Employability skills: are UK LIM departments meeting employment needs?

Abstract

Purpose -This research paper describes the results of a survey of specialist UK library and information sector (LIS) employment agencies concerning employability of library and information management (LIM) graduates and introduces the follow-up actions that are being undertaken to create new teaching materials that address their concerns. Design/methodology/approach -A survey of four UK specialist employment agencies was undertaken in 2005 using semi-structured interview schedules. The aim was to identify the various specific employability areas that recruiters felt were needed for 11 LIM sectors. Quantitative research of individual employers has been undertaken previously, but it was felt that agencies had a unique perspective of sector requirements. This was followed by visits to LIM academic departments to discuss whether the results matched the perceptions of academic staff. Findings -It was clear that different LIM sectors had different emphasises in terms of the employability skills required. Second, the LIM departments visited also identified the desire to address gaps in provision of employability skills within curricula.Research limitations/implications -The survey was a snapshot of perceptions in early 2005. The employment market is a fast-changing environment and further follow-up surveys annually might be valuable to establish trend lines. The research is qualitative and subjective in nature. Originality/value -The paper describes how funding has been provided to empower LIM academics to create new teaching materials by buying their time out to address the gaps in available materials. In addition, these materials will be made freely available to the whole UK LIS sector and networks established to maintain them. Such co-operation is unusual and could result in significant time savings in the preparation of teaching material and enhancement of graduates' readiness for employment.

Employability skills of LIS graduates in Pakistan: needs and expectations

“…For example : Mammo, 2007;Varalakshami, 2006;Stilwell, 2004;Lutwama and Kigongo-Bukenya, 2004;Raju, 2004;Stephens andHamblin, 2006, Ocholla, 2001, are few to quote. Mammo (2007) discusses the factors effecting the LIS employers' perception of LIS employees and their employability from an Ethiopian perspective.…”

Developing the legal information professional

“…Hambleton (1991) notes that competencies for LIPs fall naturally into the two broad areas of competency as an information professional and competency in the law (discussed in the following). The literature generally supports the requirements specified by the AALL (2010), emphasising the continuing value of traditional technical skills in information retrieval and organisation, including cataloguing and classification (Amos, 2001;Gibson, 2001;Norris, 2002), abstracting and thesaurus construction (Worley, 2007), in addition to their contemporary application in relation to information technology and KM (Gibson, 2001;Norris, 2002;Stephens and Hamblin, 2006). The use of Web 2.0 tools/social media (such as RSS feeds, blogs and wikis) for updating, knowledge sharing and recording frequently asked questions (FAQs) illustrates the way new technologies are being adopted for established tasks in legal information work (Lustigman, 2010;Mullan, 2009;Weiter, 2008;Winter, 2008).…”

Knowledge, Skills and Attributes for Academic Reference Librarians

“…In their snap-shots of job advertisements over thirty years, Kennan et al (2006: 181) noted a general "increase in demand for computer and IT skills", although information technology-related skills was ranked 12 th in the frequency of terms found in advertisements. 'Web design and maintenance' was included in 47% of the 2004 advertisements analysed in their study and noted as an important skill by Stephens and Hamblin (2006). On the other hand, the analysis of LIS job advertisements by Reeves and Hahn (2010) reported "general IT skills" as the most frequently mentioned general skill, and Wang, Tang and Knight (2010) specifically noted technology skills as an important feature of reference work.…”