DIGITAL skills have evolved significantly due to the increasing integration of technologies in library services. Librarians in the past were limited to four walls and had no concern for the patrons outside the libraries. Now conventional librarianship is transforming into hybrid and embedded librarianship. The increasing demands of the patrons have compelled the librarians to adopt the latest technologies to fulfil their current demands as digital transformation is on the rise and affecting every industry to manage their operations. Libraries are changing agents of robust technologies and are experiencing new tools to reach their current and retrospective patrons.
For this, they have adopted a new mechanism named digital skills. University of Nevada, Los Vegas has explained, “Digital skills are defined as the ability to find, evaluate, use, share and create content using digital devices such as computers and smartphones”. Digital skills are a set of highly desirable skills for current employers; without these skills, none will hire you. A few popular examples of digital skills are Social Nedia, Search Engine Marketing, Content Marketing, Data Analytics, Mobile Marketing, Email Marketing, Social Selling, Strategy & Planning, Pay-Per-Click Marketing and video to promote business goals.
When we talk about digital skills in library operations, these are communication, gateway skills, creation, device ownership, life-long learning, information skills, online life, privacy and security, workplace and mobile services. Nowadays, library patrons hold different skills and demand the same from the librarians to be answered if they ask any queries. Librarians with low IT knowledge can only treat them with the same skills for a few reasons: they do not accept change in their libraries and rely on the old traditional set-up. Libraries in developing countries are still evolving with lock shelves and poor financial structure. Developed countries have already adopted these new skills to put the patron on the right track.
Some popular digital skills that need to be learned are information retrieval skills and online searching; in such cases, librarians in Pakistan should be proficient in utilizing various online databases, electronic resources and search engines to help users find relevant information without wasting time in this regard they should learn the advance search techniques and strategies. The second common digital skill the librarians in Pakistan should know about is the management of digital collections like e-journals, e-books and other digital resources. In such cases, the librarians should acquire, catalogue, organize and provide access through a mechanism that is easily accessible. Information Literacy instruction is another skill for librarians in developing countries like Pakistan. Librarians should know about information literacy skills and how to motivate students and faculty members to utilize these resources critically and effectively.
Technology troubleshooting is yet another skill in the age of digital transforming skills. In this regard, librarians should educate themselves about computer hardware, software and network systems. They should know more about technical issues related to computers, printers and other devices. In this age of information and communication technologies, it has become difficult for librarians to acquire, organize and give them access to what the library has procured. Digital preservation and archiving have become the need of the hours. Librarians should know about digital preservation techniques and practices. They should learn how to archive digital material to ensure their long-term accessibility.
Open access and scholarly communication are on the surge and librarians should be advanced with these skills. These include Open Educational Resources (OER)، copyright issues of digital material and issues related to scholarly communication. Familiarity with Integrated Library Management systems (ILMS) has become essential to librarians’ jobs; they should know about library management systems like circulation, cataloguing, user management and serial publications etc. The most modern services advanced countries offer in their libraries are digital reference services, including email reference, video conferencing, live chat, chatbot etc. These skills bring more charm to library services in developing countries like Pakistan.
Librarians should also have a basic understanding of research data management like documentation, data organization, data repositories and data citation practices. Now the question arises: how can librarians come forward with these skills? In this regard, they should be proactive in keeping up with emerging technologies and trends; for this, they should regularly attend professional development programs, use YouTube and consult professional colleagues to enhance their digital competency. In this age of the digital landscape, librarians should abreast themselves with modern digital skills.
—The writer is the Deputy Director of Library Services at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. A Think-Tank based in Islamabad.
—The writer is Deputy Director Library in a government Think-Tank.
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