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Center of Attention: Three tips to help us, as we all transform into Next Gen librarians

Three tips to help us, as we all transform into Next Gen librarians
By Chao-chen Chen, Professor and University Librarian, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei

With advances in the key areas of information management, technology and digitalization, times have certainly changed and created indelible impacts upon the field of library science. To meet the pressing challenges ensuing from our morphing environment, we librarians need to be proactive in rising up to the occasion.

It would be no exaggeration to say that all librarians, as we’re working hard in this cyber age of virtual time and space, are transforming into Next Gen librarians. In particular, I'd like to point out that regardless of to which generation we belong, all librarians must transform into Next Gen librarians.

Here are three tips to help academic librarians of all ages improve our performance in today’s rapidly changing library environment and so join the ranks of Next Gen librarians:

1. First, examine closely the overall operation and function of your library as a whole and identify critical components that can be improved on, with the ultimate aim to benefit university faculty in their research activities and help students expand their learning perspectives.
2. Second, take the initiative in bringing on board new ideas and innovative paradigms in getting things done, rather than getting hypnotized in the comfort zone of monotonous routines.
3. Third, study things afresh from the angle of cost-and-return ratio. Results from such studies can help us better explain the effectiveness and efficiencies of libraries and librarians and help us communicate with our administrations and user communities.

All librarians must transform into Next Gen librarians.

In a nutshell, we need a fundamental change in librarians’ thinking and attitude, so we can all transform into Next Gen librarians and become proactive in planning and shoot for excellence in our performance. With all academic librarians achieving such a Next Gen transformation, our institutions can push their cutting edges and be accredited favorably in competitions.

cc4073@ms73.hinet.net
www.ntnu.edu.tw/ntnu-eng.html