Audiences for Asian collections

As it is an ambition of mine to work with Asian collections in the future, I was delighted to be invited to NACIRA annual conference, topical on “redefining the audiences for Asian collections”.

I was really surprised to hear the interesting projects such as the conservation and digitization of the Lewis-Gibson Genizah collection between Oxford and Cambridge (which still sounds weird given their history).  However, Oliver Urquhart Irvine from the British Library Qatar Foundation Partnership Project is one that really caught my eye.

The idea of creating a completely online digital repository rich with content about the history of the Gulf and Arabic Science, with bilingual searches and metadata in English and Arabic, is something that hasn’t really being thought of before on such a scale. Utilising project management skills with digital humanities knowledge within libraries, I saw how the project was split into phrases to include aspects of the library catalogue, functionality via platform, and OCR software for search capabilities and embedment for sound and GPS mapping (for digitalised maps).  Followed by, the creating contingency plans for challenges in public and staff communication, awareness and advocacy, plus internal problems in spending alternations that affect technology and staff turnover.

This ambitious project has really got me thinking about what I could do with a qualification in librarianship. Simply from combining traditional librarianship with digital means to not only conserve material through data management from cataloguing, appropriate digitalisation, translation, creation of authority files to content delivery, but also ensuring the use of such information to encourage teaching and education e.g. changes in politics, trade and global communication. This therefore means creating a longer shelf life for digital libraries, from changing the culture of its use and adapting to user social needs in web compatibility, simplicity in architectural design and information content without overload.

Other projects into creating awareness for Asian collections was also highlighted with projects for the Clay Sanskrit Library for classical Indian literature and the Jainpedia project for the Jain faith.

Trends in the Library and Information sector

So, we kicked off the m25 Consortium of Academic Libraries event “Study Library and Information Science ... and Beyond” one-day conference with Stephen Pinfield (Sheffield University). Considering the growing demand for technology affecting traditional librarianships, it is no wonder Stephen decided to highlight these trends to potential library students.

A good place to collectively look at changing trends is IFLA’s “Riding the Waves or Caught inthe Tide?” trend report and ACRL Top 10 trends in Academic libraries. There points overlap over the following issues I am about to mention.

Due to new technology, information is more readily accessible than ever before but the cost is the increasing limitation such as licensing, subscriptions and polices being put in place. Many could argue that more technology has attributed the move to open access and online education within universities but it also means that librarians are now expected to become “intermediaries” to guide users on how to use the new technology. Furthermore, with the growing demand by students to access material online we have this growth development in digitalisation. I argue it a good thing until you think of things such as digital preservation. There is an uncontrol risk of lack of leadership in ensuring digital content is preserved because as it is on the "cloud",  so it is out of the universities hands. However, it is the complete opposite. More knowledge is needed to understand network systems and cloud technology within the new generation of librarians.

So this clearly, conjure up the question of, "what information is retained on the cloud when retriving information?". Surely, when leaving being such a digital footprint there is an increasing risk of data protection and need to redefine privacy policies in collection management and storage. The practice of allowing your users (students in this case) to tailor collections within patron driven e-book acquisitions, maybe good for library usage statistics and service delivery but the cost is the simple question of, "is there really a need for an acquistions specialist or librarian altogether?". Which leads to the longest trend of all - reduction in staffing levels.

With all of these points there are some clear discussions for debate but the current trend that really appeals to me from listening to Stephen, is the one of data curation. There is now more of an opportunity for librarians to move away from typical roles as more is being invested into researching data management and creating space within librarians. Libraries now have to battle against other libraries to demonstrate their user value to the ones making financial budgeting decisions. With us being hyper-connected societies where social media such as Facebook and Twitter, blogs and mobile environments can give librarians a voice to adovate for libraries, we have truly become part of the global information economy that relays data to deliver content. 

So, what does this mean for the average hopeful pursue a librarianship? There needs to be more a focus on new roles in the current economy such as clinical librarians, systems librarians, digital curators, information literacy educators and informationists. Quite simply if you want to concentrate on rare books modules and cataloguing, well good-on-you but you are going to need to gain other skills to stay within the job market. For example, learning about research data management, project management, relationship/supplier management and marketing. Conservely, there is also a need for soft skills such as problem solving, counselling, teaching, teamwork and the "mindset" to demonstrate your competency for being proactively flexible with a global perspective in getting involved within the sector.

So when you get asked in you university interview, “How will each LIS course equip me to work in the current & future information environment?” you’re definitely not going to be caught out when you know the underlining trends affecting you, your career and respective library.