On the Ground Realities of Librarian Skill Development
Sponsored by Sage
Recorded on 04/22/2024
Posted in The Authority File
Episode 376
In the third episode of this four-part series, our guests tackle the on the ground realities of librarian skill development following the recent white paper from Technology from Sage and Skilltype, Librarian Futures Part III: The Librarian Skills Landscape. Marcy Simons, Director of Hesburgh Libraries Organizational and Personnel Development at the University of Notre Dame, and Tony Zanders, Founder & CEO of Skilltype, dig into how library schools have failed to address the evolving demands of academic librarianship, even before the introduction of artificial intelligence tools. Marcy notes the lack of consistency across library and information science programs, while Tony highlights how Skilltype aims to help library schools understand today’s environment and adjust curriculum quickly and accordingly.
Further, Marcy and David Erlandson, Head of Cataloguing and Metadata Services at Rice University Fondren Library, chat about findings in the report on student success and how their libraries support this initiative. Finally, Tony and Matthew Weldon, Library Patron Consultant at Technology from Sage, reflect on the report’s finding that librarians value building transferable skills rather than those specific to certain products—in the rapidly changing landscape, flexibility allows for resiliency and autonomy in the profession.
About the guests:
David Erlandson
Head of Cataloguing and Metadata Services
Rice University Fondren Library
David Erlandson is the head of Cataloguing and Metadata Services at Fondren Library, Rice University. Working within the technical services division at Fondren Library, David provides essential services that sustain the university’s research mission, working to acquire resources for the library’s collection and organizing and maintaining them according to local and national standards. David’s professional background includes organizational analyses of health and human service non-profits.
Marcy Simons
Director, Hesburgh Libraries Organizational and Personnel Development
University of Notre Dame
Marcy Simons, MLS, excels as a strategist in talent and organizational development for Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame. Spearheading recruitment to alumni engagement, she ensures the library is a top employer choice. A seasoned facilitator in culture and change management, Marcy authored “Academic Librarianship” (2021) and “Academic Library Metamorphosis and Regeneration” (2017), significant works that underscore her expertise in the field.
Tony Zanders
Founder & CEO
Skilltype
Tony Zanders is an award-winning software entrepreneur and enterprise software executive, best known in the field of library technology, where he served as an international ambassador in over 30 countries at ProQuest and EBSCO. His mission is to create similar opportunities for the next generation in his hometown of New Orleans. In 2018, Tony founded Skilltype—a software company developing tools for librarians and their teams to analyze, develop, and share expertise. Skilltype boasts a global clientele, spanning continents from North America to Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Matthew Weldon
Library Patron Consultant
Technology from Sage
Matthew Weldon is a Library Patron Consultant at Technology from Sage, providing pedagogic support to Technology from Sage customers. He is the author of Librarian Futures Part II: The Knowledge Gap Between Librarians and Students and Librarian Futures Part III: The Librarian Skills Landscape. Before joining Technology from Sage, Matthew held several roles within the higher education sector, including as a learning technologist.
Enjoy the conversation? Listen to the rest of the series:
- Librarian Skills Landscape Report and Overview
- Current Challenges and Developments in Librarian Skill-Building
- How AI Will (and Won’t) Impact Library Work
Check out our previous series with Sage:
– The Intersection of Critical Thinking Skills and AI
– Building Skills for Student Success
– Understanding the Undergraduate Workflow
– Spotlighting Academic Library Innovation
– The Myth of the COVID-Transformed Workplace
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