Instructional Design: Skills to Benefit the Library Profession

Abstract

Librarians in many types of libraries frequently find themselves positioned as instructors in formal and informal educational settings. Librarians can help ensure that learner needs are better defined and addressed by gaining basic competency in instructional design (ID), an intentional process used to create effective, efficient educational and training programs. Additionally, instructional design skills have the potential to benefit librarians in nonteaching roles. This paper examines existing library literature to determine how librarians can benefit from ID skills and to identify core ID competencies for the profession, and suggests opportunities to investigate how librarians might best acquire these skills.