Overview and Methodology:

Equality of Access is not only an issue which is highlighted in the gap between those who have the computer skills and those who do not. The issue exists within the field of librarianship. As an increased number of resources become available on-line, there new needs and skills needed by the library professional, as well as increased expectations for students entered an ALA accredited MLS or equivalent program.

The following sites, each which speak to a field of librarianship, were chosen as a representative sample of the information available. Excluded from the compilation were sites which made a passing reference to the need for the librarian to have computer skills and competencies. Sites which were presented by an authoritative figure were given preference over others, while interactive sites with check-lists and more specific information where the most preferred, for they clearly delimited the required skills. Organizations from the national level to the town level were included to display the breath of outlooks and skill lists. Except in the subcategory of reference librarian, the inclusion of abstracts without an attached full text article was avoided. An exception was made because of the information presented a different view of the ways to either assess the needed competencies or different ways of overcoming the gap.

The following links were the result of searches done via Google, using combination of search terms from the following:

• computer skills
  
• computer competencies
  
• school libraries
  
• school librarians
  
• public libraries or public librarians
  
• special libraries
  
• special librarians (also used law librarians and government document librarians)
  
• users or clients or patronsstudents

Free Eric, at URL http://ericae.net/aesearch.htm, was also searched using the following keyword combinations to uncover general literature in the field:

• computer literacy
  
• online literacy
  
• librarians
  
• library professionals

The following are a small part of all of the sites and articles devoted to the computer skills needed in today¡¯s libraries. If librarians do not stay abreast of the changing technologies, there will be an inability to provide access to the available information in the new formats.

Incoming LIS Student Competencies:

More ALA programs are requiring or expecting certain basic computer skills for those students wishing to enter the schools. Programs have chosen to represent the needs differently. The following two links show an example of the type of skills one now needs for entry into a program.

http://www.unt.edu/slis/apppacket/ITKS/index.htm
An interactive assessment developed by the ALA accredited University of North Texas to evaluate the computer skills in seven various computer skill levels. Scroll down the page and follow the links to both the listing of Information Technology Skills (ITKS) and the on-line self-assessment tool. Feel free to take the assessment, you do not have to register or be a potential student.

http://www.slis.indiana.edu/courses/waiverformselect.html
This site provides a check list of computer and technology skills needed for success in the School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University. A remedial course is taught to fill in the gaps in computer skills and must be completed before the student earns more than nine credit hours toward the degree. On the wavier form, at the bottom of the page, there are the various components of the class and the expectations for each segment.

Professionals Competencies:

The need for the computer skills and training does not end with the awarding of the degree. Institutions have decided what skills their employees need to possess but there are some guidelines for librarians in the various branches of the field. While some branches of librarianship have created a list of skills, such as law librarians, others like academic librarians acknowledge the needed skills by noting the changes in the profession.

Children's and Young Adult Services Librarian Competencies:

http://www.ala.org/alsc/competencies.html
The ALA competencies for children's services includes the ability to access electronic information for clients, but also the need to present information in an electronic format to make resources more accessible and more widely used. The listing makes reference to the need for the librarian to have electronic searching skills and posting ability.

http://www.ala.org/yalsa/yalsainfo/competencies.html
The ALA competencies for young adult librarians includes under the heading of Knowledge of "Materials" which highlights the ability to "Incorporate new and improved technology (e.g., computers and software, digitized information, video, the Internet and the World Wide Web) into young adult collections and programs."

Special Librarian Competencies:

http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/professional/meaning/comp.cfm
A site linked to the Special Library Association to refer to various types of needs for various types of special librarians. Included is the use of appropriate information technology to acquire, organize and disseminate information¡± and to develop specialized information products for use inside or outside the organization or by individual clients¡± which include the creation of databases and searchable electronic documents.

Federal Depository Librarian Competencies:

http://www.library.ucsb.edu/ala/gitco/ecomps.html
A site for federal depository librarians and the needed "e-competencies," or electronic competencies needed for the position. This display shows the detail to which some special libraries have assessed their technology needs. Use the navigation bar on the left of the screen to seen the three skill levels required of federal depository librarians.

Law Librarian Competencies:

http://www.aallnet.org/sis/pllsis/commgrp/standards.html
A 1996 listing of agreed upon competencies, including computer for entry, mid-level, and senior law librarians, set forth by the American Association of Law Librarians. The levels are presented in an organized manner with a clear indication of the progression of skills to be acquired as one advances in the field.

Research Librarian Competencies:

http://www.aserl.org/statements/competencies/competencies.htm
This site addresses the computer and technical competencies needed for a research librarian in general terms. While it does not list specific skill sets needed, there is a need to be" knowledgeable about technology (theoretical and skills-based) and [able to apply] it to improve services."

Public Librarians:

http://www.washoe.lib.nv.us/competencies.html
This site contains a check list of computer skills for employees of the Washoe County Library Computer Competencies for Library Staff, based on the recommendations of the Phoenix Public Library System. It is a useful self-assessment to gauge ones skills with common internet and computer issues.

http://www.uhls.org/training/competencies.html
This link for the Upper Hudson Library System denotes four core competency areas the library staff needs to master for successful service. The four areas are: working operating systems, hardware basics and troubleshooting, software basics and trouble shooting, and search concepts and techniques. This site features a text explanation of the skills rather than a self-assessment format.

http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/comp/competen.htm
State Library of North Carolina created ten computer competencies, each of which are further broken down into basic, advanced, and expert level skills. Each level is explained and the differences in skill levels are evident from the data. The pages appear in PDF format and can be accessed either through the bar at the top of the page or by scrolling.

Academic Librarians:

http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/cem971a.html
"The Electronic Library: New Roles for Librarians"- Brendan A. Rapple and others.
This article, which appeared in the spring 1997 issue of Cause and Effect, reflects on the changing nature of the academic library in the electronic era to determine the future needs of the profession. While the article states that only a minority of librarians will need to be computer experts, most should be able to instruct the more technologically naive faculty member, at his or her own office workstation, in some basic computer skills,¡± it indicates the need for a deeper knowledge than rote memorization to allow for the librarian to educate others in technology.

http://www.ala.org/acrl/lynch.pdf
"The Changing Nature of Work in Academic Libraries" by Kimberly Robles Smith, and Beverly .P. Lynch.
The authors of this piece set forth to discover the needed technological skills of an academic librarian, as seen in job advertisements. The PDF formatted document provides insight to what skills are preserved as important in an academic library setting.

Link to Abstracts:

The following are abstracts, and do not include the full text of the journal article.

http://ericae.net/ericdb/EJ544804.htm
"Baseline Subject Competencies for the Academic Reference Desk" Benefiel, Candace R, and others.
An abstract which leads to a Texas A&M definition of the basic skills and tools needed by new librarians. The list of basic competencies appears as an appendix to the article. The article appears in full in volume 25 of RSR: Reference Services Review.

http://ericae.net/ericdb/EJ558563.htm
"Computer Training for Staff and Patrons" Alan Krissoff and Lee Konrad.
A pilot computer training program for library staff and patrons at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is described in this article. Reviews components of effective training programs and highlights core computer competencies and ways to train a well technologically rounded librarian. The article appears in the January 1998 issue of Computers in Libraries.

User Competencies:

http://www.ala.org/literacy/reference/tech/compass.html
This site displays a self-assessment check list of computer and Internet skills which was created by the Waukegan Public Library in Waukegan Illinois as a part of Literacy in Libraries across America program by the ALA. It seeks to determine a user's level of various computer skills. As librarians are becoming more aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, it is important to remember that the clients of the library have the same problems and are looking for a way to assess their own skill level for continuing education purposes.

Works Reviewed

Incoming Students:

University of North Texas School of Library and Information Science. Information technology Knowledge and Skills: Entry Level Skills. 25 February 2002. <http://www.unt.edu/slis/apppacket/ITKS/index.htm> (24 March 2002).

School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University. Computer Based Information Tools. 2002. <http://www.slis.indiana.edu/courses/waiverformselect.html> (24 March 2002).

Children's and Young Adult Services Librarian Competencies:

Association for Library Services to Children. Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries: Revised Edition. 11 August 1999. <http://www.ala.org%20/alsc/competencies.html> (24 March 2002).

Young Adult Library Services Association. Competencies for Serving Young Adults. 09 August 1999. <http://www.ala.org/yalsa/yalsainfo/competencies.html> (24 March 24, 2002).

Special Librarian Competencies:

Marshall, Joanne, and others. Competencies for Special Librarians in the 21st Century. 03 November 2001. <http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/professional/meaning/comp.cfm> (24 March 2002).

Government Information Technology Committee. E-Competencies for Federal Depository Libraries and Librarians. 01 March 2002. <http://www.library.ucsb.edu/ala/gitco/ecomps.html> (24 March 2002).

Private Law Libraries. Private Law Librarian Standards. 11 April 2001. <http://www.aallnet.org/sis/pllsis/commgrp/standards.html> (24 March 2002).

Perez, Derrie, and others. Shaping The Future: ASERL's Competencies For Research Librarians. 28 November 2001. <http://www.aserl.org/statements/competencies/%20competencies.htm> (24 March 2002).

Public Librarian Competencies:

Washoe County Library System. Washoe County Library-Computer Competencies for Library Staff. 23 March 2002. <http://www.washoe.lib.nv.us/competencies.html> (24 March 2002).

Upper Hudson Library System. Core Competencies. N.D. http://www.uhls.org/%20training/competencies.html (24 March 2002).

State Library of North Carolina Webteam. State Library of North Carolina Microcomputer Competencies:1997-98. August 1997. <http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/comp/competen.htm> (24 March 2002).

Academic Librarians:

Rapple, Brendan A., and others. "The Electronic Library: New Roles for Librarians" Cause and Effect. 20, no 1, Spring 1997. <http://www.educause.edu/ir/%20library/html/cem971a.html> (24 March 2002).

Smith, Kimberly Robles, and Beverly P. Lynch. "The Changing Nature of Work in Academic Libraries," (paper presented at the ACRL 9th National Conference). <http://www.ala.org/acrl/lynch.pdf> (24 March 2002).

Benefiel, Candace R, and others. "Baseline Subject Competencies for the Academic Reference Desk," RSR: Reference Services Review 25, no. 1. <http://ericae.net/ericdb/EJ544804.htm> (24 March 2002).

Krissoff, Alan, and Lee Konrad. "Computer Training for Staff and Patrons," Computers in Libraries 18, no. 1, January 1998. <http://ericae.net/ericdb/EJ558563.htm> (24 March 2002).

User Competencies:

Waukegan Public Library. Computer Skills. N.D. <http://www.ala.org/literacy/reference/%20tech/compass.html> (24 March 2002).

Citations provided in the format of The Chicago Manual of Style:
The Chicago Manual of Style. 14th Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.