What computer skills are useful/necessary for (non-tech) librarians?

Obviously basic computer use skills (keyboard, mouse, &c.) are necessary for librarians (unless you're still only using card catalogs and paper circ records!), but what else is useful or even necessary? What are libraries looking for when they put "computer skills" in a job posting?

Related questions:

• What are important IT skills/tools for systems/tech librarians?

• Good examples of training or professional development programs for librarians to gain digital/tech skills

• Alan Thomas II

• professional-development

Comments

• 1. Alan Thomas II: Could someone (preferably the down-voter) please post a suggestion of how this could be improved or why it is irredeemably bad?

Answer by Mary Jo Finch

When I put computer skills on a job description for a librarian I expect:

• MS Office - Word and Excel. In Word, document creation should include headers and footers, outlines, tabs, columns, and inserts. Excel proficiency is important for manipulation of stats and creation of reports - use of basic formulas, data sorts, and proper formatting are essential.
• Strong search skills in databases and web
• Basic computer troubleshooting - getting printers to work, for example
• Familiarity with 2.0 technologies - blogs, wikis, etc.
• Email, of course
• Scanning basics

Nice, but not required:

• Some familiarity with HTML (ability to add basic formatting to text)
• Web design (for us that means Drupal)
• Graphics expertise (Publisher, PowerPoint, Adobe, Photoshop)

Above all, a librarian should not be afraid of computers and should know when to ask for help.

Comments

• phette23: I really like your closing sentence. To me, there's only one necessary skill, & that's it. The ability to learn new skills (because the current ones won't be applicable forever) is tantamount.
• 1. Alan Thomas II: Approving this as the perfect starter answer, but dsalo's answer below should be checked for specialist extensions to this list.

Answer by dsalo

I designed an introductory library-technology course in 2007 that (with changes, to be sure) I still teach. With all that teaching under my belt, I will give you my personal cri de coeur: this is an exquisitely difficult question!

In lieu of a complete answer (which would take at least a book's worth of investigation!), some examples of different librarians in different contexts and what their technology needs might be, in addition to those Mary Jo Finch has pointed out. The lists below do not pretend to be exhaustive.

School-media specialists often serve as the first line of tech support for teachers. Their know-how needs may include:

• Clickers, if in use locally
• Smartboards, if in use locally
• Any and all educational software in use locally
• Social-media savvy, especially as regards privacy and COPPA
• Basic hardware troubleshooting (and advanced is always good)
• Any technology desiderata enshrined in local or state educational goalsetting; they may be among the few who can actually teach the requisite skills.

A solo librarian in a rural public library:

• Hardware and software troubleshooting
• OS and software installation
• Enough networking know-how to get a wireless access point up and running
• Technology training expertise (the inimitable Jessamyn West has many a fine slidedeck on this subject)
• Basic website design and management skills (no one else is going to do it!)

An academic reference librarian:

• Ins and outs of the local course-management system
• Ins and outs of the library's course-pages/reference-guides system
• Social-media savvy, for outreach and patron-service purposes
• Ins and outs of the local OPAC/"discovery layer"/whatever, including the proxy server and OpenURL resolver, enough to help patrons find and access what they need
• Chat reference, possibly including quick-screencast software or services (like Jing)
• Bibliographic citation-management software, enough to consult and train. This may entail knowing more than one software package, in detail!
• Ins and outs of database interfaces, ebook interfaces, etc.

A moderately modern-minded cataloger in an academic library:

• OCLC Connexions, or whatever cataloging client is in use locally
• MARCEdit, for bulk record editing and other tasks
• The local OPAC/discovery layer/whatever, especially its record-display quirks, and of course its back end (which may include a cataloging client)
• Increasingly, knowledge of MARC/AACR2 alternatives, non-library metadata standards and practices, and linked-data principles

Why, yes, designing my course is a three-alarm headache, as a matter of fact!

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