Essential competencies of an information professional working in a digital library environment, in the opinions of Norwegian and Thai library and information science educators

Abstract

Essential competencies required of an information professional to work in the digital environment have been a significant discussion topic the Library and Information science (LIS) world. Both in Norway and Thailand, one of the issues discussed by LIS educators and librarians in several discussions on LIS curriculum development is the competencies required for an information professional to be effective and efficient working in the library, archive, museum and related areas in this digital era. However, there has been no empirical study which examines the opinions of educators on this topic. Therefore, this thesis aims to identify the essential competencies of an information professional working in a digital library environment, in the opinions of Norwegian and Thai LIS educators. The study has used online questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, online interviews and email interviews as data collection methods. The results revealed that the essential competencies, that is personality traits, required of the information professionals were analytical, creative and technical competencies. In addition, the results indicated that Metadata, Database Development and Database Management System and User needs were regarded as the most discipline specific knowledge essential competencies. Finally, communication, critical thinking, information literacy and teamwork were the generic skills needed for an information professional to work efficiently and effectively in a digital library environment.