

To organize or re-organize staff and/or processes:

Mapping the CCfERLs to the activities of each department within the library.

Competencies from CCfERLs added to a Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Passions/Preferences (KSAP) inventory.

Identifying “what we do or should be doing in our department.”

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

One person can’t possibly do all of this!

Image credit: Lateral Action/Mark McGuinness, http://lateralaction.com/articles/multitasking/

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

As a way to identify and fill gaps in education.

Formal LIS education , the master’s degree

Staff development

Continuing education

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

To create job descriptions & ads for both professional and paraprofessional positions.

“to  put together a new job description for my position as we were preparing for our SACS accreditation.”

“Our library recently conducted a search to fill a newly created position-Electronic Resources.”

“I used it when rewriting  the job description for my assistant.”

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

As a basis for professional performance review:

“ I’ll also be using it again when I prepare my senior faculty review document which I think will be due next year. “

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

Other uses to which the CCfERLs are being put include: collection development / policy development

“I like the Research and Assessment section of Core Competencies because it reveals how electronic resources librarians have been thrust into the collection development arena and are contributing directly to policy formation due to data gathering, analysis and usage assessment.”

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

Other uses to which the CCfERLs are being put include: educating stakeholders

“It is satisfying to see a description of the many elements involved in our constantly mutating electronic resources work—in particular the mention of “A high level of tolerance for complexity and ambiguity.”

+Who is using the CCfERLs? And how?

Other uses to which the CCfERLs are being put include: to generate new research questions

“Practitioner Perspectives of the Core Competencies for Electronic Resource Librarians: Preliminary Results of a Qualitative Study” (Sheri Ross, ER&L 2014)

How have job ads for ERLs changed in the four years since the original research was conducted? How might they change in the future?

Use of the CCfERLs to measure student learning outcomes in master’s programs.

+The future of the CCfERLs?

Revision process

Sharing experiences

Convincing administrators of the need for CE

+The future of the CCfERLs?

Your Face Here

+References

Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association. (2008). Standards for accreditation of master’s programs in library and information studies. American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/accreditedprograms/sites/ala.org.accreditedprograms/files/content/standards/standards_2008.pdf

Downes, K., & Rao, P. (2008). Preferred political, social, and technological characteristics of electronic resources (ER) librarians. Collection Management, 32(1), 3–14. doi:10.1300/J105v32n01_02

NASIG Core Competencies Task Force. (2013). Core competencies for electronic resources librarians. NASIG. Retrieved from http://www.nasig.org/uploaded_files/92/files/CoreComp/CompetenciesforERLibrarians_final_ver_2013-7-22.docx

Sutton, S. (2011, May). Identifying Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarians in the Twenty-First Century Library. Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX.