Rethinking Library Technical Services: Redefining our Profession for the Future

Citation

Calvert, P. (2016), "Rethinking Library Technical Services: Redefining our Profession for the Future", The Electronic Library, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 719-720. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-02-2016-0047

When I first worked in a library, it was pretty clear what was meant by the term “technical services”; it was that part of the library’s workforce responsible for the acquisitions and cataloguing of stock and possibly managing the serials. Now, as well as still covering the traditional aspects of the job, staff in technical services can be responsible for much more, including diverse activities such as negotiating licences for electronic resources. Because the work is more diverse, the knowledge and competencies required are also more wide-ranging and probably more demanding.

The first chapter by Moore and Weinheimer on “The future of technical services” sets the scene well. They use an analogy of water quality, that is, people struggle to keep a small stream clean (for which, read the library catalogue), but recently, a large polluted river has been emptying into the water supply (for which, read the many sources of metadata currently being added to the index of our “discovery” services). Why, the question asks, bother to maintain the quality of the small stream while it is being overwhelmed by the polluted river? The next chapter to read, in my opinion, is “The current state of bibliographic description” by Hall-Ellis, which gives a good history of the development of standards from MARC to the present mix of RDA, BIBFRAME and the rest. Though the author is optimistic and states, quite correctly, that change is now permanent so we had better learn to live with it, I found myself still sceptical that we are really better placed now than we have been previously.

Weber’s own chapter on “The state of technical services today” was not quite what I expected, but is instead a good explanation of the need for librarians in technical services to learn the art and science of negotiation, especially with key vendors. The chapter that I found the most challenging, and therefore the most interesting, was Vellucci’s “Research data and linked data: a new future for technical services?” After stating that a perfect storm of change has forced librarians to rethink their roles, she says “the end result was an emerging focus on open access to information and sharing, repurposing, and creating research data” (p. 87). She then sets out some of the requirements for better research data management, including the management of institutional repositories. Altogether, a very satisfying chapter in a volume that ought to be read by all senior managers and anyone concerned with technical services.

Philip Calvert

Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand