Skills LIS Students Need and
How Practitioners & Educators
Can Collaborate to Provide Them
From One Adjunct Instructor’s Perspective
Bobby Bothmann
Metadata & Emerging Technologies Librarian
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Adjunct Instructor
Graduate School of Library & Information Science
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Overview
 Desired Competencies
 Competencies LIS Teaches
 Competencies LIS Practitioners Offer
 The Intersection of the Competencies
 Collaboration Opportunities
All images used are
Definitions
Competence (Competences)
 Oxford English
Dictionary
Competency (Competencies)
 Merriam-Webster
Online
 Industry jargon
 4.a. Sufficiency of
qualification; capacity
to deal adequately with
a subject.
 An ability or skill
ALA Core Competencies
1.
Foundations of the Profession
2.
Information Resources
3.
Organization of Recorded Knowledge and Information
4.
Technological Knowledge and Skills
5.
Reference and User Services
6.
Research
7.
Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning
8.
Administration and Management
http://www.ala.org/educationcareers/careers/corecomp/corecompetences
Instructor Wish List
 Critical thinking
 Curiosity
 Holistic visioning
 Open-minded listening
 Patience
 Time management
Source: Facebook Poll
Competencies We Teach
Typically Taught
 Authority control
 Descriptive cataloging
 Classification schemes
 Standards
Possibly Included by Some
 Original vs. Copy
Cataloging
 Research & Publication
 Technological
applications
 Subject analysis
Source: Hall-Ellis, 2008
Skills LIS Practitioners Offer
 Administrative awareness
 Organizational management
 Authority control
 Original vs. Copy Cataloging
 Descriptive cataloging
 Classification schemes
 Collaborative initiatives
 Communication
 Holistic visioning
 Research & Publication
 Standards
 Subject analysis
 Technological applications
Source: ALA 2009; Bello and Mansor, 2013; Hall-Ellis, 2008; MAGERT, 2008
Necessary Competencies
 Administrative awareness
 Multilingual proficiencies
 Advocacy & Outreach
 Open-minded listening
 Authority control
 Organizational management
 Classification schemes
 Original vs. Copy Cataloging
 Collaborative initiatives
 Patience
 Communication skills
 Project Management
 Critical thinking
 Standards
 Descriptive cataloging
 Subject analysis
 Holistic visioning
 Technological applications
 Interpersonal skills
Source: ALA 2009; Bello and Mansor, 2013; Halll-Ellis, 2008; MAGERT, 2008
The Intersection
Shared LIS Competencies
Unclaimed Competencies

Administrative awareness

Advocacy & Outreach

Authority control

Communication skills

Classification schemes

Critical thinking

Collaborative initiatives

Curiosity

Descriptive cataloging

Interpersonal skills

Holistic visioning

Multilingual proficiencies

Organizational management

Open-minded listening

Subject analysis

Project management
What is Left Over?
 Advocacy & Outreach
 Communication skills
 Critical thinking
 Original vs. Copy
Cataloging
 Technological
applications
 Curiosity
 Collaborative initiatives
 Interpersonal skills
 Holistic visioning
 Multilingual proficiencies
 Open-minded listening
 Project management
The Lego Effect
Project Management Skills
LIS Equivalents
 Attention to detail
 Descriptive cataloging
 Communication
 Papers, presentations, etc.
 Leadership
 Group projects
 Negotiation
 Group projects; degree design
 Organization
 Classification/Subject analysis
 Recognizing and
 Reference interview; Case
solving problems
studies
Holistic Visioning
 Holism: tendency in nature to produce wholes from
the ordered grouping of unit structures
 What skills do you have that can be re-purposed for
this competence?
Multi-lingual
proficiency
Ranganathan’s
Laws
Collection
Development
Admin &
Management
Courses
User needs
FRBR
Classification
Collaboration Options
 Mentoring
 Practicums
 Professional organizations
Source: Bothmann, 2007
Perspective
Sources

American Library Association. 2009. “Core Competencies of Librarianship”
http://www.ala.org/educationcareers/careers/corecomp (Accessed 9 January 2014)

Bello, M. A. and Y. Mansor. 2013. Strengthening Professional Expertise: Mentoring in
Knowledge Transfer, the Cataloguers’ Perspective. The International Information &
Library Review 45, (3-4): 139-148.

Bothmann, Robert L. 2007. Meeting the Needs of Special Format Catalogers: Ideas for
Professional Organizations, Library Schools, and Professional Catalogers, Cataloging &
Classification Quarterly 44 (3-4): 221-232.

FaceBook poll, 14 January 2014.

Hall-Ellis, Sylvia D. 2008. Cataloger competencies ... what do employers require?
Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 46, (3): 305-330.

MAGERT Education Committee. 2008. “Map, GIS and Cataloging / Metadata
Librarian Core Competencies.”
http://www.ala.org/magirt/sites/ala.org.magirt/files/content/publicationsab/MAGE
RTCoreComp2008_rev2012.pdf