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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in handling and supporting information services and activities in Kenyan university libraries.

The study utilized a survey research design to collect data, ideas, opinions, views and suggestions from the respondents drawn from various university libraries in Kenya. Collecting data and getting in‐depth information from the respondents was done using a web‐based structured questionnaire, document analysis and participant observation.

The findings from the study show that few university libraries in Kenya are using radio frequency identification technology to handle and support information services and activities. The study also found various problems hindering the adoption of the technology, such as a lack of information communication technology (ICT) policies, lack of a business approach, limited market opportunities, lack of lobbying or negotiating skills, inadequate funding and budgeting, and lack of ICT competencies and skills. The study recommends that library ICT professionals, information professionals and other stakeholders should make tireless efforts to implement and use RFID technology with the view to building, strengthening, improving and supporting information work and activities in university libraries.

The study involved RFID technology, a relatively new and emerging innovation in university library and information systems, especially in the Kenyan context. The study also involved university libraries in Kenya that provide and support the fundamental functions of their respective universities.

Fundamentally, library ICT professionals, information professionals and other stakeholders need to take appropriate measures to address issues affecting the use of RFID solutions. There is a need to empower university libraries and information professionals with the right mix of ICT knowledge and skills necessary in the modern information environment.

Across the world, university libraries are increasingly adopting and implementing RFID solutions in order to handle and support information work and activities. Of critical importance to the discussion is the extent to which university libraries in Kenya are using this technology to handle and support information work and activities effectively and efficiently. Proper management of library operations and services is necessary in university library and information systems.

The focus of the study was to assess the extent to which university libraries in Kenya are adopting and using RFID systems in information work and activities. This research is useful in providing a point of reference for university libraries and information professionals, increasingly going for similar solutions in Kenya and Africa in general.

Professional education in the library and information sector has only provided for first qualification level: through undergraduate and postgraduate programmes which meet the criteria required for accreditation by professional bodies (including the Library Association, Institute of Information Scientists, British Computer Society). The management curriculum within such programmes has offered knowledge and skills relevant to earlier perceptions of the needs of first professional posts, with middle and senior managers lacking substantial information‐sector‐ specific programmes to meet their needs for advanced education and training. Two British Library sponsored short courses provided a model which stimulated the development of the Loughborough MBA (Information and Library Management) programme, offered jointly by Loughborough University's Business School and Department of Information and Library Studies. This flexible, part‐time, advanced masters degree, ‘badged’ for the LIS sector, also provides intensive short‐course opportunities for UK and overseas participants.

This study investigates how university libraries in Nigeria are staffed and presents staff development opportunities and learning activities that sustain staff.

A survey research design was adopted. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 46 universities and 400 respondents consisting of 46 heads of libraries and 354 professionals from federal, state, and private universities. Content of the instrument was based on literature comprising six questions. The 327 (92.4%) usable responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in simple frequency tables.

The study showed that library workforce in Nigerian universities included different categories of professionals and para-professionals having diversified job opportunities and duties. Most libraries had staff development budget and respondents received various forms of assistance to foster learning. Although all nontransferable skills recorded high mean, respondents accorded less importance to nonlibrary personal skills that can be used to leverage the expectations of recruitment, retention, and sustainability.

The study was limited to practicing professionals but has staffing implications for all libraries across Nigeria.

Many professionals may lack the appropriate multi-skills that would enhance exploring new approaches and breaking out of traditional ways of operation in the different library and outside library settings.

The study contributes to knowledge about sustaining library staff in relation to adopting the recommended skills on a broad scale, and assessing how their acquisition can change the perception of professionals to its immense contributions to sustaining them in the workforce.

Purpose – This chapter will utilize the apprenticeship model developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in their Preparation for the Professions series to study how American Library Association (ALA)-accredited Master of Library Science (MLS) programs could be reformed to better integrate the interests of educators with those of the practicing profession and the public they serve.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The Carnegie model uses three “apprenticeships” to distinguish the three areas professional education must address, labeled in this chapter as knowledge, practice, and identity. Each of these three areas is explored as it relates to the education of librarians, with an emphasis on what constitutes the general knowledge, skills, and identity of librarianship. Examples of how these three components could be integrated into an MLS program are given.

Findings – Current ALA-accredited MLS programs differ widely on the number and content of required courses. Applying the model developed in the other Carnegie studies to the field of library education yields a clearer vision for the professional education of librarians and to a reorienting of the educational experience students encounter in their MLS studies.

Originality/Value – Using examples from other professional education programs allows library educators to see the means by which a holistic education is achieved in other professions. The novelty of this approach is in the breakdown of the various components of a professional education program. The tripartite approach to professional education also provides a useful framework around which to build an MLS program.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate/review the skills required for library and information science (LIS) professionals in the 21st century and to propose an alternative approach as the suggested key skills.

Twenty-two LIS professionals from Pakistan were interviewed, and 10 LIS professionals were from abroad, including two from the USA; six respondents were from Saudi Arabia; one from Canada; and one from Malaysia. In-depth interviews with faculty members were conducted to ascertain their perceptions of the knowledge and skills necessary to be competent in delivering quality education to the future information breed.

The findings emphasise the importance of a variety of competencies for librarians and information educators, including subject knowledge and skills; information technology knowledge and skills; instructional skills; research skills; and managerial, leadership and social skills. Additionally, it was noted that LIS professionals require a diverse set of skills that should be fostered by educators and employers. By promoting these in the broader community, the author can encourage the next generation of LIS professionals to consider LIS as a viable career option.

The findings presented in this paper provide a unique window into the country’s workforce needs. Though the study was conducted from a Pakistani perspective, the findings may have implications for other countries with comparable circumstances, including social impact. It also provides a new analysis of the selected generic and LIS skills that can be communicated in an innovative manner to prospective LIS employees, employers and educators.

Library assistants were originally considered to be professional librarians in the making, and were trained accordingly. With the expansion of libraries and librarianship, Britain's “apprenticeship” system of qualification gave way to formal library school education, and a new category of “non‐professional staff” was created, of people who were unwilling or unable to proceed to graduate‐level qualification. The development of non‐professional certificates of competence in the UK is described against parallel developments in the US, Canada and Australia; the COMLA training modules are also examined. The theoretical and practical issues surrounding training are discussed, training schemes and qualifications in the four countries analysed, and the relative merits of in‐house training and external certificate programmes argued.

The key purpose of this study is to explore digital information literacy (DIL) possessed by South Valley University (SVU) library and information professionals. It also tries to identify the various types of DIL and find constraints affecting the related skills and competencies of those professionals.

A quantitative research methodology was adopted in the form of a survey, which was undertaken from February to March 2016. As stated by Kerlinger (1986), the survey research is a useful instrument for educational fact-finding, and a means by which much information can be acquired from the study’s population. The survey instrument was a self-administrated questionnaire, which was adopted for data collection. A pilot questionnaire was first sent to a small random sample of the respondents, with feedback being used to fine-tune the final questionnaire. The targeted population of this study included library and information professionals (n = 127) belonging to SVU libraries that spread over three provinces/campuses: the Qena campus (number of libraries = 22), the Luxor campus (n = 3) and the Hurghada campus (n = 2). The library and information professionals are described to be librarians, library assistants and library directors. Of 127 questionnaires, 101 (79.5%) responses were received. To collect data, the study used a questionnaire, which has six sections reflecting the research objectives of the study.

The findings showed that over two-thirds of SVU library and information professionals are males, and almost one-third are females. Majority respondents are aged between 26 and 40 years, and most possessed bachelor’s degrees, of which nearly two-thirds held library science degrees. Regarding the respondents’ professional profile, the study also showed that majority were librarians, followed by library assistants and library managers, and nearly half had 10 years of experience, followed by those who have work experience of 6-7 years. This study showed that there is a significant relationship between some of the respondents’ demographic characteristics (age and education) and their DIL. The respondents’ gender had no effect on their DIL. The study also showed that there is a significant relationship between all the respondents’ professional characteristics, particularly their discipline, followed by job title, work experience and DIL. Regarding the level of respondents’ knowledge of the types of computers, many showed that their knowledge of using mobile devices, followed by PCs, workstations, portable media players/digital audio player and personal digital assistant was, at the least, high. The respondents’ knowledge of other types ranged between moderate to non-proficient. A large number of the respondents showed that their proficiency in using output devices, followed by input devices, processing devices, storage devices and communication devices was also, at the least, high. While the largest number of the respondents showed that their proficiency in using application software was, at least, high, the largest number of them showed that their proficiency in using system software was moderate. Regarding the respondents’ knowledge-based competencies, as well as skills-based competencies, especially when these competencies related to the integration of ICTs into the library work, this study showed that such kind of competencies possessed by SVU library and information professionals ranged between competent and somewhat competent. Regarding the challenges affecting the respondents’ acquiring skills and related competencies, the study revealed that the lack of funds, training, physical facilities, connection to the internet, subscribing to e-databases, lack of time as well as challenges related to SVU library system regulations, were significant to them. Other challenges such as the lack of incorporating and exploiting the new technologies and products into library integrated systems educators’ services, as well as challenges related to psychological barriers, lack of current curricula in the area of ICTs and a shortage of experienced LIS counselors, were also significant to them. This study reached conclusions that the SVU library and information professionals should be qualified and get adapted to ICTs and related competencies. They need to be provided with sufficient training to update their knowledge regarding the use and integration of technology in their library work.

This study investigates DIL among library and information professionals at SVU, an Egyptian university. Any findings and conclusions resulted from this study are limited in scope to only the library professionals of this university. Such a topic has limited previous research. The size and homogeneity of the sample limit the generalizability of this study.

The study aims to investigate DIL acquired by SVU library and information professionals. The potential results of this study would be useful for library schools, library associations and other pertinent authorities for the planning of training programs and courses. The findings may also be helpful for library educators to develop curricula that meet the needs of library and information professionals.

This study is one of the few studies conducted on this topic in Egypt. The literature on the topic of this research revealed that extensive research has been undertaken on DIL in higher education in developed countries, but very limited research has been conducted on this topic in Egypt and similar developing countries, particularly among academic library and information professionals. No definition for the concept of DIL has yet been produced, and many Egyptian academic institutions define this concept based on their own needs depending on existing models.

The problems of One‐Man‐Bands (OMBs) began to be taken seriously in the early 1980s when the Aslib OMB group was formed. The group received considerable attention in the professional press, and became the object of a study by Judith Collins and Janet Shuter who identified them as “information professionals working in isolation”. Many of the problems identified in the Collins/Shuter study remain — not least of these being the further education and training needs of OMBs. These needs are studied in this report. The author has firstly done an extensive survey of the literature to find what has been written about this branch of the profession. Then by means of a questionnaire sent to the Aslib OMB group and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (INVOG), training and education needs have been pinpointed. Some of these needs have then been explored in greater detail by means of case studies. The author found that the most common deterrents to continuing education and training were time, cost, location, finding suitable courses to cover the large variety of skills needed and lastly, lack of encouragement from employers. The author has concluded by recommending areas where further research is needed, and suggesting some solutions to the problems discussed.

To provide an introduction to concepts and resources that will be useful to library professionals learning about information ethics.

This paper argues for the importance of information ethics to twenty‐first century library professionals. It describes what various authors have said about how information ethics can be applied to the ethical dilemmas faced by library professionals.

In order to deal effectively with their ethical dilemmas, library professionals must have a good working knowledge of information ethics. Codes of professional ethics can help to provide such knowledge, but they are not sufficient. Courses on information ethics must be part of the education of information professionals. Such courses should provide library professionals with an understanding of ethical theories and how they apply to concrete practical cases. Such courses should also make explicit the connection between information ethics and the mission of the library professional.

This paper is not intended to provide an exhaustive list of publications on the topic of information ethics and library professionals.

This paper provides library professionals with a concise introduction to information ethics.

The purpose of this article is to examine what employers seek when recruiting library and information professionals for a special library environment in Jamaica.

A content analysis of a sample of 47 advertisements for information professionals in a special library environment in Jamaica from 2013 to 2019 was collected.

The findings indicated that a variety of professional, generic and personal attributes were in demand for these professionals. There was a strong emphasis on advanced computer skills as well as communication and interpersonal skills.

While job advertisements offer some insight into skills requirements and qualifications for employment, it may not reflect the actual person employed.

This paper will provide useful information for library school educators, existing information professionals and those interested in entering the field as it provides an overview of the skills and requirements for jobs in the special library environment in Jamaica.

Despite there being a plethora of job advertisements studies in librarianship, few studies examine advertisements for information professionals in a special library environment. To the best of the author's knowledge, there is no study focusing on Jamaica.