Technical communicator: A new model for the electronic resources librarian?

Abstract

This article explores whether technical communicator is a useful model for electronic resources (ER) librarians. The fields of ER librarianship and technical communication (TC) originated and continue to develop in relation to evolving technologies. A review of the literature reveals four common themes for ER librarianship and TC. While the technical communicator model does not capture all aspects of ER librarianship, it does highlight the key communication roles played by ER librarians and the personal qualities of versatility and flexibility required of them. Suggestions for further research at the intersection of ER librarianship and TC are presented.What models or metaphors do we have for the role of the electronic resources (ER) librarian? One that is often cited in the literature is that of ER librarians as "jacks-and jills-of-all-trades" (Albitz, 2002, p. 598), versatile librarians who are expected to be adept in a range of library areas, including anything from acquisitions to reference to systems. This article explores another possible model, that of ER librarian as technical communicator. Technical communication (TC) work is described as follows by one TC graduate program: "We typically study how people communicate at work and we focus upon making documents that are clear, concise, accurate, thorough, and easy for the audience to use" (Minnesota State University Mankato, Department of English, 2015, Prospective Students section, para. 1). While working as an ER librarian in an academic library and simultaneously pursuing a master's degree in TC, the author was surprised to discover the extent to which ER management work connected with TC. This discovery served as the impetus for further exploration of the intersections between ER librarianship and TC.The purpose of this article is to explore whether the technical communicator is a helpful model for ER librarians, and to consider what we might learn from the two roles as they evolve in relation to changing technologies and economies. This approach to considering models for ER librarianship was inspired in part by the work of Hart and Conklin (2006), who conducted focus groups with technical communicators to "explore the state of current practice in the technical communication field and to develop visual and verbal models that more accurately describe that practice" (p. 396). Their article raised the questions: what are the current models and metaphors for ER librarianship, and might looking at ER librarianship in relation to TC provide new ways to think about the work?This article begins with brief overviews of the history of the professions of ER librarianship and TC, including recent efforts to develop competencies or bodies of knowledge for the fields. Next, it considers technical communicator as a model for ER librarianship through an examination of four common themes from the literature of the two fields. Finally, it closes with concluding thoughts and directions for future research. This article is based on a review of literature on the origins, co...

The role of electronic information resources in supporting scientific research at Northern Border University

“… Fourth: Electronic Information Resources according to the availability or according to the method of information availability (Hulseberg, 2016):…”