Since librarianship is making available and exploiting information for the benefit of people, librarians must know about information resources, about people, and about systems for linking resources ...and people. They need (1) basic abilities--literacy and numeracy; (2) organizational qualities, including vision, a questioning approach, perspective, problem-solving and analytical skills (which are essential), communication and social skills, political and economic skills, a sense of service and an ability to accept uncertainty; (3) "professional" knowledge relevant to librarianship; and (4) practical library skills. "Professional" knowledge can be fairly easily learnt, and skills can and must be acquired in practice. Literacy and numeracy, which are more basic, should be acquired at school, but may need to be further developed. Organizational qualities cannot be taught; they need cultivation in a good environment. Full-time one-off education, for which "professional" pretensions requiring a qualification are largely responsible, is unsuited to developing any of these requirements; continuous learning and development are necessary. A broader course in Communication Studies could provide a background for various jobs as well as librarianship. Meanwhile, library education could be improved by several measures, mostly involving greater integration with practice. Library practitioners must also change their attitudes and practices. To mark the 25th Anniversary edition of "Education for Information", editors re-visited articles published in the inaugural issue "to look again at them through the telescopic lens of a quarter century and to ponder how much has changed and how much has remained constant in educational issues relating to information studies." This article is a reprint of EJ314105.
This essay aims to briefly discuss a personal journey through part of a library career. The method is (loosely) process recall and personal reflection. The author's career has been eventful in many ...and varied ways.
Management musings 20 Line, Maurice B.
Library management,
04/2005, Letnik:
26, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Purpose - Aims to briefly discuss a personal journey through part of a library career.Design methodology approach - The method is (loosely) process recall and personal reflection.Findings - The ...author's career has been eventful in many and varied ways.Originality value - Provides personal recollections of library work.
Discusses the issue of retirement age in developed countries. It is suggested that as an alternative to simply finishing work at a given age, working hours should be gradually decreased, until on ...reaching a specified age, work does then cease. It is felt that this would benefit individuals, as the change from full time work to retirement would not be such a shock. It may not be so advantageous for organizations, who would then need to find suitable jobs, possibly with less responsibility for employees, and all the inherent problems that would involve.
Ponders whether more bosses should treat their staff as they would their family members. Many bosses treat their workforce in much the same way as buildings or equipment - to be maintained in working ...order, but not worth much attention otherwise. Considers that bosses should be more human at work, this being the key essential of good management.
Democracy, recognised as a flawed but desirable system of government, relies ultimately on trusting the people, whose views are therefore of prime importance. Their views therefore need to be well ...informed if democracy is to work successfully. The main formers of opinion, television and the press, commonly distort or over-simplify issues such as crime and asylum. There is plenty of reliable information available; the problem is that most people are not equipped intellectually or psychologically to desire information, to access it, to challenge it and to discriminate between good and bad. Development of such characteristics is a task for the education system; narrow "information literacy" programmes are not enough. Libraries, as resources and channels of information, are essential elements in the provision of a wide range of knowledge and opinion.
Lists the main themes of management theory and outlines how management practice can be very different. Notes that the reduction in job security and the increasing use of performance measures and ...targets should not mean a return to old and discredited ways of managing and working.
Reflects on short-term thinking, its long-term consequences and failure to foresee effects, at the levels of governments, organizations and individuals. In the same vein, considers the constraints on ...librarians to plan ahead for their libraries.
Discusses the problem of managing organisational change. Considers the difference between long- and short-term organisational change and how the attitudes of both staff and managers can affect the ...processes and outcomes of organisational change.
