image © Tom Sharlot

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR), and the Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER) are pleased to announce the launch of a Joint Task Force on Librarians’ Competencies in Support of E-Research and Scholarly Communication.

Rapid changes in technology and associated shifts in research and scholarly communications are profoundly changing the role of libraries in the 21st century. The emergence of e-research, for example, is bringing about new ways of doing science across the globe, compelling libraries to adopt new services, such as assisting with the development of research data management plans, hosting collaborative virtual research environments, managing institutional repositories, and disseminating research outputs through open access mechanisms. These novel services require a range of new skills and expertise within the library community as well as a shift in organizational models for libraries.

The aim of the task force is to outline the competencies needed by librarians in this evolving environment. The first step will be to identify the various avenues of service for libraries within the context of e-research, repository management, and scholarly communication. These services and roles will then be mapped to the competencies required by librarians and library professionals. The task force will also make note of the array of organizational models evolving to support new services.

The task force will produce a toolkit that will help to build capacity in libraries for supporting new roles in the area of scholarly communication and e-research. The toolkit will allow library managers to identify skill gaps in their institution, form the basis of job descriptions, enable professionals to carry out self-assessments, and act as a foundation for the development of training programs for librarians and library professionals. In addition, the toolkit will provide an outline of new organizational models that are evolving in this dynamic environment.

A preliminary report will be available in spring 2014.

Task Force Members

Pascal Calarco (CARL and University of Waterloo)

Rob Grim (LIBER and Tilburg University)

Iryna Kuchma (chair, COAR and EIFL)

Alicia López Medina (COAR and Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia)

Susan Reilly (LIBER)

Judy Ruttenberg (ARL)

Birgit Schmidt (LIBER and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)

Kathleen Shearer (COAR and CARL)

Dominic Tate (COAR and University of Edinburgh)

For more information about the task force, please contact Iryna Kuchma (task force chair): iryna.kuchma@eifl.net.

About ARL

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research libraries in the US and Canada. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve.

About CARL

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) provides leadership on behalf of Canada’s research libraries and enhances their capacity to advance research and higher education. It promotes effective and sustainable scholarly communication, and public policy that enables broad access to scholarly information. CARL’s members include the 29 larger Canadian university research libraries.

About COAR

The Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) is a young, fast growing association of repository initiatives. Launched in October 2009, COAR now has a membership of over 100 institutions worldwide from 35 countries and 4 continents. Its mission is to enhance the visibility and application of research outputs through a global network of open access digital repositories.

About LIBER

LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche – Association of European Research Libraries) is the main network for research libraries in Europe. Its current membership includes over 400 national and research libraries from more than forty countries—mainly, but not only, in Europe. LIBER supports the academic mission of its members by building on existing strengths and balancing resources to maintain and improve a quality of service that befits the European researcher.