Journal of Information and Knowledge (Formerly SRELS Journal of Information Management)

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Librarian and Competencies: Route to Competitive Advantage


Affiliations
1 Government Arts College, Bangalore 560068, India
2 International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), 26/c, Electronic city, Hosur Road, Bangalore 560100, India
     

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Much like human and economic resources, information is an asset with a calculable return on investment. To make the most of the information resource and provide strategic value, all forms of information must be incorporated. Managing information as a strategic resource necessitates a new breed of information professionals. Factors such as digital technology, the internet, and wi-fi all drive the information future. The world has moved from generation-X to generation-D, a digitally associated society. In this contemporary world successful professionals are competitive, fast paced, first-to-deliver, and global in nature. Creating strategic advantage requires a new brand of information professional, one who possesses a broad spectrum of information, managerial and knowledge management skills and one who can marshall information, to maximize working competitiveness and strategic success.

Purpose: To investigate the status of core competencies in each librarian. In particular, to examine whether professional librarian is achieving or adopting core competencies and, if so, how they are integrated into the overall performance management system.

Design: Any library professional shall be asked to consider sets of skills, knowledge, abilities, and attributes in place in their organizations that may not be called core competencies but are, in fact, very similar.

Approach: Conduct a self performance analysis by completing a performance information questionnaire. The primary objective is to make sure that what they experience and perform are the key behaviors necessary to perform their respective jobs.

Findings: While competency development and implementation are not fast or easy processes as part of a larger performance management system, their use can help research libraries to recruit, hire, train, and retain valuable employees. In today's ever-changing and increasingly challenging environment, well-designed and implemented core competencies enable libraries and library staff to meet the needs of the tough user community. Taking the professional competency one step further, one can use the results of one’s evaluation to identify in what competencies individuals need additional development or training. This will help to focus the training needs on the goals of the position and company and help employees develop toward the ultimate success of the organization.

Implications: As core competencies apply to all professional librarians, when core competencies are introduced to library professionals, they are made aware of them through information sessions and other updates. They are subsequently published on staff Web sites and in library instruction book. Where core competencies are part of the annual evaluation, staffs are reminded of them during the performance appraisal process. New employees may learn of core competencies through job announcement and recruiting information, during job interviews, and certainly during post-hiring orientation.

Value:Core competencies afford:

- A platform for developing individual professional training and development strategy

- More reliable and well-articulated performance expectations for library professionals performance appraisal

- A better understanding by library staff of the skills, knowledge, abilities, and attributes valued by the organization


Keywords

Professional Competency, Competitive Advantage, Performance Appraisal, Library Management.
User
About The Authors

G. T. Mahesh
Government Arts College, Bangalore 560068
India

B. Nandeesha
International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), 26/c, Electronic city, Hosur Road, Bangalore 560100
India


Notifications

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  • Kozlowski (S W); Farr (J L). An integrative model of updating and performance. New York, Harcourt. 1988; p95.

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  • Salamon (L M). Human capital and America's future: An economic strategy for the nineties: London, The Johns Hopkins Press Ltd. 1991; p42-44.

  • Yourdon (E). Decline and fall of the American Programmer. New Jersey, Englewood Cliffs. 1992; p115-119.

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  • Zmud (R W). An examination of 'pushpull' theory applied to process innovation in knowledge work. Management Science. Vol. 30(6); 1984; p727-738.

  • Essential Competencies for Library Managers. Available http://www.nps.gov/training/npsonly/INF/t-libmgr.htm.

  • Library Instruction Competencies. Available http://www.hern.hawaii.edu/hern96/pt061/compten.htm.

  • Middleton (Robert). Action Plan Marketing. Available http://www.actionplan.com.html.

  • Special Libraries Association. Competencies for the special librarians of the 21st century. Available http://www.sla.org/content/professional/meaning/competency.cfm


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  • Librarian and Competencies: Route to Competitive Advantage

Abstract Views: 422  |  PDF Views: 10

Authors

G. T. Mahesh
Government Arts College, Bangalore 560068, India
B. Nandeesha
International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), 26/c, Electronic city, Hosur Road, Bangalore 560100, India

Abstract


Much like human and economic resources, information is an asset with a calculable return on investment. To make the most of the information resource and provide strategic value, all forms of information must be incorporated. Managing information as a strategic resource necessitates a new breed of information professionals. Factors such as digital technology, the internet, and wi-fi all drive the information future. The world has moved from generation-X to generation-D, a digitally associated society. In this contemporary world successful professionals are competitive, fast paced, first-to-deliver, and global in nature. Creating strategic advantage requires a new brand of information professional, one who possesses a broad spectrum of information, managerial and knowledge management skills and one who can marshall information, to maximize working competitiveness and strategic success.

Purpose: To investigate the status of core competencies in each librarian. In particular, to examine whether professional librarian is achieving or adopting core competencies and, if so, how they are integrated into the overall performance management system.

Design: Any library professional shall be asked to consider sets of skills, knowledge, abilities, and attributes in place in their organizations that may not be called core competencies but are, in fact, very similar.

Approach: Conduct a self performance analysis by completing a performance information questionnaire. The primary objective is to make sure that what they experience and perform are the key behaviors necessary to perform their respective jobs.

Findings: While competency development and implementation are not fast or easy processes as part of a larger performance management system, their use can help research libraries to recruit, hire, train, and retain valuable employees. In today's ever-changing and increasingly challenging environment, well-designed and implemented core competencies enable libraries and library staff to meet the needs of the tough user community. Taking the professional competency one step further, one can use the results of one’s evaluation to identify in what competencies individuals need additional development or training. This will help to focus the training needs on the goals of the position and company and help employees develop toward the ultimate success of the organization.

Implications: As core competencies apply to all professional librarians, when core competencies are introduced to library professionals, they are made aware of them through information sessions and other updates. They are subsequently published on staff Web sites and in library instruction book. Where core competencies are part of the annual evaluation, staffs are reminded of them during the performance appraisal process. New employees may learn of core competencies through job announcement and recruiting information, during job interviews, and certainly during post-hiring orientation.

Value:Core competencies afford:

- A platform for developing individual professional training and development strategy

- More reliable and well-articulated performance expectations for library professionals performance appraisal

- A better understanding by library staff of the skills, knowledge, abilities, and attributes valued by the organization


Keywords


Professional Competency, Competitive Advantage, Performance Appraisal, Library Management.

References