THE INFORMATION PROFESSION - WordPress.com...•A profession is an occupation, vocation or career...

THE INFORMATION PROFESSION

WHAT IS A PROFESSION?

• The term profession refers to an occupation, vocation or high-status career, usually involving prolonged

academic training, formal qualifications and membership of a professional or

regulatory body.

INFS213 | F. O. Entsua-Mensah (Mrs)2

•A profession is an occupation, vocation or career where specialized knowledge of a subject, field, or science is applied.

• It is usually applied to occupations that involve prolonged academic training and a formal qualification.


CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROFESSION

• Skill based on Theoretical Knowledge: professionals are assumed to have extensive theoretical knowledge usually derived from an extensive period of education.

• Institutional Training: There is usually a requirement for a long period of institutionalized training where aspiring professionals acquire specified practical experience.


• Professional Association: Professions usually have professional bodies organized by their members, which are intended to enhance the status of their members by having carefully controlled entrance requirements. • They usually have codes of conduct or

ethics for their members and disciplinary procedures for those who infringe the rules.

X’TICS OF A PROFESSION Cont’d.


• Control of Remuneration and Advertising: Where levels of remuneration are determined by government, professional bodies are active in negotiating (usually advantageous) remuneration packages for their members.

• Offer Reassurance: Professionals are able to offer reassurance to their clients although there appears to be problems.• this reassurance may be offered rather than

solutions to particular problems.

X’TICS OF A PROFESSION Cont’d.


FUNCTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES

• Professional Bodies set standards of education and experience that must be met by its members.

• They also provide accreditation of University courses that are judged to meet these standards to facilitate entry.

• Professional Bodies establish mechanisms for disseminating knowledge of good practice to its members.


FUNCTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES cont’d

•Professional bodies sometimes advise government and regulatory bodies about matters within its area of expertise.


Activities of the IP

The Information Profession involves a number of activities such as the:

• Creation/origination of information

• Selection and acquisition

• Organization of information

• Storage and retrieval of information

• Dissemination of information

• Preservation of information. INFS213 | F. O. Entsua-Mensah (Mrs)10

Who is an Information Professional (IP)?• An Information Professional is an individual

who strategically uses information in his/her job to advance the mission of the organization.

• The Information Professional may also be described as any person who is primarily concerned with the user of information and secondarily with the handling of information.


Who is an IP? Cont,d.

• Information Professional may also de defined as those persons who are essentially intermediaries between information sources, information systems and information users.

• Examples of Information professionals:• Librarians• Knowledge Managers• Chief Information Officers • Web Developers• Information Brokers and Consultants.


Role of Information Professionals

•Acquisition and processing of information•Organization, storage, management and

distribution of information.•Maintenance of information sources,

services and systems•Provision of information to end-users,

either directly or indirectly.


Competencies of IPs

• Information Professionals require two types of competencies in order to fulfil their roles. These are:

Professional Competencies

Personal Competencies.


Explained under 4 main titles, namely:

• Managing Information Organizations• Managing Information Resources• Managing Information Services• Applying Information Tools and

Technologies

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES


Managing Info. Organizations

• Information Professionals manage information organizations ranging in size from one employee to several hundred employees.


• The organizations may be in any environment from: • corporate • education • public • government • non-profit organizations.

Managing Info. Organizations Cont’d.


Managing Information Resources

• Information Professionals have expertise in:

• Identifying information resource

• Selecting information resource

• evaluating information resource

• securing information resource

• providing access to pertinent information resources.


Managing Information Services

• Information Professionals manage the entire life cycle of information services.

• from the conception stage through the design, development, testing, marketing, packaging, delivery and divestment of these offerings.


Applying Info. Tools & Technologies.

• Information Professionals harness the current and appropriate technology tools to:

• Deliver the best services,

• Provide the most relevant and accessible resources

• Develop and deliver teaching tools to maximize clients’ use of information


PERSONAL COMPETENCIES

•Ability to see the big picture. This means that they need to understand the environment in which the organization is operating and how the information services contribute to those operations.

• Information Professionals need to seek out challenges and capitalize on new opportunities.


Personal Competencies contd.

•Ability to communicate effectively. They need to present ideas clearly, succinctly and enthusiastically either verbally or in writing, always in the language of the audience and with an understanding of their perceptions and perspectives.

•He/she must be able to create partnerships and alliances.


Concerns of the IP• The information professional is

concerned with how information is acquired, recorded and stored.

•He/she is also concerned with where information resources are located in the organization and who has responsibility for them.


• How information flows within the organization and between the organization and the outside world.

• How the organization uses the information is another concern of the information professional

• The information professional is also concerned with how people who handle information apply their skills and co-operate with one other.


• How information technology supports the users of information.

• The information professional is also concerned with what information costs and the value it contributes.

• How effectively all these information-related activities contribute towards the achievement of the organization’s objectives.


CAREERS IN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Career Opportunities in IM.Some of the career opportunities available in pursuing Information Management include:

• A Librarian

• An Archivist

• A Records Manager

• A Curator

• An Information Scientist

• An Information Manager


• Information Broker

• Information Consultant

• Knowledge Manager

• Information Technology (IT) or Information

Systems (IS) Manager

• Information Systems Analyst and Designer

• Database Manager


• Chief Information Officer (CIO), Information or Library Services Manager

• HR Managers

• Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Senior Managers and Directors

• Journalist

• Editor


The Information Profession

• library science,

• information science,

• publishing,

• archives and records management,

• computer science, communication science,.

• engineering,

• business management, accounting

• journalism

The profession is interdisciplinary because it is derived from a number of disciplines including:

INFS213 | F. O. Entsua-Mensah (Mrs) 30

DATABASE MANAGER

• This professional is concerned with the development and marketing of databases.

•A database manager is responsible for the way a company manages, organises, stores and accesses its information.


• Much of his/her job involves modelling and designing databases. This means he/she will spend a lot of time working with users to find out:• what information they need to use• how frequently• what categories they need to split it • what would make it easy to use.

Once the database is built , he/she needs to test it thoroughly.


Duties of a Database Manager

• Improving the effectiveness of the database tools and services.

• Ensuring that, all data complies with legal regulations.

•Making sure that, the information is protected and backed-up.


• Regular reporting to the teams he/she works with.

• Monitoring database performance.

• Improving the technology used.

• Building new databases.

• Monitoring data entry procedures.

• Troubleshooting.


INFORMATION SCIENTIST

• This professional is concerned with the theory and nature of information, the study of operations and technology required for the collection, transfer and dissemination of information.

• An information scientist focuses on understanding problems from the perspective of the stakeholders involved and then applying information and other technology as needed to resolve problems.


• The work of an information scientist shares features with that of a librarian as they are all concerned with managing information in order to make it easily accessible to members of a particular group or organization.


• Information Scientist tends to work in smaller units handling specialist information.

•Also, he/she usually deals more with researching and disseminating information than with storage.


Duties of an Information Scientist

• An information scientist is responsible for organizing, managing and developing information systems which are used to store, analyze and retrieve data for clients.

• An information scientist works with electronic resources and ICT systems and increasingly less paper-base ones, to source and research the information that is required.


•He/she also develops new systems such as databases and it is often involved in the creation of web content.

•He/she may deal with highly specialized areas such as computer-indexing or storing chemical formulae.


• He/she needs to find particular information requested by their employer or a client and distribute the information to the employer or the client in a way that is easy to understand.

• An information scientist plays a key role in many types of organization and handles all types of information including scientific, technical, legal, commercial, financial and economic.


Other duties are listed below

The duties may vary a great deal depending on the organization but will include all or some of the following stated below:

• Cataloguing and indexing materials

• Conducting information audits

• Scanning and abstracting materials

• Writing and editing technical reports

• Advising on end-user support systems

• Analyzing statistical information

• Managing the promotion of services through publicity materials, demonstrations and presentations.

• Training colleagues and clients how to use specific databases and systems.

• Circulation of current information issues to staff.


Education and Training

• The field of information science is actually a broad, interdisciplinary field, incorporating not only aspects of computer science, but often diverse fields such as mathematics, business, library science, cognitive science, management, information technology and the social sciences.

• As such university degrees in the above fields of study give the individual enough grounding to pursue this career.


Personal Competencies and Skills• Be an All-Rounder:

• Should have good general knowledge, but should also be familiar with a particular scientific, technical, legal, commercial or other specialist field.

• He/she should therefore, keep-up to date with research in that field as well as in developments in information science.

• Have logical and retentive mind: • Must have a logical and retentive mind, and be able to

demonstrate initiative when handling enquiries. • The ability to scan large amounts of material and

extract the relevant information is important. • It is equally important for him/her to be accurate and

attentive to detail, and to summarize and present complex information.


•Good communicator: • must be able to communicate at many levels-

with his/her clients, colleagues and superiors. • In dealing with clients, the information scientist

should not only understand their information needs, but also be accessible, approachable and efficient.

• Technology: • an information scientist should have excellent IT

skills because a great deal of their work is computer-based.


THE LIBRARIAN

• The librarian is the professional who is concerned with the collection, storage, processing and dissemination of recorded knowledge in a library.

• Librarians also performs an instructional role, such as showing users how to find information and use it effectively for personal and professional purposes.


• Traditionally, librarians have been associated with collections of books, however, modern librarians deal with information in many formats, including books, magazines, newspapers, audio recordings and online databases and e-resources among other


Categorization of Librarians

• Public librarians

• School librarians

• Special librarians

• Academic librarians


Duties of a Librarian

• Analyzing information, information needs and providing information services and materials to patrons in a variety of settings with available and appropriate resources.

• Providing other information services, including computer provision and training, coordination of public programs, basic literacy education and help with finding and using community resources. • This implies developing programs for library users

of all ages and background.INFS213 | F. O. Entsua-Mensah (Mrs)48

• Monitoring the selection of books and managing access to electronic information resources.

• Ordering library materials and database subscriptions, computers and other equipment and supervising the cataloguing and physical processing of new materials.

Duties of a Librarian Cont’d.


• Providing library and information services for underrepresented groups, such as people with disabilities, low income neighborhoods, homebound adults and seniors, incarcerated and ex-offenders and homeless and rural communities.

• Supervising and promoting reading clubs.

Duties of a Librarian Cont’d



• A librarian normally needs:• Master’s degree in library Science or

Information Science. • Before obtaining a Master’s Degree, a 4-year

first degree in any subject or major is required. • For school librarians, it is important to have a

teaching certificate. • At the University of Ghana, library

qualifications are offered at the Diploma level, the B.A. level, the M.A. and MPhil levels.


Personal Competencies and Skills

• Must be knowledgeable in order to oversee the selection and organization of library materials: • The librarian must have knowledge of a

wide variety of scholarly and public information sources • must follow trends related to publishing,

computers and the media.


• Ability to Develop Staff: The librarian must develop and manage staff, so that the staff will be able to :• develop and direct information programs

and systems for the public.• ensure that information is organized in a

manner that meets users’ needs.

Personal Competencies & Skills Cont’d


THE RECORDS MANAGER

• The records Manager is the professional who provides the organization with efficient, cost-effective management and control of records in all forms (both hard and electronic copies) from creation through active and inactive maintenance to its ultimate timely destruction.


•He/she is responsible for the management and preservation of active records such as files, correspondence, procedures, letters, reports, rules and regulations that emanate from an organization.

General responsibilities of a Rec. Mger.


• The Records Manager also determines in what manner and for how long each record type should be retained to meet legal, business, or regulatory requirements.

• He/she researches and implements technological solutions and business processes to help ensure that the organization complies with its records management obligations in a cost-effective and non-intrusive way.


Duties of a Records Manager

• Creating, approving and enforcing records policies, including a classification and a records retention policy.

• Developing a records storage plan, which includes the short and long-term housing of physical records and digital information.


• Identifying existing and newly created records, classifying them and then storing them according to standard operating procedures.

• Coordinating access and circulation of records within and even outside of an organization.

• Executing a retention policy to archive and destroy records according to operational needs, operating procedures, statutes and regulations.



• Records Management involves many years of education and practice for full mastery.

• One need degree program in library and information science.

• At the University of Ghana, formal training for this position includes a Diploma program in Archives Administration, an M.A. and MPhil degrees in Archives.


Personal Competencies and Skills

• Ability to work with people: • To work effectively with all levels of

personnel in the organization as well as employees within the records unit.

• Awareness of the role of each individual within the organization, the unique personal characteristics of each and the importance of cooperating and of making requests easy to accept and complete are essential.


• Ability to Motivate employees: • Must be able to motivate employees to be

efficient, careful and cheerful in the performance of their duties.

• He should be able to delegate responsibility and authority and to evaluate performance.

• Basic to motivation is a records manager who understands his/her employees and encourages them to work towards achieving their aspirations.


• Motivation methods: • providing in-service training for

employees • replacing inefficient employees or

equipment of acting on complaints of ineffectiveness to design and implement new procedures.


• Be a self-starter: • He/she must have the ability to identify

and analyze problems, determine alternative courses of action and implement solutions based on sound judgment and thorough understanding of the records management profession.

• He must demonstrate excellent leadership skills as well as strong organization and planning skills.


THE ARCHIVIST

• An Archivist is a professional who is responsible for preserving important records adjudged worthy of permanent preservation.

• An Archivist plans and oversees the arrangement, cataloguing, exhibition and maintenance of collections for the benefit of researchers and the public.


• He/she also coordinates educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes, and may work with the boards of institutions to administer plans and policies.

• He/she may also research topics or items relevant to his collections.


Duties

• Collects, organizes and maintains control over a wide range of information deemed important enough for permanent safekeeping.

• Maintains records in accordance with accepted standards and practices that ensures the long-term preservation and easy retrieval of the documents.

• Must keep abreast of technological advances in electronic information storage as various storage media evolve.


•Records may be saved on any medium, but they may be some times copied onto some other format to protect the original and to make the records more accessible to researchers who use them



• A graduate degree (preferably in History or Library Science) and related work experience are required for most positions.

• Courses or practical training in archival techniques as part of their history, library science, or other curriculum.

• At the University of Ghana, a Diploma degree in Archives administration as well as a Master’s and MPhil degrees in Archives are available for students who want to pursue this career.


Personal competencies & Skills (1)

• Research skills: • Needs research skills and analytical ability

to understand the content of documents and the context in which they were created and decipher deteriorated or poor-quality printed matter, handwritten manuscripts, photographs or films.


• Ability to organize information: • Must also be able to organize large

amounts of information and write clear instruction for its retrieval and use

• IT skills: • Must possess computer skills and the

ability to work with electronic records and databases.

Personal competencies & Skills (2)


INFORMATION BROKER

• This was a responds to meeting the information needs of businesses and individuals.

• The concept of a company that legally obtains information for others, and charges for this service.


Who is an Information Broker?

• An information broker is a professional who legally obtain information for others and charge for the services rendered.

• information products with characteristics such as accurate, authentic, reliable and current.

• He/she provides information to organizations of all sizes and types.


• Clients of an Information Broker:• Business and Industry• Legal Research• Healthcare• Public Records• Banking and Finance• Government and Public Policy• Document Delivery


best of luck in your exams…

74 INFS213 | Lecturer: F. O. Entsua-Mensah (Mrs)

75 INFS213 | Lecturer: F. O. Entsua-Mensah (Mrs)

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