Current Challenges and Developments in Librarian Skill-Building

In the second episode of this four-part series, our guests parse through key takeaways and findings from the recent white paper Librarian Futures Part III: The Librarian Skills Landscape, a partnership between Technology from Sage and Skilltype. To start, Tony Zanders, Founder & CEO of Skilltype, and Matthew Weldon, Library Patron Consultant at Technology from Sage and author of the report, each discuss what stood out in the paper, highlighting lower confidence from librarians in how to advance in their careers and a newfound emphasis on strengthening soft skills—a facet of librarianship not traditionally taught in library schools.

In addition, Marcy Simons, Director of Hesburgh Libraries Organizational and Personnel Development at the University of Notre Dame, and David Erlandson, Head of Cataloguing and Metadata Services at Rice University Fondren Library, share their thoughts on the report and how it reflects their own experiences at their institutions. Addressing the burnout and challenges today’s library leaders face, Marcy explains the need for stronger leadership development to help fill the gaps in supervisor roles. Dave ponders how AI tools will impact cataloguing and day-to-day tasks and underscores the importance of strong data science skills.

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