Reveals how to future-proof library jobs and the future of knowledge management in libraries
[UKPRwire, Fri May 05 2006] Recent research into the work of librarians in the charity, health and legal sectors has been commissioned by Softlink Europe, specialist in library and knowledge management systems. The research, The role of librarians in knowledge management, was carried out during March and April 2006 with organisations in England, Scotland and Wales, including private sector companies, charities, the NHS and Universities.
Iain Dunbar, director of Softlink Europe, explained, “Information and knowledge are often cited as the new global currency. There is a lot of confusion in the library market about the term knowledge management and how it applies to libraries. We were keen to cut through the jargon to find out what people’s individual definitions were through Delphi-style questioning of an array of expert practitioners from the library field . Ensuring that library and information services are well-supported by managers and users is also something we feel strongly about and which we support through our ongoing research and development of our product range. Enabling librarians to find accurate information quickly and easily is essential to the future of the service.”
The majority of respondents from the charity and legal sectors felt that knowledge management would become a significant part of their job in the future with 5 out of 10 of those surveyed from health backgrounds agreeing with the statement.
Definitions of knowledge management offered by those polled were varied with some believing it only applies to information internal to the organisation and others feeling that it should also apply to external information such as journals. Statements included: “gathering, organising and exploiting items of knowledge (both implicit and explicit) and turning this into information so that it can be managed”; “taking all the information we have and ordering it and cataloguing it to make it easily accessible”; “something wonderful that lets you dip into it and find information; and “getting the right information to the right people at the right time”.
When asked ‘do the majority of users value the services you provide’, the majority of charity and health respondents said ‘yes, very much’ with the majority of legal respondents (7/15) saying that their users valued their services ‘quite a lot’.
When questioned about their managers’ view of the services, the majority of respondents from all sectors agreed that they were ‘very much’ valued .
As to what users and managers valued about the services, the answers fell broadly into the following categories:
• Accuracy/quality of information provided
• Speed of information provided
• Friendly staff/personal service
• Library is sole/expert source of information
• Knowledgeable staff
In order to future-proof library jobs, respondents felt that they should take action including:
• Learning new skills/doing more training/gaining new qualifications
• Getting to grips with new technology/learn to speak the same language as the IT department
• Raising the profile of the library service internally and externally
• Make resources more accessible
• Gain more funding
• Demonstrate value for money
Keeping skills updated and getting to grips with new technology were themes echoed by many interviewees.
To receive a copy of the research, please email ird@softlink.co.uk or register on Softlink’s website, www.softlink.co.uk/kmr
About the research
The in-depth telephone questionnaires took an average of 30 minutes to work through with respondents, depending on how much the respondents had to say and their level of interest in the topic! The majority of interviewees were keen to see a copy of the research on its completion.
Job titles of interviewees included: archivist, electronic services development officer, head of research and development, information centre manager, information officer, information manager and analyst, knowledge services manager, librarian, library resources manager and support services development manager.
The research was managed by TheAnswer Ltd, public relations and communications specialist for the library and information management sectors. The responses are anonymous and the interviewees’ details will not be used for marketing purposes. 10 telephone interviews were conducted with respondents in each of the charity and health sectors and 15 with those from the legal sector.
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Notes to Editors
Softlink Europe
Library technology specialist Softlink invests in research and development to provide library technology for the 21st century and to offer a suite of products that offers unlimited possibilities for education, public, corporate and special libraries. The product range includes Liberty3 for the corporate, special and higher education sectors in addition to Alice and Oliver for school libraries. Limes Library Automation Software including Millennia and Evolution and pi Primer has now become the responsibility of Softlink Europe Ltd.
With 20 years of experience and over 10,000 installations of library management solutions worldwide in libraries in a variety of sectors, Softlink Europe is well placed to implement quickly and efficiently from its Oxford and North of England offices. The library automation specialist has a UK-based support and development team and is a firm believer in investment in research and development to provide library technology for the 21st century.
www.softlink.co.uk
For further information, please contact: Catherine Dhanjal, TheAnswer Ltd
Tel: 01883 650434/ 0794 166 9925 Email: catherine.dhanjal@theansweruk.com
Ref: TA-318
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