Finding Their Way: Electronic Resources Librarians’

Education, Training, and Community

Rachel A. Fleming-May, Assistant ProfessorSchool of Information Sciences, The University of TennesseeJill E. Grogg, Associate Professor and

Electronic Resources Librarian, The University of Alabama

E-Resource Expenditures

• “Between 1994/95 and 2001/02, expenditures on electronic resources for the typical university research library have grown almost 400% to almost $1.4M.”

• “Electronic journals now account for 26% of a library's overall serials expenditures…” 9

2004-2008Year Number

of Libraries

Average E-Serial Expenditure

Average Total Materials Expenditure

E-Serial Expenditure/Total Materials Expenditure

2004 110 $2450920 $8983972 27.28%

2005 107 $3037918

2006 109 $3543449

2008 111 $5031412 $11368091 44.26%

Is the ER Librarian a passing trend?

“New professions develop when a disturbance causes

the authority in a specific area to become obsolete or

replaced by the need for new expertise. As the

professions or sub-specialties develop their expertise

in order to respond to the disturbance, the area

develops a consistency in its skills and role and

balance are restored.”1

Position Announcement Analysis: 2002

• Between 1996 and 2001, 101 e-resource positions were advertised in College & Research Libraries News2

• Between 2002 and 2006, 122 such advertisements appeared

Preferred Job Skills

• Position announcements combined more “traditional” tasks from public and technical service areas:– Reference and bibliographic instruction– Resource evaluation– Cataloging– Online searching– Acquisitions2,3

Preferred Job Skills

• Position announcements also included relatively “new” skills:

– License negotiation

– Technical integration of disparate e-resources2

Experienced Required

• 81% of announcements analyzed by Albitz

required no (40%) or between one and three

(41%) years of experience

• This indicates employers are expecting LIS

programs or on-the-job training to contribute

to preparing e-resource librarians2

Position Announcement Analysis: 2007

• Advertised responsibilities for e-resources

positions are amorphous at best

• List of responsibilities beyond the capacity of

one individual

• “Kitchen sink” positions – positions only a

“superhuman could perform successfully” 4

Preferred Job Skills

• Public services responsibilities diminished (no more reference, bibliographic instruction)

• “ER coordination”• Acquisitions, renewals, and cancellations• License and pricing negotiations• Troubleshooting technical problems• Completely new to 2007 study: Link resolvers, federated

search, trials, usage data4

• Increased participation in consortia requires unique set of skills5

Previous experience ofcurrent ER librarians

• E-Resource Librarians enter positions with little or no experience with ER management

• Many internal candidates from reference/bibliography, serials, acquisitions, collection development, etc.

• Reassignment of current duties – reallocation used to address need for ER management4

A Student’s Voice

“First, ask yourself if you are suited to this kind of work … a happy, effective electronic resources librarian must enjoy puzzles and must not get frustrated by problems that do not stay fixed. You will have to accept the fact that many of your colleagues may not completely understand what exactly it is that you do or how you do it.”6

Requisite Skills(ranked by total # of appearances in 100 job ads)

1. Web-mastering2. Cataloging3. ILS4. ER Management5. Instruction6. Supervision

7. Programming8. ER Knowledge9. Licensing10. Acquisitions11. Hardware admin12. Reference7

What are library schools doing?

• Of top 12 skills most often listed in 100 job ads:

– Cataloging, acquisitions, knowledge of ER, and

supervision covered on average in three to five courses

per program

– ILS, hardware, programming, reference, instruction, and

Web-mastering covered in two courses per program

– ER management and licensing appear in one or no

courses per program7

An Adjunct’s Voice

“How have library faculty changed?

“Library faculty also encourage a broader view of classes and experience among students. They still do not read as broadly as they should, focusing on a narrow set of ‘classics’, but they are more open to works in the social sciences …”8

Our Survey:

• Email to lists for electronic resources librarians• Vague description in email (to limit self-selection)• Asked about – Duties, responsibilities, and specific tasks associated

with position

– How well prepared by MLIS program to execute specific job successfully

– Source of skills for accomplishing job (MLIS program or elsewhere).

Our Respondents…

• 338 Respondents– Variety of

• levels of experience

• years since acquiring MLIS

– Variety of position titles and responsibilities un/related to Electronic Resources

49%

30%

8%14%

0-3 years 4-7 years 8-11 years 12+ years

0-3 years

“How many long have you worked in your current [electronic resources] position?

4-7 years

…AND WHAT WE ASKED THEM ABOUT (IN A NUTSHELL):

• Specific tasks for which they had responsibility

• Where they learned how to accomplish those tasksEmphasis on M.L.I.S. education

Tasks: Acquisition and Renewal of Electronic Resources

Tasks: Technical Issues/Maintenance

Tasks: Planning/Publicizing/Evaluating Electronic Resources

Tasks: Training/Personnel Management

Tasks: Unrelated to Electronic Resources

WHEW!

Where’d they learn how to do all that stuff? Their M.L.I.S. programs must’ve been pretty good…

Where did you learn the skills necessary…

…or not. Only 14.6% told us that they learned about e-resources management in the M.L.I.S. course of study…only 2% (5 people) in a course specifically about e-resources.

HOW WELL DID YOUR MLIS PROGRAM PREPARE YOU TO ACCOMPLISH TASKS RELATED TO…

Well, they must’ve learned how to do perform some of the tasks of an electronic resources librarian, right?

Acquisition and Renewal of Electronic Resources

≤13% felt their M.L.I.S. program prepared them “somewhat well or extremely well” to accomplish each task.

Technical and Maintenance

Issues

M.L.I.S. Programs fared a little better in cataloging and metadata preparation…

Planning, Publicizing, and Evaluating Electronic Resources

Why are so many electronic resources librarians not involvedin IR initiatives/planning (34%) and Scholarly Communications Initiatives (35%)?

Training and Personnel

Management

Respondents even rated M.L.I.S. preparation poorly in “traditional” areas of librarianship

WELL, BUT LIBRARIANSHIP HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS, AND 41% OF RESPONDENTS FINISHED THEIR MASTER’S 12 YEARS AGO (OR MORE).

Surely education is more reflective of the responsibilities of this type of position now….

M.L.I.S. program, electronic resources management-spe-

cific course1%

M.L.I.S. program, electronic resources part of curriculum

6%

On the job training, in house17%

On the job training, outsourced

8%

Conferences and workshops, off-site

22%

Books and Journals22%

Informal consultation/querying of/discussion with colleagues at

other institutions (listservs, etc.)25%

Surprisingly, recent graduates didn’t report receiving appreciably better training during the course of the MLIS.

Where did you learn the skills necessary…(M.L.I.S. Completed within 7 years)

Where are they learning this stuff?

On their own andfrom each other.

Really??Yes. Specifically, through

• Informal consultation/querying of/discussion with colleagues at other institutions: 87.8% (223)

• Conferences and workshops away from home institution: 76.8% (189)

• Consultation of books and journals 74.4% (189)

…with a little help from their employers:

• On the job training provided by employer , in house: 46.5% (118)

• …outsourced instructor: 25.2% (64)

SO, WHAT CAN BE DONE?

2007 CM Article: Recommendations

• Internships/practica• Independent studies• Taking classes in other departments (business

schools, etc.)• “Issues in” courses taught by practitioners• Continuing education courses7

Four of these require a commitment from current ER professionals

Our Recommendations:

• Lobby LIS education to improve preparation through coursework and practical experiences

• Lobby ALA to bridge education-practice gap (where are ER skills in the Core Competences?)

• Regular faculty not adjunct (economic situation)

A Professional’s Voice

“No one person can know, understand, or keep

track of all the intricacies of ER librarianship as

they evolve, which makes the development of

consistent, systematic, broadly available

training opportunities critical.” 4

Questions?

Rachel Fleming-May, Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee, rfmay@utk.edu

Jill E. Grogg, Electronic Resources Librarian, University of Alabama, jgrogg@ua.edu

Bibliography1. Downes, K.A. & P.V. Rao. (2007). “Preferred Political, Social, and Technological Characteristics

of Electronic Resources Librarians.” Collection Management 32(1/2), 3-14.2. Albitz, R.S. (2002). “Electronic Resources Librarians in Academic Libraries: A Position

Announcement Analysis, 1996-2001.” portal: Libraries and the Academy 2(4), 589-600. 3. Fisher, W. (2003). “The ER Librarian Position: A Public Services Phenomenon?” Library

Collections, Acquisitions & Technical Services 27(11).4. Albitz, R.S. & W.A. Shelburne. (2007). “Marian Through the Looking Glass: The Unique

Evolution of the Electronic Resources Librarian Position.” Collection Management 32, (1/2), 15-30.

5. Clement, S. (2007). “Skills for Effective Participation in Consortia.” Collection Management 32, (1/2), 191-204.

6. Zuniga, H. (2008). “A Student’s Voice.” Colorado Libraries 34(3), 55-56.7. Bradford, M.L. et al. (2007). “Education and Electronic Resources Librarianship.” Collection

Management 32, (1/2), 49-69.8. Weir, R.O. (2008). “A Look at Today’s Library Students and Faculty: IU.” Indiana Libraries 27(2),

83-85.9. Case, M.M. (2004). “A Snapshot in Time: ARL Libraries and Electronic Journal Resources.” ARL

Newsletters (235), 88.