Technical Skills & the Librarian
What type of technical skills do you need to be a librarian? A
tough question to answer. Specific skills will vary depending on type of
library one works in, will vary by departments within a library, will
also vary from library to library – and will most definitely change
rapidly. Most libraries do not have a tech support person in the
building during all hours they are open – many do not have one in the
building at all. This often requires that everyone have a good sense of
basic computer troubleshooting skills. Some technical skills that I
think everyone who works in a library should have are as follows:
- Basic knowledge of a personal computer - knowledge
of file folder structure – how to save and retrieve documents (including
how to organize) – how to navigate between folders – knowledge of
network folders vs. local folders – how to add a network drive – how to
add printers – difference between local printers vs. network printers –
knowledge of how to delete items and empty trash – knowledge of
different file formats & ability to recognize virus files
- Internet knowledge- how to search the web – what
the internet is vs. what the world wide web is – good searching habits –
knowledge of spyware and how it can disable a computer – how to use
various browsers including IE, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, Netscape and
others – what a URL is – what the format of a URL is – knowledge of
domain name structure – knowledge about pop-up blockers & how to
disable them – idea of what can and cannot be found on the internet –
what the notion of precision vs. recall is
- Software knowledge- Microsoft Office products and
other alternatives, anti-virus software, personal firewall software –
ftp – telnet – HTML editors – basic ability to understand your operating
system (os) – knowledge of what (os) you have on your computer –
knowledge of how to figure out what (os) others have – ability to test
& learn new software (librarians are often asked to troubleshoot any
program installed on library computers), in depth knowledge of email
software – understanding of POP3 vs. imap
- Networking knowledge- what is the network? – what
do you need to put a computer on a network? (network interface card
& data cable) – wireless networks – how to connect to wireless on
PCs with various operating systems & on a mac – how to determine if
internet connectivity problems are network problems, computer problems
or web site failures – what is an IP address? - some knowledge of the
following concepts: DNS (internal & external), NAT (network address
translation), VPN (virtual private network) – what is a proxy server
& the basics of how it works
- Hardware knowledge- familiarity with your cpu –
understanding where your USB/Firewire port is – understanding of into
where your mouse, keyboard & monitor & possibly barcode scanner
plug- familiarity with laptops, tablets & PDAs – knowledge of mp3
players & iPods – familiarity with printers & how to
troubleshoot printing problems – knowledge of thumb drives/flash drives –
knowledge of projectors
- Other Computer Concepts – Ability to troubleshoot
basic computer problems – primary computer user is the first line of
defense for their own computer – knowledge of how to reboot, soft and
hard boots, and when to use them – ability to clearly articulate and
define computer problems
source: http://scruffynerf.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/technical-skills-the-librarian/
Post a Comment