A comprehensive inventory of technology and computer skills for academic reference librarians

Scope and method of study. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive inventory of the computer and related technology skills required of reference librarians in academic libraries. Using the Delphi Method, the study began Round #1 by asking the 14 participants this question: “What are the technology and computer skills required of reference librarians in academic libraries?” Round #1's open-ended question elicited 848 skill statements. Multiple statements describing the same skill were revised and combined into one uniformly worded skill statement. The remaining 380 statements formed Questionnaire #2.; Findings and conclusions. Thirteen respondents completed Questionnaire #2. Items with means greater than 3.0 and “Chi Square of Neg/Pos” values greater than the critical value were considered to show consensus and to have been considered important by the respondents. Of the 380 skill statements, 285 met these criteria. Nineteen statements had χ 2 value 3.77, means greater than 3.0, and at least 77 percent “Positive” responses. While these statements did not meet the χ2 test for statistical significance, they are worth noting nonetheless. Reference librarians working in academic libraries are faced with an ever-increasing number of electronic resources with unique interfaces and technical requirements. Providing adequate and timely training opportunities to address these needs presents challenges for academic administrators, as they strive to maintain levels of resources and services in the face of declining or stagnant budgets. It is critical that careful needs assessments be conducted to insure that training programs are carefully targeted and effective. Additionally, library schools are faced with the need to carefully analyze and update curricula to prepare new librarians for this evolving technological environment. An inventory of the technology and computer skills required of reference librarians in academic libraries can be a valuable tool to assist academic library administrators and library school administrators as they face these challenges. At the core of their mission, academic librarians have always been concerned with the physical preservation of materials. In today's environment there is increasing recognition of the need to migrate digital media to new formats to maintain viability and access. This same attention to preservation must be focused on the renewal of human resources.