Librarianship is a profession that is highly in demand in almost all organisations. It is a career that has solidly embraced Information and Communication Technology. As a student with career plans in Librarianship, you need to develop skills that go with current trends in the field to enable you to secure jobs easily and enjoy the benefits they offer. This article will help you discover some students librarianship skills vital for securing jobs.
Education
The requirements for a librarian position include the following:
- Four-year undergraduate degree in any field.
- Master of Library Science Degree (MLS).
- MLS degree from an American Library Association (ALA)-accredited school.
- ALA-accredited MLS degree plus a teaching certificate (often the case in school libraries) or an ALA-accredited MLS plus a second masters degree, e.g., a law degree
Skills
Some of the essential skills you need include
- A desire to meet and serve the library’s user community.
- Ability to think analytically and to develop new or revised systems, procedures, and workflow.
- Ability to exercise initiative and independent judgment.
- Knowledge of computers, the internet, and commercially available library software.
- Knowledge of a foreign language for communities with non-English speaking populations.
Others are
- Ability to prepare comprehensive reports and present ideas clearly and concisely in written and oral form.
- Possess the ability to make administrative decisions, interpret policies, and supervise staff.
- Are able to motivate, establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, supervisors, volunteers, other community agencies as well as the public.
- Knowledge of the philosophy and techniques of library service.
- Ability to organize job duties and work independently.
You also need
- Demonstrated knowledge of library materials and resources.
- Creativity to develop and implement library programs and services.
- Ability to communicate both orally and in writing.
- Positive attitude toward library users with special needs.
- Accuracy and skill in typing.
Other future trend skills in the digital world include
- Change management.
- Influencing and negotiation.
- Creativity and innovation.
- Supporting research in the digital world.
- Digital literacy.
- Marketing.
- Digital Information management.
- Developing and managing space.
- Collaboration.
- Experience.
- Career path.
Experience
It’s best to have some experience working in a library before graduating. This can be as a volunteer, page, library assistant, or even as part of an internship or graduate school project. Some libraries allow students who have demonstrated sufficient progress towards their library science masters degree to begin working as librarians. This is one of the students’ librarianship skills you need.
Career Path
Librarians who excel in their area of work and are interested in management can make excellent candidates for managerial positions, such as a department head, branch manager, or assistant director. The job of library director may also be a natural next step, especially in the case of smaller libraries.
You can build your career as Pages, Library Assistants and Technicians, Librarians, Library Managers, or Library Directors. You can explore other professions like Human Resources, Accounting, Network Administration, Facilities Management, etc.