The digital transformation has challenged the traditional notion of public libraries. The idea that technologies are a force of “disruptive innovation” in the library sector has been discussed in the academic literature and the wider press (Tait, Martzoukou & Reid 2016). Today, people get their information online: with the introduction of the Internet, the volume of online information now exceeds that available in every physical library in the world.

Nowadays users are getting used to the digital transformation and want to re-elaborate digital contents and not only consult them in a passive way. Therefore, librarians should be prepared to facilitate and even promote the creative use of digital archives for the production of new digital contents that can be accessed through multiple tools and technologies (e.g. AR & VR, Open data platforms, apps, etc.). Libraries have not met this digital demand. Many of those developments have called into question what the role of physical libraries is (or should be) in the 21st century.

With BIBLIO, we are implementing several research activities that involve librarians and educational stakeholders in defining the training needs of the present and future library professionals within the realm of the digital transformation!

In the library sector, there is evidence that individual roles have expanded to include digital responsibilities. An analysis of job descriptions for curators in the US library and museum sector highlighted the interplay between professional knowledge, technical skills (such as understanding software, web mark-up languages, relational databases, digital repositories) and digital knowledge (understanding metadata) (Jeonghyun, Warga, & Moen, 2013).

At the same time, the number and content of activities supported by local libraries and national libraries are increasingly changing. Within the EU, according to the Digital Skills for Library Staff & Researchers Working Group of Liber Europe, nowadays libraries are regularly re-assessing existing services and offering new ones. In addition to being a traditional place for study, libraries now host events, provide training and offer recreational and cultural activities. The versatility and uniqueness of services and the multitude of tasks require the contemporary librarians to develop and maintain advanced competences. This is, in itself, positive but produces a serious skills gap.

BIBLIO offers a new educational framework for library staff and researchers in order to be able to cope with a myriad of topics: electronic resource management, data access, blockchain, and text and data mining, to name a few. In order to support these activities, we will support libraries in enriching and diversifying their in-house pool of competences, broader than those possessed by a “traditional” librarian, both to adapt library infrastructure to new technologies and to pass on digital skills to users. BIBLIO revolutionize the librarians’ professional preparation by reshaping the concept of the librarian profession.

The BIBLIO VET curricula mainly addresses EQF 5 and foresees the development at least 40 modules:

• 20-25 modules for transversal competences (communication, entrepreneurship – mapped into EntreComp, leadership etc.)
• 20-25 modules for digital skills that will be mapped into the DigComp framework related to: application design and development, electronic resource management, data access, blockchain, text and data mining, ICT quality strategy development etc.

The training programme will be tested in 4 piloting countries (Italy, Bulgaria, Latvia and Greece) and will be aimed at delivering the curricula that will be structured as follows:

• MOOC of 6-8 weeks addressed to 100 library professionals per involved country, for a total of 400 library professionals from all over Europe
•  Specialization courses on the two BIBLIO profiles – DIGY and CECO addressed to 25 trainees per piloting country (tot 100), including:
  • 240 hours of Blended training;
  • 20 hours of Face to Face sessions;
  • 160 hours of Digital/Virtual Classes and self-study
  • 40 hours of Project-based/collaborative learning
  • 25 hours of Assessment
  • 160 of work-based learning experiences (traineeships or job-shadowing)

The Specialisation courses are open to anyone interested in the digitalisation of libraries and working or studying in a related field. Since places are limited, priority will be given to those participants who:

– have successfully joined and completed the BIBLIO MOOC course;

– are already in contact with a local library where they could be hosted during the Work-based learning phase;

– present a valid project idea.

Further details will be given in the application form.

Selected modules can be skipped (prior previous acceptance) based on the capacity of the participant to provide certificates/diploma that proves an equal number of study hours for each module as it is described in the course curriculum. Professional experience will be also taken into consideration by evaluating the professional experience described in the CV provided.

Key information:

COURSE DURATION:

February – October 2022 Blended Course
July – October 2022 Work-based learning

COURSE VENUE:

Online and onsite in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, and Latvia

Contact us if you want to remain informed on the final programme of the BIBLIO training activities!