{"id":1185,"date":"2020-11-13T05:56:58","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T04:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/?p=1185"},"modified":"2020-11-13T05:56:58","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T04:56:58","slug":"a-new-study-into-the-skills-required-by-public-library-staff-in-victoria-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/2020\/11\/13\/a-new-study-into-the-skills-required-by-public-library-staff-in-victoria-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"A new study into the skills required by public library staff in Victoria, Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Australia, the report on a major workforce planning study has been published by the project partners, State Library Victoria (SLV) and Public Libraries Victoria (PLV), the peak body for the state’s 47 public library services.\u00a0Public library services in Victoria are guided by the strategic framework,\u00a0Victorian Public Libraries 2030<\/em>, which includes the visions of the Creative Library and the Community Library.<\/p>\n

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It was recognised that the achievement of the strategic objectives for the sector would depend on a workforce of well trained,\u00a0experienced and valued public library staff\u2019.\u00a0 The need to have a clear understanding of the range of skills required for the two scenarios of the Creative Libary and the Community Library was the stimulus\u00a0for an initial research study undertaken in 2013. Public library staff were surveyed to determine the perceived value of specific skillsets, the anticipated importance of the skills five years’ hence, and the respondents’ confidence levels in applying the skills in their work.<\/p>\n

Managers were invited to consider the competencies required across the whole library service in order to identify potential skills gaps.\u00a0The\u00a0research findings, presented in the report Victorian Public Libraries: Our Future, Our Skills <\/em>(SLV, 2014),\u00a0<\/i>subsequently guided a program\u00a0of workforce and leadership development activities\u00a0coordinated by SLV and PLV.<\/p>\n

A stakeholder review of the framework undertaken in 2019\u00a0confirmed the continued relevance of the\u00a0strategic directions for the sector: digital developments drive\u00a0opportunities for creativity, innovation and\u00a0collaborative processes in \u2018creative libraries\u2019, while\u00a0technological, social, demographic, economic and\u00a0environmental trends underpin the concept of\u00a0\u2018community libraries\u2019. A fresh investigation was proposed to\u00a0comprehensively review the skills, knowledge\u00a0and confidence levels of public library staff.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0replication of the 2013 skills audit not only\u00a0sought to update the skills data, but also to facilitate\u00a0the comparison of datasets to measure the extent of\u00a0skills improvements made over the six years and to identify any skill areas requiring further development.<\/p>\n

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The new report,\u00a0Skills Audit of Victorian Public Library Sector 2019<\/em>, reviews the research data provided by 1,388 Individual respondents and 34 Management respondents. The questions covered three categories of\u00a0skills: Foundation skills, Professional skills and Behavioural skills.\u00a0\u00a0The analysis\u00a0of the quantitative data focuses on the participants\u2019\u00a0responses to the five-point Likert scale questions\u00a0and considers their views of the most important\u00a0skills, now and in five years\u2019 time, as well as the least\u00a0important skills.<\/p>\n

The qualitative data provide insights into the participants\u2019 views about the value of\u00a0the different skillsets in the context of public library\u00a0services, as well as the most valued areas of professional development.\u00a0The priority skills for the future are viewed\u00a0through several different lenses: the current strengths of\u00a0library staff, the skills required for the technology environment and the skills to underpin programs and services in the Creative Library and in the\u00a0Community Library. Improvements in staff\u00a0confidence levels are contextualised within the\u00a0training and development activities coordinated by SLV and PLV in recent years and strategies for future learning programs are\u00a0considered.<\/p>\n

The analysis of the areas where confidence levels\u00a0were high painted an encouraging picture: public\u00a0library staff demonstrated their commitment to\u00a0the core values of the profession and had a mature\u00a0understanding of the mission and purpose of\u00a0public libraries in society. There was no room
\nfor complacency, however: library staff were\u00a0very conscious of the changing world around\u00a0them. The theme of change was woven through\u00a0the many comments provided in the 2019 skills\u00a0audit, revealing that respondents\u2019 thoughts were\u00a0aligned with the sector\u2019s insights into societal\u00a0trends, characterised by the rapidly changing\u00a0technological, social and economic landscape.<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly, public library staff represent the\u00a0sector\u2019s most valuable resource. In a rapidly\u00a0changing world, community dynamics are pressing\u00a0library staff to reflect on their current professional responsibilities and challenging them to redefine\u00a0their future. In Victoria, the approach has been\u00a0to think broadly about what changes might take\u00a0place in society so that public libraries might not\u00a0only stay relevant but also play a transformative\u00a0role within the community.<\/p>\n

State Library of Victoria (2013). Victorian Public Libraries 2030: Strategic framework<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

State Libary of Victoria (2014). Victorian Public Libraries: Our Future, Our Skills<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

State Library Victoria (2020).\u00a0\u00a0Skills Audit of Victorian Public Library Sector 2019<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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In Australia, the report on a major workforce planning study has been published by the project partners, State Library Victoria (SLV) and Public Libraries Victoria (PLV), the peak body for the state’s 47 public library services.\u00a0Public library services in Victoria are guided by the strategic framework,\u00a0Victorian Public Libraries 2030, which includes the visions of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1027,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21119],"tags":[9546],"class_list":["post-1185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-professional-development-opportunity","tag-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1027"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1185"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1196,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185\/revisions\/1196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ifla.org\/cpdwl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}