Developing collaborative competence in the librarians of the future

Dr Simon Shurville, AALIA(cs), FBCS, FHEAMs Heather Brown BA, Dip Ed, AALIA

Towards knowledge societies

• Timely, equitable access to authoritative and pluralist sources of culture and knowledge is a foundation of the knowledge societies envisaged by the OECD and UNESCO for the 21st century (Drotner, 2005)

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Ubiquitous knowledge sources

• Libraries have been ubiquitous sources of such knowledge as innovation engines for the knowledge economies which underpin knowledge societies (Hedstrom and King, 2006)

• Libraries have also contributed to the emerging the civil commons (McMurty, 2001) http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaroncoyle/

2282858279/

Before the digital deluge

• Now, the traditional role of libraries as custodians of cultural and knowledge bearing artifacts has been threatened by a digital deluge, which is enthusiastically soaked up by populations with a thirst for cheap and convenient access to entertainment, knowledge and services

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“Don’t fence me in”

• These new products and technologies represent both a threat to the traditional library business model and opportunities for its renewal

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“Yes” we said “opportunities for renewal”

• Some argue that despite the handiness of these new products, they can lack the authority and pluralism of traditional library services (Jeanneney, 2007)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannysullivan/296448693/

Equitable digital literacy

• So the continuing roles of libraries and librarians as distributors of accurate, legal and ecumenical knowledge, as well as developers of equitable digital literacy within society (Partridge, 2007) remain highly relevant

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Information central

• The challenge is that information and communications technologies and information management and systems are becoming ever more central to how these roles are performed

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Fast paced change

• So the profession is now characterized by “fast-paced change, new and emerging sets of skills and a shift in the relationship between the customer and the professional” (Ashcroft, 2004, p 82)

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“No job will be unchanged!”

• “The emphasis on easy access for users to digital collections will inevitably drive changes in the roles of librarians and the mix of expertise employed in our libraries. No job will be unchanged. We will do some things differently, and some things we have always done we will no longer do.”

(National and State Libraries Australasia

internal project report, quoted in Smith, 2008a, p 1)

Recharge

• Postgraduate education for librarians should now:

– Augment traditional skills with interdisciplinary knowledge

– Encourage networking and teamwork with fellow information management professionals

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Collaborative capacity

• As information professionals in the new digital age, new librarians and those upgrading their skills must become familiar with information management and demonstrate collaborative capacity with one another and with allied professions, including archive management, information systems and records management, as well as diverse business and public service cultures (see NSLA, 2007)

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“I thought I said don’t fence me in?”

• A major challenge for students entering 21st-century information and records management is to understand exactly where cultural, disciplinary and technical borders lie

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superfem/445853501/

Passports to new professions

• Students also need to learn to envisage how these borders can be bridged

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hjl/101443399/

Rewarding curiosity

• So educators should encourage students to become curious about the core content and culture of adjacent disciplines:

– To learn how to orchestrate collaborations between them

– To establish interdisciplinary networks

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhwright/447653452/

Practicing our mantra

• Problematically, the knowledge for collaborative competence is too broad for one institution to provide. So organizations need to collaborate to design and deliver postgraduate education for information professionals

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Fuji Xerox, State Library of South Australia, State Records of South Australia, the University of South Australia have partnered to develop a suite of postgraduate programs in Business Information Management (BIM) and Library and Information Management (L&IM)

Permeable disciplines

• These programs educate archive managers, knowledge managers, library managers and records managers who are highly knowledgeable and skilled in their core discipline; regard disciplinary boundaries as permeable; and can integrate cross-disciplinary knowledge and teamwork into their professional practice

• In short they can overcome barriers!

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Evolution of the program (1)

Reducing disciplinary silos

• In 2009 the partnership launched a new integrated version of the BIM and L&IM programs

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Evidenced change

• Consultation: Simon Shurville, the new Program Director, and Moira Lawler, the Administrative Assistant, consulted widely within the partnership and across the private and public sectors and special interest groups

• Marketing: Moira Lawler had marketed the original program and supported the administrative needs of its students. She noted that potential students were confused by the variety of silos and courses on offer and suggested that a simplified structure would be easier for students to navigate. Moreover, by reducing the number of courses on offer it was actually easier for the students to graduate as these courses could now be offered in each study period

Evidenced change

• Teaching experience: Heather Brown brought considerable experience of teaching three courses within the program to its redesign. Heather advocated integrating the specialisms via shared courses and substantially increasing experiential learning

• Workforce skills planning: The ALIA 2008 Education and Workforce Summit provided strategic directions for the library specialism; particularly in the areas of training additional teacher librarians and integrating further digital content into the core curriculum

First version: very successful but …

Graduate certificate in BIM

Business change

EDRMS Enterprise-wide services

Knowledge management

Library management

Preservation and archival management

Records management: Information

Management

Records management:

Systems Management

Information Governance

Business Information

Technologies

Databases Information Architecture and

Design

Accessing Resources

Archival management

and digital preservation

Implementing an EDRMS

Digital RecordKeeping

Introduction to E-Business

Digital Record-Keeping

Enterprise Architectures

Information Governance

Project Management

Preservation principles

Information Architecture and Design

Fundamentals of EDRMS

Introduction to Human Resource

Management

EDRMS Design Introduction to E-Business

Knowledge Management in Organizations

Managing Resources BIM

Record keeping fundamentals

Introduction to E-Business

Fundamentals of Information

Systems

Workflow Management

Fundamentals of EDRMS

Network Technology

Knowledge Representation

Organizing Resources

Virtual archiving Workflow Management

Record keeping

Fundamentals

Silos

… too many silos

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebartley/2119043028/

2007: original silos (8)

1. Business change2. EDRMS3. Enterprise-wide services4. Knowledge management5. Library management6. Preservation and archival management7. Records management: information

management8. Records management: systems management

2009: integrated silos (4!)

1. Enterprise content & knowledge management

2. Library management (includes teacher librarians)

3. Preservation & archival management

4. Records management (now combines EDRMS, records management: Information Management, records management: systems management)

The new integrated certificate (1)

Graduate Certificate in Business Information Management (DCBI)

Enterprise Content

& Knowledge

Management

Records Management

Preservation &

Archival Management

Library Management

Digital Recordkeeping Accessing Resources

(Business Information

Technologies

EDRMS Design

Archival Management Managing

Resources BIM

Workflow Management

Implementing an EDRMS

Preservation Principles

Organizing Resources A

IT Project Management

The new integrated diplomaGraduate Diploma in Business Information Management

(DGBF)

Enterprise Content

& Knowledge

Management

Records Management

Preservation &

Archival Management

Information GovernanceDigital

Preservation

INFS 5074Organisational E-Transformation

Virtual Archiving

1 elective from list providedPLUS

Research Methods (for MSc by research) OR

Knowledge Management in Organisations M 

Graduate Diploma in Library & Information Management (DGLM)

Organizing Resources B

Information Governance (shared with Enterprise Content &

Knowledge Management records managers)

Organisational E-Transformation (shared course with Enterprise Content & Knowledge Management records

managers)

1 X Elective from list provided

OR

CIS Research Methods

The new Masters

Master of Business Information Management (DMBF) SATAC Code: 4CM022

Choose 4 electives from list provided

OR

ICT Masters Project 1PLUS

ICT Masters Project 2

OR

Masters Computing Minor thesis 1*PLUS

Masters Computing Minor Thesis 2* 

The electives

Elective Listing

BUSS 5243 Leadership Dynamics

INFS 5058 Fundamentals of Info Sys M

INFS 5071 Web Content Management

INFS 5075 Information Governance

INFS 5068 Introduction to E-Business M

INFS 5063 Digital Recordkeeping

INFS 5074 Organisational E-Transformation

INFS 5072 Knowledge Management in Organisations M

BUSS 5307 Introduction to HR Management

COMM 5014 Communication Management, Ethics & Law

INFS 5066 Implementing an EDRMS

INFS 5069 Preservation Principles

INFS 5025 Business Information Technologies

COMP 5049 Network Technology M

INFS 5042  Databases M

 

Flexibility

• To maximize the flexibility of the program for students, each component course is offered in both internal (face-to-face) and external (online) modes

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ingorrr/2087348714/

Evolution of the program (2)

Experiential learning

• Access to the work-place offers our learners opportunities to build informal networks and to gain vital tacit knowledge. These experiences are broadened by opportunities to volunteer for library work, which have been organised via the program and enthusiastically taken up by the current cohort of students. Here we describe how the new program structure builds upon these existing strengths in experiential learning to increase the opportunities to engage in experiential learning throughout the program.

Increased experiential learning

• Through our industry partnership with SLSA, the new program increases the students’ opportunities for experiential learning, which is both integrated and cumulative

– Five units are delivered on site @ SLSA

Over 30 practicing professionals from SLSA and across the information industry/profession are involved in delivering lectures, facilitating tutorials & learning sessions

Classes are linked to ‘real world’ case studies

Example: Accessing resources

• The students are mentored as they work on a reference enquiry desk and behind the scenes, answering virtual reference and more complex research enquiries

• Knowledge is applied as students engage with colleagues from across the industry in evidence-based research, virtual reference services, indigenous services, family history services, services for school students

Example: Preservation principles

• Students experience the realities of salvaging waterlogged Items

Example: Preservation principles

• Students cross traditional boundaries as they navigate real work in libraries, archives and museums

• Students explore ethical issues in treatments with conservators at Artlab Australia

Other examples

• Managing Resources:

– Students explore challenges of managing digital collections and real life ‘stacks management’ scenarios

• Organising Resources:

– Students collaborate with professionals from the University library using practical scenarios from own experiences

Other examples

• Archival Management – real life appraisal

• Digital preservation – in dynamic context of changing digital environment

• Information Management Project – work with employer on project with genuine business need

Impact: students

Students:

• Overall very positive

• Enjoy case studies, industry experience, learning ‘in the buzz’ of a library, opportunities for practical application on the spot

• Have been challenged by industry assessment requirements e.g. management report format of 1000 words

Impact: SLSA staff

Staff:

• Likewise positive, opportunity to update, reflect what they do and why, engaging with new professionals, sharing experiences, mentoring, opportunity to link with other colleagues

• Challenges of ‘being challenged’ e.g. assessment grading

Overall

• Collaboration and experiential learning has enhanced opportunities for cumulative and integrated learning

• The approach provides new information professionals with skills to navigate across boundaries in the digital age

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Evolution of the program (3)

• The program now integrates with both TAFE and a new Professional Doctorate in Information Technology Management from UniSA

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Articulation

Evolution of the program (4)

Future plans

• Innovative use of podcasting for virtual on-site experiential learning

• An executive stream to the Graduate Diploma and the Masters

• Enhanced support for teacher librarians

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