Developing Librarian Competencies for the Digital Age (Medical Library Association Books Series)

Librarianship is both an art and a science. Librarians study the science of information and how to work with clients to help them find solutions to their information needs. They also learn quickly that there is an art to working with people, to finding the answers to tough questions using the resources available and knowing which information resources to use to find the information being sought in short order. But, what technical skills do librarians need to be successful in the future? How can library managers best develop their staffs for success?

Developing Librarian Competencies for the Digital Age explores questions such as:
What is the composition of a modern library collection? Will that collection look different in the future? What are the information sources and how do we manage those? What are the technical skills needed for a 21st century librarian? How will reference services change and adapt to embrace new ways to interact with library patrons or clients? What kinds of library skills are needed for the librarian of today to grow and thrive, now and into the future? How will service models change to existing clients and how will the model change going into the future of librarianship?What kinds of budgeting challenges are there for libraries and the administrators who oversee these libraries?What do the library professional organizations see as the core skills needed for new graduates and those practicing in the profession going into the future?
In answering those questions, the book identifies specific digital skills needed for success, ways of developing those skills, and ways of assessing them.

Jeffrey Coghill is Outreach Librarian and Director, Eastern AHEC Library Services since 2009 here at East Carolina University, Laupus Library. From 2001-2009, he was Collection Development Librarian at Laupus. As the Outreach Librarian, Jeff helps healthcare professionals find the best information so that they can help their patients get better.

Roger Russell has been a professional librarian at East Carolina university's William E. Laupus Health Sciences Library since 2000. His combined professional and paraprofessional experience spans over many areas of library operations from Circulation to Outreach. Since 2007, he has been the Assistant Director for User Services.