Technology Skills Library Staff Should Have

by: Sarah Houghton-Jan

I was recently asked to draw up a list of technology skills that I thought members a library staff should possess. I wrote my list in very broad strokes, before making it really specific to different tasks or specifying certain items only for certain positions. I thought I would share this “rough list” with the rest of the library world in case it would help you too. I advise getting more specific if you’re having staff self-assess on what skills they have, or actually provide trainings in these areas. But this is a good starting point.


So what did I miss? What would you take out? Leave comments and let’s develop this list together!



Terminology
•Technology terms glossary



Hardware
•Parts of your desktop computer

•Parts of a laptop computer

•Using printers

•Using photocopiers

•Using telephones

•Using fax machines

•Using self-checks

•Using projectors

•Using digital still cameras

•Using digital video cameras

•Using digital microphones

•Using sorting systems



Software
•Operating system

•Effective management of files and folders systems

•Word Processing software

•Spreadsheet software

•Presentation software

•Multimedia players and plug-ins

•Web browsers

•E-mail and calendar software (Outlook or whatever)

•ILS (back-end staff-side stuff)

•Computer and/or room reservation software

•Online reference software

•Photo editing software

•Video editing software

•Audio editing software



Security and Privacy
•Policies regarding security on public computers

•Policies regarding security on staff computers

•Policies regarding user data collection and privacy



Public Computing
•Familiarity with software

•Familiarity with hardware

•Familiarity with wired and wireless networks

•Familiarity with computer and network use policies



Ergonomics
•Proper ergonomic computer set-up

•How to avoid repetitive stress injuries

•How to avoid eye strain with computers



Library web presence
•URLs for library’s website and catalog

•Using the library’s website

•Using the library’s web catalog

•Best practices for searching the catalog and website

•Familiarity with library’s or library vendors’ mobile apps or sites

•Familiarity with eBooks collections

•Familiarity with databases

•Familiarity with virtual reference and tutoring services

•Familiarity with accessibility requirements and procedures

•Writing for the web best practices

•How to post content (text, links, images) to the library’s website

•How to post content to the library’s intranet

•Best practices for social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

•How to post photos to Flickr

•How to post video or audio files (to whatever sites you’re using)



Troubleshooting
•Assisting in-house users effectively on our equipment or theirs

•Assisting remote users effectively on their equipment



Personal Skills
•Continuous learning

•Change management

•Planning and evaluating new information technology systems

•Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new web services

•One-on-one training best practices


from: ALA Learning