Competencies for information specialists in emerging roles

Published date09 January 2017
Date09 January 2017
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/LM-09-2016-0074
Pages65-76
AuthorMelissa Fraser-Arnott
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion
Competencies for information
specialists in emerging roles
Melissa Fraser-Arnott
San Jose State University, San Jose, California, USA
Abstract
Purpose Librarians are increasingly involved in projects and teams that require them to exhibit a broad
range of knowledge and competencies which extend beyond traditional librarianship to include aspects of
records management, information management, and knowledge management. In effect, librariansneed to be
information specialists, but the task of broadening ones knowledge and competencies may be daunting, and
it is helpful to explore the competencies of these various information disciplines as a guideline for competency
development. The purpose of this paper is to provide some insights into the shared competencies and
knowledge of these disciplines.
Design/methodology/approach This paper describes an analysis of the competency profiles of
librarians, records managers, information managers, archivists, and knowledge managers and provides a
competency profile for information specialists that incorporates the knowledge and competencies from all of
these areas. The sources used for this analysis were existing competency profiles developed by professional
associations and employers of information workers such as government agencies.
Findings The analysis resulted in the development of a competencies list which includes five competencies
groups. These competency groups are: collaboration, client service, and communication; organizational
understanding and strategic alignment; programme and service delivery and management; records,
information, and knowledge management technical competencies; and personal qualities.
Practical implications This analysis may be useful for librarians or library students who are
determining which professional development opportunities to undertake as well as for managers who are
seeking to define job profiles for their library staff in todays complex information environment.
Originality/value This paper bridges the disciplines of librarianship, information management, records
management, archives, and knowledge management by comparing their relative competency profiles in order
to create a set of competencies that are common to all disciplines.
Keywords Knowledge management, Librarianship, Information management, Competencies, Knowledge,
Records management
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Information and knowledge are increasingly being viewed as vital strategic assets that must
not only be well managed by organizations in order to ensure compliance with legal,
regulatory, and/or policy obligations, but also as resources that should be leveraged to
improve organizational performance. Data, information, and knowledge when properly
harnessed throughout their lifecycles can be used to support effective organizational
decision making, remove procedural inefficiencies and duplications of effort, aid in the
training of new employees, and even assist in the development of new or improved
products and services. These resources exist in a number of forms across a number of
locations in organizations and may include externally published documents (books, articles,
news stories, etc.), internally produced and published documents (reports, press releases,
social media postings), internally produced non-published materials (internal reports, notes,
e-mails, etc.), multimedia materials (audio and video recordings), and non-written exchanges
such as conversations, workshops, or training sessions.
Traditionally different types of information professionals (IPs) have focussed on the
collection and management of these different types of information resources. Records
managers and archivists have handled the organizations internal materials and have
sometimes worked in separate teams from information managers with one group focussed
on physical items and the other working with electronic or digital records. Librarians have
Library Management
Vol. 38 No. 1, 2017
pp. 65-76
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-09-2016-0074
Received 15 September 2016
Accepted 21 November 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
65
Competencies
for information
specialists

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