The SKIP Project is a one year project which aims to assess the impact of IT on the knowledge and skill base requirements of library staff in HE.

The main imperative for SKIP comes from the rising demand for electronic based information services to support teaching and research. This has impacted on library staff, who are having to acquire new skills in the use and promotion of networked information sources and multimedia. More and more institutions are converging their library and computing services - often with the inclusion of other departments, such as audio visual. The rationale for convergence is the provision of a seamless service based on a co-ordinated or co-operative approach to service delivery. A corollary of converged services is the blurring or overlapping of library and computing service roles, and the possible emergence of a new breed of professional with both information and computing skills. In addition, some library staff are developing new roles as trainers and advisors in electronic information sources. The first challenge they face is to acquire an appropriate level of IT expertise in order to be able to train and advise others.

There is, therefore, a need to reassess the scope and nature of the roles of library staff, at both the professional and paraprofessional level. The literature refers to the need for multiskilled or 'hybrid' information professionals. This concept has profound implications for the future of the library profession and needs further investigation to establish its viability. SKIP aims to identify, analyse, and classify the IT skills which are required by library staff working in the electronic environment. This will help with the identification of training needs for both existing and future LIS staff, and library managers will have a framework of definitions to assist with the appointment of new staff.

The initial phase of SKIP is now complete. It involved an extensive literature search which focused on relevant topics. These included: the emergence of the converged service model in the USA, and later in the UK; the underlying rationale for adopting the converged model of service delivery; the changing roles of library staff, the prevailing image of the librarian; the content of 'library school' curricula; National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), and the work of the Lead Bodies; and the skills requirements of staff working in an electronic information environment. The work of IMPEL (IMpact on People of Electronic Libraries), under the Supporting Studies area of the elib programme, has also provided valuable, and highly relevant, information on the cultural and organisational implications of the changes brought about by innovations in IT.

We are now entering the second phase of SKIP and will be conducting a survey of approximately 20 -25 libraries. These will comprise libraries where IT, and the networked information environment, have had a significant impact on the skills requirements of staff. Many of the participants will have a converged service, thus reflecting the growing need for co-operation between library and computing services in the delivery of information services. However, participants will also be dravm from libraries with a more traditional structure, but which are also heavily involved in IT based services.

The initial mailing targeted 50 institutions, and requested examples of documentation to assist in the final selection process. Organisational charts, sample job descriptions, and in-house publications, provide an insight into the range of services on offer, and how they are delivered. Interestingly, many respondents have indicated that they are in process of re-structuring, or re- organising, their information services. This makes the task of evaluation harder, but is indicative of how information services are responding to changing pattems of teaching, beaming and research.

The information provided by respondents is now being collated, and a definitive list of participants being drawn up. Visits to the selected institutions will take place later in the year, and staff at a variety of levels will be interviewed. The literature suggests that subject librarians and support staff are the groups which are most likely to be affected by the new media, and it will be interesting to discover whether this is substantiated in practice, or is a future scenario.

The data gathered at the interview stage will enable us to define the nature and type of IT skills required by LIS staff, and to classify these requirements in terms of job definition, scope, level, skills and experience. All findings will be evaluated within an organisational context in order to establish whether there is a relationship between organisational models and the type of services on offer. Local circumstances and cultural differences will be taken into account. A Project Advisory Group will provide valuable feedback on progress, and a workshop will be convened to review the findings in the final phase of the project.

SKIP complements other projects in the Training and Awareness programme area of elib. However, its main focus lies with the identification and classification of the IT skills requirements of LIS staff. Netskills and EduLib are respectively concemed with training in the use of networked information services, and the setting up of a national network of Electronic Library accredited trainers. NetLinks aims to establish a 'networked leamer support' training programme for LIS staff, whilst TAPin focuses on the role of the subject librarian in the teaching and learning process. The combined efforts of each of these projects will ensure that the recommendations of the Follett and Fielden Reports are converted into sound professional practice. The Training and Awareness programme in the elib programme is an acknowledgement of the fact that the most important resource in any organisation is the human one, and the effective utilisation of IT is wholly dependent upon the skills, motivation, and experience of staff.

Material on this page is copyright Ariadne/original authors. This page last updated on September 11th 1996