Anna Maria Tammaro

Aims and outcomes

The match between curriculum aims and professional philosophy must be made, which means that the various types of knowledge as identified by Socrates, deserve attention. Issues such as professional apprenticeship and acceptance into the professional habitus, as well as desired learning outcomes – including competencies – are discussed and named. Critical thinking and critical information literacy are becoming increasingly important graduate qualities. In a global world, international equivalences must also be considered.

Education for digital librarians: some European observations

Purpose – Changes in the environment – political, economic, social, educational and technological – have demanded changes in many areas of work, most particularly in the roles and tasks of those involved in the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage, and interpersonal information intervention. Sending, storing and receiving digital information are commonplace activities, and now formally constructed digital libraries constitute an important component of this virtual information environment. Similar to traditional physical libraries, digital libraries are constructed for particular purposes, to serve particular clienteles or to collect and provide access to selected information resources (whether text documents or artefacts). Information intermediaries – or digital librarians – in this transformed information environment must learn new skills, play different roles and possess a new suite of competencies. Design, methodology and approach – Myburgh and Tammaro have, for several years, examined the new knowledge, skills and competencies that are now demanded, in order to design and test a curriculum for digital librarians which has found expression in the Erasmus Mundus Masters in Digital Library Learning (DILL), now in its sixth year. Findings – The chief objective of the Digital library program is to prepare information intermediaries for effective contribution to their particular communities and societies, in order to assist present and future generations of digital natives to negotiate the digital information environment effectively. This includes, for example, the necessity for digital librarians to be able to teach cultural competency, critical information literacies and knowledge value mapping, as well as understanding the new standards and formats that are still being developed in order to capture, store, describe, locate and preserve digital materials. Research limitations – In this chapter, we propose describing the work we have done thus far, with special reference to the development of a model of the role of the digital librarian, including competencies, skills, knowledge base and praxis. Social implications – Amongst the various issues that have arisen and demanded consideration and investigation are the importance of a multidisciplinarity dimension in the education of digital librarians, as information work is orthogonal to other disciplinary and cultural categorisations; that a gradual convergence or confluence is being identified between various cultural institutions which include libraries, archives and museums; the new modes of learning and teaching, with particular regard to knowledge translation and the learner-generated environment or context; and possibly even a reconsideration of the role of the information professional and new service models for their praxis. Originality/value – The chapter tries to evidence the present debate about digital librarianship in Europe.

Content and structure

Content and structure of a course of education for digital librarians are considered here. Some key areas include human information behaviour; knowledge creation; language, linguistics and semiotics; critical information literacy and information evaluation and technology. The level, structure and length of such programmes are discussed.

Purposeful digital librarians

The work of the digital librarian is described, with some indications of how this differs from traditional librarianship. The education of librarians has itself been marked by ideological positions.

Pedagogies and teaching methods

The ways in which neophyte information professionals are taught also deserve consideration, so pedagogical styles and teaching methods are addressed. How teaching and learning take place, as well as the use of technologies in teaching, form part of curriculum design and construction. Once again, epistemological approaches vary and one must be selected. Androgogy and heutagogy are considered to be useful approaches for LIS education, supported by a critical pedagogical approach (as described by Paulo Freire).

No theory, no discipline = no profession

The importance of an appropriate theory for this non-paradigmatic discipline is discussed. There is an ongoing dearth of a clearly articulated theory in LIS, with no clear operational definition of key terms such as ‘information’ and ‘document’. The deficiencies of the models commonly encountered are described.

The influence of the current context

The current context – political, economic, social and technological – is described and critiqued, particularly from the ideological point of view. Libraries have been modified mainly because of developments in these spheres, thus further emphasising the need for a radical shift in purpose and practice. The nature of ‘profession’ and ‘discipline’ is explored, and what this means for the theory and praxis of LIS.

First things fourth

The ambiguities of information work, and education for information work, are explored. Do librarians belong in libraries? Why is there an emphasis on technical tasks, and how will this change? The social purpose of libraries is examined.

A bright future

Information professionals play a key role in managing the flows of information in society, and in solving society’s information problems. Information professionals can bring about, more efficiently and effectively, individual and social change, than can ICTs on their own. Digital libraries are still at a very elementary stage, and it is perhaps premature to state categorically what educational programmes for digital librarians should be like, but change must be anticipated, embracing what has been the traditional social role of libraries and how this can be deployed using ICTs.

Regeneration of the second oldest profession

Abstract: The development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) have radically changed the ways in which people try to find the information they need and, as a consequence, what information professionals need to know. A new understanding of the digital information environment, a different professional perspective, and increased interaction and personalisation of services are all required. Libraries cannot be replaced by ICTs and there are several reasons for this, which are discussed here. Instead, ICTs offer the opportunity for regeneration, as digital libraries require digital librarians, who can better achieve the goals of librarianship, by intervening in the cycle of knowledge creation as decoders and information interventionists.