Librarians' skills and qualifications in a modern informational environment

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of the research is to investigate the qualifications and the skills of the librarian's profession as they are impressed through the job ads. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 200 job advertisements were studied from the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA in 2006 and 2007. The data were derived from known web sites. Findings – Overall, 38 skills and qualifications were identified through the job ads. Their percentage of appearance was recorded and this constitutes the basic element for the final findings of this research. Research limitations/implications – The research restricted in ads emanated from developed countries' web sites. This methodology records the ideal model of a librarian. Originality/value – The research, like others, confirms the meaning of the traditional library science in the modern informational environment.