Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities (Lankes, 2012). Of course when tweeting that thought David Lankes was not meaning libraries the buildings but in fact, the librarians who work there. Once the term Library 2.0 was coined and used to describe the changes happening in library services and collections with Web 2.0 tools and platforms the natural progression would be to look at the professionals who are making Library 2.0 come alive – the librarians themselves.
Essential knowledge: Librarians 2.0 needs to know their users. 2.0 anything is about collaboration, co-creation and community so it is important to know that community well. That would mean knowing their needs, what they like and how they receive information.
Essential Skills: The traditional library knowledge of collection building and management will always be necessary but as well as that librarians 2.0 will need knowledge about technology and how to use it effectively for marketing, curating, communicating and managing collections as well as building community (Partridge, Lee & Munro, 2010, p.326). It is not only knowing about Web 2.0 tools and platforms it is utilising them effectively. The skills of change management are important as well –the world we live in, and our profession in particular, is in constant change (Huvila, Holmberg, Kronqvist-Berg, Nivakoski, & Widén, 2013, p. 199). This is requires the skills to cope with disruption and utilise it to enhance services.
Essential attributes: Having an attitude that embraces change and develop new ways of thinking is very important (Patridge, Lee & Munro, 2010, p. 332). Librarians need to be proactive and reactive to social media in order to make it work for them (Huvila, Holmberg, Kronqvist-Berg, Nivakoski, & Widén, 2013, p. 203). A Librarian’s 2.0 Manifesto, created by Laura Cohen, gives 14 statements showing the attributes of Librarian 2.0 and almost every one of them involves being proactive (Hamilton, 2010). The job of a librarian is constantly evolving so an important attribute for someone in that role would be curiosity and the willingness to learn new skills.
References
Hamilton, B. (2010, April 7). It’s in the way that you use it: What library 2.0 means to me [Blog post]. Retrieved from The Unquiet Librarain website: https://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/tag/laura-cohen/
Huvila, I., Holmberg, K., Kronqvist-Berg, M., Nivakoski, O., & Widén, G. (2013). What is Librarian 2.0 – New competencies or interactive relations? A library professional viewpoint. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 45(3), 198-205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0961000613477122
Kingrss. (2006, November 9). A librarian’s 2.0 manifesto [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZblrRs3fkSU&feature=youtu.be
Lankes, R. D. (2012, February 7). Bad libraries build collections. Good libraries build services (of which a collection is only one). Great libraries build communities. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/rdlankes/status/166525664319639552
Partridge, H. & Lee, J. & Munro, C.(2010). Becoming “Librarian 2.0”: The Skills, Knowledge, and Attributes Required by Library and Information Science Professionals in a Web 2.0 World (and Beyond). Library Trends59(1), 315-335. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from Project MUSE database.