Shortcut to the skills base: the case for non-library school trained information staff

Abstract

Analyzes the two extreme views regarding the need for people working in business information to have a Librarianship or Information qualification, whereby some decision makers look to the new library school graduates to fill their first job positions, whereas those in post see no value in the degree discipline they have studied, and argues that neither position is correct. People who have studied library and information science have something to offer a corporate information department but they are not the only people with something to bring to a team. Examines the three main skills involved in corporate information departments: managing resources; bespoke research; and acting as a consultant to end-users to show the increasing diversity in skills needed by information workers. Matches the skills brought by library school graduates trained staff with those brought by those without a library school background to show the degree to which a mixture of skills is needed.