Being a librarian: metadata and metadata specialists in the twenty‐first century

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to forecast the changing roles of librarians – especially catalogers and metadata specialists – in today's technology‐driven research, teaching, and learning environments, in which information seekers behave more and more self‐sufficiently and move well beyond library collections in their pursuit of information.Design/methodology/approachPlaces the roles of librarians and library collections in the larger context of knowledge management and campus information network processes, which occur in every knowledge community, with or without a library. Explores and provides examples of how knowledge creators can collaborate with information technology experts and librarians to transform how faculty members teach and conduct research; how students learn; and how libraries support these activities.FindingsLibrarians need to make their collections and services much more visible through human and technological interconnections and greatly improved delivery of information content. Metadata and metadata specialists are strategic assets for libraries, but the service model for cataloging faces critical challenges. Two tables list these challenges and the implications for metadata specialists.Originality/valueOffers new observations and insights into how librarians can continue to contribute to saving information seekers' time and advancing the state of knowledge in the increasingly interconnected world of the web. Drawing from the larger context of the global infosphere, information‐seeking behavior, and changing roles for library collections and information systems, forecasts the role of metadata and metadata specialists in libraries.