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Succession planning and management are critical parts of strategic planning for libraries in the twenty-first century. Making certain that the right people are in place with the prerequisite training and experience to assume leadership positions is a vital part of strategic planning and talent management in libraries that rely on teams of people working in flatter structures and greater accountability. The Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition framework suggests that mentoring, coaching, and professional development empower staff for movement up organizational career ladders as part of succession planning and management. To maximize human capital, administrators need to determine skill development levels among staff so that they can identify skill "gaps" internally, create new career ladders, identify emerging stars, and enhance evidence of values for staff contributions.

Catalogers and library educators have long articulated the importance of preparing entry-level catalog librarians for the profession. The professional literature suggests that graduates of accredited LIS distance programs will perform at an equivalent level with those from accredited residential programs. This case study of a beginning cataloging class offered in virtual and traditional formats is one contribution to the effort of assessing virtual distance education. A rigorous content analysis methodology was used, with selected differences between the descriptive cataloging proficiencies among traditional-class and virtual-class students being identified. Study findings suggest that traditional-class and virtual-class students will perform at a similar level--that library educators cannot determine that either type of instructional delivery system is more likely to prepare students for successful careers within the community of catalogers. (Contains 4 tables, 7 figures and 30 notes.)

Purpose -- The purpose of this column is to examine the onboarding process and its importance for new hires. A well-designed and coordinated onboarding process assimilates new employees into the organization and equips them with the tools and resources needed for professional and personal success. Design/methodology/approach -- Recognizing the importance of prudent expenditures within tight budgets, decreasing the time and money for new hires can result in reduced duplication of efforts, accelerating the time to productivity and increasing the satisfaction levels and retention potential among new employees. Findings -- The column highlights five steps that a library administrator can take to design and implement an effective onboarding process. Originality/value -- Original opinion piece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- Technical services librarians, catalogers and metadata specialists serve as the integral managers of comprehensive integrated systems designed to facilitate the ingestion, annotation, cataloging, storage, retrieval and distribution of organized, discoverable resources. Yet, despite the escalating costs to upgrade integrated library systems, maintain authority control for name and subject heading points of access and create original surrogate records for new library resources, technical services departments did not grow. Design/methodology/approach -- The goal of sharing metadata is to reduce the local cost of its creation with minimal changes. However, research suggests that catalogers and metadata specialists review and authenticate the standards-compliant work of others, thus negating the goal of sharing and increasing the cost of building and maintaining online catalogs and discovery tools. How can a library administrator encourage the acceptance of metadata created at other information organizations and make prudent investments to support technical services functions? Findings -- There are four strategies that administrators can adopt regarding these issues. Research limitations/implications -- All libraries can benefit from considering the four strategies. Practical implications -- First, cultivate a robust community of practice within the information organization. Second, recognize the importance of accepting standards-compliant bibliographic metadata with few modifications. Third, provide opportunities for managers to become skilled at coaching their team members. Fourth, inspire confidence. Social implications -- Librarianship is a profession that an individual enters through graduate education in library and information science. As a new entrant, an individual becomes of a member of the community of practice and assumes personal responsibility for learning and mastering technical skills and competencies through experience, mentoring, professional development and continued actions (or tasks) comprising activities situated in a library or information environment. Originality/value -- This is an original opinion piece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss that development and recognition of human capital is a shared responsibility reflecting a delicate balance with employees on one side and the organization on the other. Conveying the message that employees matter, are valued contributors and will be rewarded improves morale, builds trust and expands opportunities for growth, through challenging assignments, improving performance and furthering skill development. Design/methodology/approach – The typical organizational structure in a library is made up of three key components: formal reporting relationships, the identification of groupings of individuals into departments or teams and the design of systems that ensures effective communication, coordination and integration of efforts across units. What steps can a library administrator take to reimagine and implement a responsive rewards system? Findings – There are five recommendations for library administrators to develop and implement a rewards system. Originality/value – New thought piece on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to share insightful comments about the importance of librarians participating in external grant process. Design/methodology/approach – Opinion and literature review. Findings – Suggested readings listed. Originality/value – Original column. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses holistic assessment for service learning in Library and Information Studies (LIS) programs at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota and the University of Denver in Colorado. The authors argue that reflective practice inquiry strategies are important for service learning experiences. They also suggest that service learning should be implemented by all schools instead of small faith-based schools because of its effect on social and professional change. According to the authors, service learning is a type of community-based research which uses the holistic strategy to attain personal experiences.

Field-based studies conducted during the last decade reinforce the importance of continued collaboration between employers and library and information science educators in order to close the gap between the classroom and workplace. A library educator, the researcher conducted four empirical studies using a content analysis methodology specifically designed to identify the skills and competencies that catalogers and technical services librarians in the twenty-first century must possess. The analysis of 355 position descriptions and 289 survey responses enabled the researcher to identify five domains common across library types. Employers' expectations for catalogers and technical services librarians fell into these areas: education, theoretical knowledge, cataloging competencies, communication skills, and interpersonal skills (including supervision and training). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employers articulate expectations for technical services managerial positions including academic preparation and professional experience (cataloging, classification, authority control, acquisitions), supervisory and training abilities, bibliographic control tasks, technical understandings and familiarities with a theoretical basis for organization technical skills (bibliographic utilities, tools) and non-library specific competencies. Therefore, technical services managerial position announcements provide insight into shifting requirements regarding graduate education, expertise, and preferred preparations for these positions. This empirical research study explores 89 technical services managerial position announcements published during a four-year period in order to determine the common aspects of employers' expectations. A rigorous content analysis methodology enabled the researcher to identify employers' expectations and requirements among types of libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Library school students and employers articulate expectations for entry-level cataloger positions including understandings and familiarities with a theoretical basis for organization (cataloging, classification, authority control), technical skills (bibliographic utilities, tools), and non-library specific competencies. Therefore, entry-level catalog librarian position announcements provide insight into shifting requirements regarding graduate education, expertise, and preferred preparations for these positions. This empirical research study explores 150 entry-level cataloger position announcements published during a three-year period in order to determine the common aspects of employers' expectations. A rigorous content analysis methodology enabled the researcher to identify employers' expectations and requirements among types of libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This is a regular thought-provoking column. Design/methodology/approach – Thoughts with suggested references for more information. Findings – Lots more to learn. Originality/value – New thoughts this quarter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including one by Ingrid Hsieh-Yee on cataloging education and another by Lynda Baker and colleagues on the factors govern doctoral recruitment and retention.