Abstract
It is expected that library staff are qualified to offer high quality services to users visiting the physical library. Likewise, it is expected that they have substantial knowledge and skills needed for developing and maintaining electronic services and for dissemination of relevant services and facilities requested by the web-user. Serving remote library users calls for additional competencies, such as marketing, branding and communications skills in the electronic environment as well as knowledge of measuring and evaluation of the use of electronic services. It is a challenge to the staff to match particular needs and demands from different user groups, but also to library management staff to ensure that the competencies and skills are available in the organisation to match the needs of the user – wherever s/he might be located. Competencies are, in this context, defined as the combination of knowledge and experience that make the individual able to take the right actions in the daily working environment. What education and training needs emerge from the changing roles and new tasks? How might we identify the needs for continuing professional development? And how can we maintain and update skills and competencies acquired maybe 25 years ago? These are key questions – not only to be addressed to library managers, but also to be considered carefully by those institutions responsible for continuing education and professional development of library staff.
Highlights
The hybrid library, as it is developing today, combines the physical and the net-based library
What education and training needs emerge from the changing roles and new tasks? How might we identify the needs for continuing professional development? And how can we maintain and update skills and competencies acquired maybe 25 years ago? These are key questions – to be addressed to library managers, and to be considered carefully by those institutions responsible for continuing education and professional development of library staff
Library staff is heavily involved in projects on developing e-services, creation of subject portals and gateways, and to customise access to e-resources to the individual faculty, to the individual researcher and student or to other target groups, but what influence do electronic library materials have on library loans and usage? Library statistics from Danish research libraries from 2004 show that 66% of library loans were 'down-loads' and it is estimated that the use of electronic resources in Denmark's Electronic Research Library (DEFF) will increase by 25% per year during the couple of years
Summary
The hybrid library, as it is developing today, combines the physical and the net-based library. Library staff is heavily involved in projects on developing e-services, creation of subject portals and gateways, and to customise access to e-resources to the individual faculty, to the individual researcher and student or to other target groups, but what influence do electronic library materials have on library loans and usage? In the Nordic countries, universities are facing many challenges: the changing population of students (from elite to mass education), knowledge production in new forms (i.e. Open Archives); the demands for life long learning, and globalisation. These changes impact the ability of libraries to be an active player in knowledge production. In an electronic context and all have a place in facilitating the effective use of internet in a changing information environment
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