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  • Essay / How Software Can Help Support the Changing Role of Academic Librarians

    Like many industries, the academic library has experienced profound changes over time due to the emergence of new technologies. This has forced many institutions to rethink how they manage the administrative tasks of collection, curation and acquisitions while radically changing the role of the librarian. Today's librarian is more likely to help students and patrons access educational resources than to perform administrative tasks. This poses a challenge for many educational institutions who are forced to redistribute staff or reallocate tasks due to the different skills required. But far from seeing this as a problem, certain avant-garde university institutions are taking advantage of the opportunity to redefine the role of the librarian. Traditionally, academic librarian positions are filled by candidates with a Master of Library Science (MLS) degree. But some universities are starting to see the benefit of hiring candidates with doctorates to help provide specialized knowledge to students. The goal is to make the librarian a more integrated part of the learning process. So, rather than simply facilitating learning, librarians will become valuable liaisons able to provide subject matter expertise to help students achieve their goals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay So where does this leave the management tasks of the traditional role of the librarian? How curation and selection will be managed in the future Vendors and software companies have a role to play in ensuring that curation and ordering methods are reliable and robust. All library management systems should be able to provide accurate information about the books and publications currently available on the system as well as any new books due to be published. Traditionally, this information is used by librarians to make purchasing decisions. However, because librarians have limited knowledge in each discipline, this can lead to the purchase of books that contain duplicate information with books already held by the library or do not provide the depth of coverage required to support the program. This problem can be resolved by gathering more detailed metadata from publishers. Library management systems can then use this metadata to provide more accurate information to faculty members. This allows lecturers with specialized knowledge to make more informed decisions about which books are added to the library. Through this system, potential book purchases could also be made available to students for review before a purchasing decision is made. After all, they are the ones who will use these books the most. It therefore makes sense to involve them from the start of the acquisition process. The advantages of this system are twofold. This frees the librarian from the tedious task of administrative conservation and acquisitions. And it allows the library to purchase books that are better suited to the curriculum. This reduces spending on books that are rarely used or have little value and gives librarians more time to complete student support activities. As the academic library evolves, it is essential..