Future-proofing academic librarians with essential skills and leadership

Author: Saskia Hoving

Editor-in-Chief

Academic librarians play a pivotal role in their institutions, supporting the needs of their users in a constantly changing environment. In this post we explore how well equipped they feel they are for what they do, and how this varies across the workforce - from leaders with decades of experience to those just embarking on their library careers.

There’s a broad range of requirements you might see advertised for an academic librarian, from digital literacy and information management to soft skills such as collaboration, negotiation, creativity, and change management. As we discussed in our previous post, Evolving roles of academic librarians adapting to change and new technologies, these skills are constantly changing, and savvy library leaders are looking ahead to keep up with them.

So how are would-be librarians expected to prepare for their roles? According to the American Library Association (ALA), the educational requirements for those entering the profession might include a four-year undergraduate degree, a Master’s Degree in Library Science (plus maybe a further Master’s Degree such as Law), and even a teaching certificate on top. Oh, and some experience in a library, and perhaps a foreign language or two. But how well prepared are they for everyday life in the library, and what further professional development is and should be undertaken? And where does the experienced librarian stand in comparison – are their skills still current in the post-Covid digital library?

Library programmes today – a good foundation?

Jane Harvell, Director of Library Culture and Heritage and University Librarian at the University of Sussex, UK, is sceptical about library qualifications. “We are recruiting fewer people directly from Higher Education. Although a library qualification provides a helpful background to higher education, it doesn’t always make a good librarian in all areas. A good Open Access librarian needs to be good at detail, good at networking and knowing who to ask – this can all be taught internally alongside other things relevant to that specific role.”

Evan Simpson, in his role as Associate Dean, Experiential Learning and Academic Engagement at Northeastern University Library, USA, is in close touch with the skills and development needs of library staff. He feels that library programmes studied today are very behind in preparing students for what it’s like working in an academic library – reality is very different from their expectations. “Project management skills are lacking, as is their understanding of how the library fits into the research lifecycle. I see that a lot of catching up is necessary, and quickly, to understand what the issues really are in a research-intensive university.”

New recruits bring valuable new skills to the library

Jane is more aware that early career librarians have skills that she doesn’t have. “I don’t learn about new technologies being adopted because I don’t need to. I need someone on the team who’s immersed in them, so that if I have a question, I can go to them and ask them.” It’s the same for any new area of expertise. “As a leader you don’t want to know everything about everything as you end up micromanaging. Far better to train new recruits up, perhaps by sending them to a conference to develop their networks and meet experienced people, which makes them better prepared to do the hands-on work.”

Like Jane, Evan finds that younger members of the team have a lot to offer the library today, to the benefit of more experienced staff. “New librarians, the digital natives, have a great advantage. They look at things differently, knowing that technology is here to stay.” However, there’s still value in more traditional library skills, which younger recruits don’t necessarily understand, he says. “Digital natives don’t have enough experience yet to know what they don’t know about the information ecosystem. They need to consult us older librarians sometimes as we have a superior level of knowledge about when and how you might need to use analogue tools (such as card catalogues) to find something.” Evan also points out that some specialised roles, such as information discovery, require constant and more complex upskilling, which can be addressed by a combination of formal training and more informal learning opportunities such as conferences and resources offered by consortia and library associations.

Library traineeships and apprenticeships on the up

Eilish Purton, Research and Open Scholarship Librarian at the University of Sussex, UK, is in two minds about the value of her master’s degree. “I think it’s great that librarianship is a profession that requires vocational training and demonstrable learning. However, I feel that I got what I needed from my traineeship, and I think that there should be more apprenticeships offered as an alternative route of entry that’s more accessible.”

She does feel well prepared for her role at Sussex though, with experience at several other university libraries. “I benefitted from having a range of different roles before working as a Librarian at Sussex, including a role in sales and marketing for library management software.  This was useful as I got to develop an understanding of the wants and needs of library directors. Stepping into the private sector side of things was also useful as it made me ask myself what skills I could bring that are perhaps outside of the traditional library skillset.”

Mary Blomley, Interim Subject Librarian at the University of West London (UWL), UK, is of a similar mind. Having worked her way up from shelver to Subject Librarian, Mary feels her practical experience really helped her as she developed her career. “My Master’s was useful, and you need this if you want to advance in librarianship, but it was good to get practical experience first. A master’s qualification is very expensive and time-consuming, but things are changing now as other channels open up, such as apprenticeships.”

On-the-job learning and upskilling

At Sussex there is little hierarchy, which promotes good communications and staff development. “Learning is very on the job,” says Eilish. “It’s about fostering knowledge and stacking up years of being asked the same questions over and over. You can cultivate some soft skills in most any job and at any level, but you need to tap your superiors for their experienced practical knowledge about the institution, and their understanding of sector-wide issues around things like Open Access.”

There’s also good encouragement at Sussex to seek out webinars and general professional development resources.

Younger librarians like Eilish and Mary acknowledge that their skills as more recent recruits are valuable to the library too. “I’ve always felt I’m a digital native, and as a younger person I do get called on to do things like social media,” says Eilish. Mary points out that not that long ago it was glaringly obvious that older librarians lacked digital skills and the willingness to learn. Being raised digitally was a huge advantage and she was often called on for help, but this is now changing. “Now everything is digitally entrenched so experienced librarians are more proactive and leading the way, especially with AI.”

Both Eilish and Mary feel there are areas where they need to know more. “If there’s one area where libraries need to step up, it’s focusing on training programmes in copyright,” says Eilish. “There are lots of grey areas with copyright and potentially huge ramifications of getting things wrong, so there’s a lot of fear around that. There are some resources out there, such as Naomi Korn’s courses with CILIP.” Mary highlights broader training needs as well. “It would help younger librarians a lot to be taught general skills - communication, time management, negotiating, and management skills. You can access a lot of self-directed learning online nowadays, and you need to take advantage of this because things are changing all the time. You have to be constantly learning if you want to move up and advance your career.”

Training librarians for the future

As library roles continue to evolve, it’s no surprise that new recruits and experienced librarians have a somewhat different range of skills. Most striking though is how librarians recognise the ways that they can help each other, sharing and upskilling to optimise the services they provide

In the end, a lot comes down to leadership, according to Evan. “Leadership has a big role in how skills are grown. As leaders we must outline priorities, so people are aware of what they need to know.” Jane agrees. “A team falls when management is poor. Good teamwork requires you as a manager to have good mentoring and management skills. You naturally want to share your expertise to help your colleagues improve, so at Sussex we have groups that anyone can join and learn things, like EDI and scholarship. There’s a lot of learning within the institution, getting the right exposure to the work.”

Teamwork is what libraries are all about, and with strong leadership this ensures they remain agile in their response to changes yet to come.

Related content

• Evolving roles of academic librarians adapting to change and new technologies
• Practical tips for librarians to support early career researchers’ success
• Inclusive libraries and supporting disabled users in science
• How to support inclusive practice among students and researchers
• Making policy a reality – practical steps to open access workflows
• Publishing without barriers: Essential advocates for OA
• ECR Program: Bridging the gap between librarians and researchers
• Insights into researcher training needs and expected librarian support
• Virtual versus in-person seminars: Which training support is most beneficial?
• How can institutions help researchers navigate the publication process?

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