Research on Age, Education and Salary Chracteristics in the Czech Republic

Zlata Houšková

Introduction

From September to November 1999, the National Library of the Czech Republic conducted a research project into the age, education, and salary structures in libraries in the Czech Republic. The research was aimed primarily at public libraries in cities and towns. The comparative group was made up of specialised libraries, namely central special, university and medical libraries, libraries of the Academy of Sciences and some other libraries (such as corporate libraries). As a method of data collection, a formalised questionnaire was developed, which was filled in according to detailed instructions by the library management. For the formulation of questions concerning wages, the library workers trade union was consulted. The processing of information and statistical analysis were done by the Sociofund company. The research was partially funded by a grant from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic (100,000 CZK) and partially by the National Library of the Czech Republic (45,000 CZK).

A total of 1,100 (16-page-long) questionnaires were sent out. Approximately 80 public libraries and 300 special libraries were approached. Completed questionnaires were returned by a total of 569 libraries (i.e. 51.72% of the total). The return rate in public libraries was about 60%, while the return rate of other libraries approached, which comprised approximately 16% of the set, was about 30%. The results of the majority of the parameters in that group cannot be considered as truly representative and cannot be given greater weight.

According to our information, research of similar character in this field has not been done since the second half of the 1980's when the State Library of the Czechoslovak Republic attempted to find out the age and education characteristics of public library employees (but in the area of education; only the highest level of educational of the library employee was ascertained).

Research Objectives

The decisive importance of human resources and the issues relating to their further development have found themselves the order of the day also in the Czech Republic, but in our field, other areas like furnishing libraries with new technologies and the lack of resources and space are still considered to be more important. The quality and qualification of librarians and their further development is considered as something that is either a matter of course, or something that can be dealt with later (after something or other). Because the short-sightedness of this approach is so blatant, we decided to find out (or verify) and analyse some of the important factors, and thereby offer a foundation for further steps necessary and - let us hope - development in the field of personnel, especially their education. The objective here was to analyse the current age and qualification structure of workers in particular types of libraries, the expected development in the hiring of new professional librarians, to evaluate the priorities in the further development of librarians in the field of basic library tasks, in management and in information technology, the competence level of foreign languages, and even the level of salaries of librarians. The data were gathered in the following areas:

• Basic statistical data on the holdings; on the number of loans, registered users, and visitors per year.
• Staffing figures and its structural composition, the development of the personnel base in 1990, 1996 and 1998.
• The age and educational profile of employees and their turnover.
• The number and structure of newly hired employees in 1997 and 1998.
• The three-year prospective needs for hiring library school graduates.
• The wage differentiation and the impact of further education on salaries.
• Computer literacy and the most frequent sources of obtaining it.
• The competence level of foreign languages and their evaluation by the heads of individual institutions.
• Forms of support in expanding qualifications in the field of foreign language learning and work with information technology.
• Recognised priorities in the education of a library worker in the field of:
  • library activities;
  • library management;
  • information technology.
• Salaries of library employees according to data from 1998.

BASIC STATISTICAL DATA

Type of library	No. of responses	Items	Loans per year	Users per year	Visits per year
Public (local) library	118	1601026	2115985	38757	419167
Municipal library in towns of up to 5000 inhabitants	134	2630360	3438573	60661	662536
Municipal library in towns from 5000 - 20,000 inhabitants	133	5264674	8451954	170719	1934802
Municipal library in towns from 20,000 - 100,000 inhabitants	9	924637	2028381	44704	539516
Municipal library in cities of over 100,000 inhabitants	3	3465915	7962429	219894	2301824
Public libraries or municipal libraries on the outskirts of towns	61	10436397	16452569	376749	4547047
State Research library (including Moravian Library and National Library of the CR)	9	17177680	5077512	233933	2315433
Public libraries total	467	41500689	45527403	1145417	12720325
Central specialised library	5	2512949	479750	52430	307943
University library	35	7258664	1129775	123822	873732
Library of Academy of Sciences CR	23	1620414	90682	6890	23110
Medical library	17	1111990	453800	25517	52137
Other libraries	9	629348	47609	9906	38674
Specialised libraries total	8	1313336	220161	21856	129559

Although the selected categorisation of libraries brought some methodological problems (as was discovered later), it seems relatively functional in the light of the results. From the table above, the high number of questionnaire responses from large libraries is evident (only one library is missing from the SRL category, while in the category of libraries in district towns it was 78% libraries, etc.).

In harmony with the intentions of this seminar, from now on we will concern ourselves only with the issue of qualification and education, because the allotted schedule does not allow enough time for the personnel issues, as interesting as it no doubt would be.

The qualification level of library employees

The question of qualification structure was answered by 459 of the total number of public libraries and by all of the special libraries. The qualification structure was specified for a total of 3,403.6 public employees and for 910.8 specialised library workers (proportionally). In the public library group we found the largest percentage professional librarians, i.e. librarians with a secondary education in library science (secondary education or tertiary education of non-university type) - 46.5%. The second most frequently represented qualification group consisted of employees with a secondary education with a non-library science type (ÚSV, ÚSO, VO). These workers made up 30.6% of public library employees. University educated employees made up a total of 18.4%, of which 12.5% had university library science, and only 5.9% with university of non-library science background. The rest of the librarians were people with an basic education, who, the public library sector, made up 4.5% of the total.

In specialised libraries the qualification composition was different. While most of the employees had secondary education both of the library science (32.8%) and non-library science (26.4%) type, these libraries, in contrast to the network of public libraries, had also a high proportion of employees with a university education of non-library science type (21.4%), and also a higher proportion of university educated librarians (16%). This is probably due to the fact that these are specialized libraries with corresponding demands on technical expertise of the librarians.

The library employee education structure therefore is not overly satisfying (a higher percentage of university graduates would be desirable), even though in view of the overall population of the Czech Republic, that level of education is undoubtedly above average (which, of course, does not at all correspond to the salary scale, for example, but that is a completely different set of issue suitable for some other discussion). There is a growing urgent need here, as in other fields, for the recognition of schools of tertiary education of a non-university type. The graduates of the VOŠIS  (the Czech acronym of the Information Studies College*) in Prague, e.g., prove to have this level in practice. Their placement and wage evaluation in libraries, however, can only be as high as that of secondary school graduates. That, along with many other factors, has an unquestionably unfavourable effect on what little interest they have in working at libraries.

The network of public libraries still has the greatest demand for secondary library school graduates (about 60%), graduates of Information Studies College (21%), as well as for university graduates with the information studies specialisation (19%). The demand for a higher education is therefore significant, and based on various indications, we can assume that it will increase. The greatest demand for university graduates is evident in the state research libraries (33%), large municipal libraries (26%), and district libraries (19%).

The network of specialised libraries will prospectively have the greatest demand for university graduates specialized in information studies, which are to make up about 56% of newly recruited staff in the libraries of the Academy of Sciences of the CR, up to 40% in central specialised libraries and 38% in university libraries. The lowest qualification requirements were at medical libraries where the demand for secondary school graduates predominated.

The structure of newly hired employees based on education and experience

In relation to the preceding question, we looked into how many new employees were hired in the last two years, and what was their educational structure. The structure of the newly hired employees was calculated from a total of 283 newly hired employees in 1997 and 280 employees in 1998, i.e. a total of 563 people, which is only about 40% of the total of newly hired employees in public libraries. Among the new employees in both years, librarians with experience predominated (1997: 63%; 1998: 61%) over recent graduates (1997: 36.8%; 1998: 38.9%). Only a longer time frame could provide answers to the question of whether the percentage increase of graduates is random or regular, and provide a possibility for an extrapolation.

The demands on the education of new employees (discussed in the paragraph about future demands) sharply contrast with the results of hiring during the period examined. In both years people without specialized librarian education were being hired by libraries. In both years the proportion of new employees with library science to non-library science education was almost the same. Graduates of library schools (with or without practice) comprised about 30%, and graduates of schools with a non-library science specialisation made up about 70% of the total number of newly hired employees. This is a confirmation of the intuitively perceived state, the causes of which ought to be better and more profoundly researched in the future. It may, on the one hand, be just an expression of an acceptance of the facts of life (colleagues with formal library education are not interested in working in libraries), or it may be a situation initiated by library (we need employees with a different/general education, who will get (?) their library science specialization in another way). It may also be the expression of the fact that librarians with secondary school education (the majority of library employees) do not require library science expertise. And there may also be other explanations. This is one of the most widely discussed questions of the Czech professional public, which meritoriously relates to the issue of a solid core in this field of study, its transformation, development, the responses in school teaching, the contacts with practice, etc. For now, let us concentrate on the results of the research and allow for some space for discussion.

The influence of further education on individual components of the salary

In the next set of questions, we investigated whether or not libraries offered economic incentives for increasing, deepening, or innovating education, or for learning new skills.

Based on the responses obtained from the research, we can conclude the following:

• attaining a higher level of schooling influences the bonus component of the salary, rather than what a librarian is paid according to his classification into wage categories. This is only natural as the employee remains in the same position. In spite of that, a small percentage increase in the basic salary component (assuming that wage regulations are upheld) might mean that attaining a higher level of education is a way to a certain career advancement, at least in some libraries;
• other forms of life-long education have a greater impact on the classification into wage categories than on the bonus components, which would partly justify the above statement; on the other hand, however, we assumed that there would be a greater impact on the bonus components of the wages, which was not confirmed in the research;
• in specialised libraries, both forms of further education of librarians have a greater value in the classification into wage categories or in the increase of the bonus components of wages than in the network of public libraries; the fact that education has less economic impact on employees of public libraries is certainly considerably demotivating, and ought to be significantly improved (even within the very limited elbow-room the management has). (Numerous responses were supplemented with depressing information about the total disregard for qualification development, or the educational activities of employees on the part of the library management, which leads to employee apathy in this regard.)

Foreign language skills and their evaluation

The generally-known problems of the Czech Republic in the field of foreign language competence and the accelerating progress in the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) in libraries have lead us to pay a greater attention to these two areas.

Of the total 569 libraries participating in the research, 62% of librarians in public libraries and 96% of librarians in specialised libraries had foreign language skills. This appears to be a very favourable situation, especially in the light of the situation in the overall population of the Czech Republic. Of the total, however, the most dominant foreign language percentage-wise was Russian; knowledge of other main world languages (English, German, French, and Spanish) was claimed by 53.4 % of librarians in public libraries, and 59.1% of librarians in other libraries (still relatively satisfactory results).

The greatest percentage of librarians with knowledge of world languages in the network of public libraries was evident in the state research library (63.3%), in "other libraries" (i.e. corporate libraries, etc.) from among the specialised libraries (72.7%) and research libraries (60.6%).

In the evaluation of language competence of employees, we should take into consideration a high degree of subjectivity. For example, the understanding of the question about the active knowledge of a language was to some extent influenced by the attempt to "better represent the institute", etc. It seems that the evaluation speaks more about how satisfactory the situation in the library is - or how satisfactory it seems to the manager).

The level of foreign language skills was "graded" by library managements on a 1 to 4 scale (optimum - good - adequate - unsatisfactory). In the network of public libraries, the language level was considered to be unsatisfactory in 45.5% of libraries and adequate in 36.6% of libraries. Only about 6% of the libraries claimed a level of optimum language competence. In specialised libraries the level of language competence was higher, usually claimed as "adequate" (in 48.9% of libraries) or "good" (in 31.9% of libraries). An optimum language competence was claimed by the management of only 3.2% of specialised libraries. The experience to date does not seem to confirm this relatively optimistic opinion. It would, rather, be more realistic to wonder whether the needs of language knowledge and competence, especially in the active form, were not underestimated.

Software skills - competence in the field of ICT work

The research analysed what percentage of library employees were able to make routine use of various types of computer software such as:

• automated library system;
• work in Windows;
• some type of text editor;
• some type of spreadsheet programme;
• some type of graphics editor;
• e-mail;
• Internet for information retrieval;
• an editor for creating web pages;
• retrieval in electronic databases;
• automated accounting systems;
• operating system (such as Novell, Unix, Windows NT).

To simplify the situation, we created 4 categories:

1. The first category includes those libraries in which appropriate software so far is not being used by librarians;
2. The second category includes those libraries in which the appropriate software is routinely used by 1-50% of librarians;
3. The third category includes those libraries in which the appropriate software is routinely used by 51-90% of librarians;
4. The fourth category includes those libraries in which appropriate software skills have been mastered by all professional employees.

The following summary unfortunately concerns only public libraries, which submitted an adequately representative amount of data, and which provides a relatively clear impression about the level of knowledge and skill in work with information technology in these libraries.

Automated library system (the ALS)

State research libraries (9)

Automated library systems are used in all 9 state research libraries. Of this, 3 of the libraries (33.3%) indicated knowledge of the use of the the ALS by all their employees; in 5 libraries, 10 - 50% of librarians were proficient in the use of the the ALS; and in one state research library, only 11% of librarians were skilled in its use. In view of the higher specialisation of tasks in the libraries in this category, it cannot be assumed that the ideal state of the ALS proficiency be 100% of employees (some of them work in completely different sectors); nevertheless, the results do not appear to be overly satisfying.

District libraries (62)

Of 62 district libraries, the ALS is used in 56, or 90% of the libraries. Of these, all the employees of 28 of the libraries are able to use the ALS; in 26, more than half; and in 2 libraries, less than half of the librarians are ALS skilled. The much lower number of employees in these libraries leads to the necessity of a higher percentage of individuals adopting the ALS.

Municipal libraries in cities of over 100,000 inhabitants (3)

This category includes the Municipal Library of Prague, the Ostrava Municipal Library, and the Pilsen Municipal Library. At the time of the survey, the ALS was being used by only two of them, and by up to 50% of the librarians.

Municipal libraries in towns from 20,000 to 100,000 inhabitants (10)

In this category, the ALS was also used by 90%; in 3 of the libraries all the librarians were proficient in its use; in 4 of the libraries more than half (50-90%), and in two libraries, less than half of the librarians were proficient in its use (compare with the district libraries section).

Municipal libraries in towns from 5,000 to 20,000 inhabitants (136)

In this category it must be kept in mind that a certain percentage of small libraries have only a few, or even just one employee.

The ALS is used in 82% percent of the libraries. In 83 of the libraries, the ALS is used by all the librarians; and in 24 and 4 libraries by more than half and less than half of the librarians, respectively.

Municipal libraries in towns with a population of up to 5,000 (137)

The ALS is used in 54% of the libraries. All the librarians use the ALS in 6 of the libraries; more than half in 13 libraries; and less than half in one library.

Public (local) libraries (119) (almost exclusively 1 employee)

The ALS is used in only 36% of public libraries. In 34 libraries, all the librarians use the ALS; in 6 libraries, more than half; and in 3 libraries, less then half.

Text editor

State research libraries (9)

A text editor is used in all state research libraries. In 7 libraries it is routinely used by 50-90% of librarians; in 2 libraries, by less than half of the librarians.

District libraries (62)

A text editor is used in 55 district libraries. In 11 libraries, all the librarians are proficient in its use; in 2 of the libraries, more than half of the librarians; and in 12, less than half of the librarians.

Municipal libraries in cities with population of over 100,00 (3)

In two of the large municipal libraries, less than half the librarians are proficient in the use of a text editor.

Municipal libraries in towns with population from 20,000 to 100,000 (10)

In municipal libraries of this size, a text editor is used in 9 of the libraries. In one library, all the librarians are proficient in its use; in two libraries, more than half; and in 6 libraries, less than half.

Municipal libraries in towns with population from 5,000 to 20,000 (136)

A text editor is used in 97 libraries in this group; in 32 libraries of the libraries, all the librarians are proficient in the use of this type of software; in 47 libraries, more than half; and in 18, libraries, less than half of all librarians.

Municipal libraries in towns with a population of up to 5,000 (137)

Of the 137 municipal libraries in this group, a text editor is used in only 67; i of these, in 46 of the libraries, all the librarians use it; in 19, more than i half; and in 2 libraries, less than half of the librarians.

Public (local) libraries (119)

Of the 119 public libraries, a text editor is used by only 39 libraries (32%). In 30 libraries, all the librarians are proficient in the use of it; in 6 libraries, more than half; and in 3 libraries, less than half of librarians.

If we realize that a routine competence of a basic text editor (usually meaning the Word) is a really basic prerequisite in most jobs (not only) in our field today, not to mention the future, it appears that we cannot be in the least satisfied with the situation, and that there should be interest, not only on the part of the employees, but also on the part of the employer, to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.

Spreadsheet programme, graphics editor

State research libraries (9) A spreadsheet programme and graphics editor are used in all state research libraries. Less than half of the librarians are proficient in their use.

District libraries (62)

These types of software are used in 49 district libraries. Similarly, less than half of the librarians are proficient in the their use.

Municipal libraries in cities of over 100,000 inhabitants (3) In two of the large municipal libraries, less than half of the librarians are proficient in the use of spreadsheet programmes and graphics editors.

Municipal libraries in towns with populations from 20,000 to 100,000 (10) These types of software are used in 7 libraries. Less than half the librarians are proficient in their use.

Municipal libraries in towns from 5,000 to 20,000 inhabitants (136)

Spreadsheet programmes and graphics editors are used in only 37 of the libraries. In 5 libraries, all the librarians are proficient in their use; in 15 libraries, more than half of librarians, and in 17 libraries less than half of the librarians.

Municipal libraries with a population of up to 5,000 (137)

Of the 137 municipal libraries in this group, a spreadsheet programme and graphics editor is used in only 16; of these, in 5 of the libraries, all the librarians use them; in 9, more than half; and in 2 libraries, less than half of librarians use them.

Public (local) libraries (119)

Of the 119 local libraries, only 9 (7.5%) use a spreadsheet programme. In 5 libraries, all the librarians are proficient in its use; in 2 libraries, more than half; and in 2 libraries, less than half of the librarians.

Especially for spreadsheet programmes (usually Excel), the generally assumption of a minimum qualification as an integral component is applicable. The situation here is even worse than in the case of the previous items.

Using the Internet and e-mail

State research libraries (9)

Internet and electronic mail are used in all state research libraries. In 3 of the state research libraries, all the librarians are proficient in their use; in 6 of the libraries, more than half of them are; and in 1 library, less than half the librarians are proficient in their use.

District libraries (62)

In the sample of district libraries, Internet and electronic mail are used in 57 institutes. In 7 of the libraries, 100% of the employees have a good command of them; in 29 to 34 libraries, more than half of the librarians are proficient in their use; and in 14 to 21 libraries, less than a half of the librarians is able to use them.

Municipal libraries in cities of over 100,000 inhabitants (3)

In 2 of the large municipal libraries, less than half of the librarians are able to use the Internet and e-mail.

Municipal libraries in towns with populations from 20,000 to 100,000 (10)

Of the municipal libraries of this size, e-mail and Internet are used in 8 to 9 libraries. In 1 or 2 libraries, all the librarians are able to use the software; in 3 to 5 libraries, more than half; and in 2 to 4 libraries, less than half of the librarians.

Municipal libraries in towns from 5,000 to 20,000 inhabitants (136)

Sixty-six libraries in this group stated that they used e-mail and 62 make use of the Internet. In 25 to 29 libraries, 100% of the librarians are proficient in the relevant software; in 25 to 31 of the libraries, more then half are; and in 6 to 12 of the libraries, less than half of the librarians are able to use them.

Municipal libraries with a population of up to 5,000 inhabitants (137)

Of the 137 municipal libraries in this category, e-mail is used in only 3 and the Internet is available in 39 libraries. In 21 to 26 libraries, all the librarians use them; in 7 to 10, more than half; and in 2 to 3, less than half of the librarians.

Public (local) libraries (119)

Of the 119 public libraries, 19 to 21 of the libraries make use of e-mail and Internet (that is about 16% of the public libraries). They are used by 100% of the librarians in 13 to 14 libraries, by more than half of the librarians in 4 to 6 libraries, and by less than half of the librarians in 1 or 2 libraries.

These unsatisfactory data are probably due to the fact that many of the libraries, particularly the small ones are not connected to the Internet (in this regard, a gradual improvement of the situation can be expected), that switched lines are mostly used (and not only in small libraries), which results in a limited access (the number of stations, finances, available time) and that the number of stations in libraries is small. Other reasons may include plain reluctance, apprehension, underestimation or lack of understanding of the importance and possibilities of electronic sources and electronic services. Furthermore, the concept of proficiency in using something or routinely using something may not always mean the same thing. The mastering of these skills by the greatest number of librarians should be one of primary tasks of further education in libraries.

The creation of web pages

State research libraries (9)

Web pages are created in all state research libraries. Less than 10% of librarians possess this qualification.

District libraries (62)

In 29 district libraries (47%) the skills needed to create web pages are possessed by:

• less than 10% of librarians in 17 libraries;
• 10% to 20% of librarians in 9 libraries;
• 30% to 50% of librarians in 3 libraries.

Municipal libraries in cities of over 100,000 inhabitants (3)

In 1 municipal library of this category, less than 10% of librarians have the ability to create web pages.

Municipal libraries in towns from 20,000 to 100,000 inhabitants (10)

In municipal libraries of this size, the ability to create www pages was claimed by 4 libraries. In 2 of these libraries, 20% to 30% of librarians have a good command of this software; and in the other two, less than 20%.

Municipal libraries in towns from 5,000 to 20,000 inhabitants (136)

In the municipal libraries in this category, only 14 libraries (10%) could boast the skills needed for the creation of web pages. Of this, the ability to do this is as follows:

• 3 libraries have 10-20% of librarians with the necessary skills;
• 5 libraries have 20-30% of librarians with the necessary skills;
• 3 libraries have 30-40% of librarians with the necessary skills;
• 3 libraries have 50-60% of librarians with the necessary skills.

Municipal libraries with a population of up to 5,000 (137)

Of 137 municipal libraries in this category, only 4 libraries (3%) were able to create www pages using their own resources. Of this:

• 1 library has less than 10% of librarians with the necessary skills, and
• 3 libraries have 30-60% of librarians with the necessary skills.

Public (local) libraries (119)

Only one library claimed that 30-40% of its employees have the qualification.

This situation probably requires no commentary. Of course, libraries do not require that the majority of personnel be capable of this skill; in fact, in some respects, it would probably be undesirable. On the other hand though, it seems that in the future, it will also be a required skill.

Retrieval from electronic databases

State research libraries (9)

Electronic databases are used in all state research libraries, and over a half of the librarians at 3 of the state research libraries have the qualification needed, and less than a half of the librarians at another 6 of them.

District libraries (62)

Electronic databases are used in 36 district libraries (58%). This work can be done by:

• 100% of the librarians in 1 of the libraries
• more than a half of the librarians in 5 of the libraries;
• less than a half of the librarians in 30 of the libraries.

Municipal libraries in cities of over 100,000 inhabitants (3)

In 1 municipal library of this type, less 10% of the librarians are able to work with electronic databases.

Municipal libraries in towns from 20,000 to 100,000 inhabitants (10)

Of the municipal libraries of this size, electronic retrieval systems are used in 4 libraries (40%). The appropriate qualification is possessed by less than 40% of the librarians.

Municipal libraries in towns from 5,000 to 20,000 inhabitants (136)

Retrieval from electronic databases is done in 19 of this category of municipal libraries (14%), whereby:

• 100% of the librarians are able to use it in 2 of the libraries;
• over 50% of the librarians are able to use it in 8 of the libraries;
• less than 50% of the librarians are able to use it in 9 of the libraries;
• 50-60% of the librarians are able to use it in 3 of the libraries.

Municipal libraries in towns with a population of up to 5,000 (137)

Of 137 municipal libraries in this category, electronic search systems are used by only 8 libraries (6%):

• in 3 of the libraries, 100% of the librarians are able to use them;
• in 4 of the libraries, more than 50% of the librarians are able to use them;
• in 1 of the libraries, less than 50% of the librarians are able to use them.

Public (local) libraries (119)

In 2 of the local libraries, over 50% of librarians are capable of working with electronic databases.

We believe that the evaluation of this skill was the most subjective and most relative. At the same time, we are dealing with very unsatisfactory results, if we consider the fact that everyone will probably have to be capable, to some extent, of working with electronic databases in the not-so-distant future.

For the purposes of this report, we considered work with automated accounting systems and the knowledge of operating systems to be marginal skills, in spite of the fact that in individual libraries, they will certainly be very important skills for a relatively narrow field of workers.

In conclusion to this detailed (and certainly exhaustive/exhausting) overview, we can state that librarians (from the given sample) surpass the national average skill level in ICT work, even if we disregard a certain degree of subjectivity in the evaluation of the situation. On the other hand, there is no reason for exorbitant optimism (see above), if we are to consider the library to be a natural information centre of the community or a town where citizens (residents) should be provided with qualified help with ICT work, and especially thorough instructions how to use the Internet and other electronic sources. There is still a very long road ahead in terms of improving the competence level of librarians in libraries of any size and type.

The most common sources for acquiring computer qualifications

In all the libraries taking part in this research, public as well as the other ones (control group), self-study appears to be the most common source for gaining computer qualifications. It is a predominant method for acquiring skills in using text editors and spreadsheet programmes, graphics editors, web pages, the Internet, and even accounting systems (!), as well as with operating systems (in public libraries).

Training in the library is a common method of gaining skills mainly for work with e-mail (more frequently in specialised libraries), as well as with an automated library system.

In public libraries, the source of skills related to work with the automated library system mentioned most frequently were the system providers. The providers play a significant role even in the acquisition of skills for working with accounting systems in public libraries.

In specialised libraries, self-study and training in the library are the more common sources of skills. The weight of other sources for gaining qualifications differs according to the type of library and the type of skill.

Generally we can say that school is a more common source of information for employees of specialised libraries, probably because employees of these libraries were younger. It could also be a simple aberration resulting from the size of the test group. Significantly more frequently, however, than in public libraries, they list the school as the source for skills like working with the automated library system, text editors, e-mail, the Internet and operating systems.

Educational agencies are of a comparable significance in the acquisition of qualifications. A little more than 10% of employees from public libraries learned there how to use the Internet, to work with web pages and accounting and operational systems. For specialised libraries, on the other hand, educational agencies are a significant source as far as work with text editors, spreadsheet programmes and graphics editors are concerned. More than 10% of employees acquired there their qualifications necessary for the creation of web pages.

In public as well as other types of libraries, library science courses as a source of information are listed the least frequently in the case of almost all of the above skills. Library science courses had greater significance only in the teaching of the use of the Internet to public library employees (12.3%). It may of course have been caused by some kind of terminological "noise". On the other hand, we can assume that large and specialised libraries (such as university libraries where the competence level in IT work is good) play a totally inadequate role in the education of librarians, particularly those from small public libraries. The need for such professional courtesy, co-operation and assistance is of course considerable, and it will be particularly urgent if public libraries are to be built as information centres for their communities and districts.

Educational priorities

In the research, we also asked questions about what topics for further education of library employees are considered to be most important today. In evaluating the responses, we arrived at the ranking of themes (in the field of library work) that shows where the priorities for further education are considered to be.

GROUP A - basic library tasks

		Rank
	public libraries	specialised libraries
Creation of electronic bibliographies and factographical databases	1	5
Descriptive cataloguing including AACR 2	2	3
Reference and information services	3	4
Subject cataloguing	4	10
Training users to work with ICT and the Internet	5	2
Circulation services and systems	6	1
Inter-library services and document delivery	7	7
Cataloguing special documents	8	14
Authorities	9	13
Services marketing	10	12
Thesaurus administration	11	16
Collection development and management	12	15
Collection protection	13	9
Educational function of libraries	14	11
Organisation of collection	15	8
Services for special groups of users	16	6
Critical readings	17	17

Public libraries listed the following five themes as their priorities:

1. The creation of electronic bibliographical and factographical databases.
2. Descriptive cataloguing including AACR 2.
3. Reference and information services.
4. Subject cataloguing.
5. Training clients in the use of ICT and the Internet.

In specialised libraries, the themes in the first four positions basically agreed, but their order of priorities was different. Compared with public libraries, they placed a greater emphasis upon circulation services and systems, and on the training of clients in the use of information technologies and the Internet.

The themes listed by specialized libraries in subsequent positions in the rank of priorities (in contrast to the public libraries) emphasised the following topics:

1. Services for special groups of users (!);
2. Protection and organisation of collection.

GROUP B - management

In group B, the management level employees were asked to select from a choice of 3 topics those which were the most important to them in terms of strategy, development and operation of libraries.

		Rank
	public libraries	specialised libraries
Co-operation of libraries	1	4
Preparation of projects and programmes	2	1
Analysis of goals and processes in the institution, decision-making	3	5
Communication within the organisation	4	3
Public Relations	5	7
Team work	6	6
Strategy of change management and of change processes	7	9
Fund-raising, economic situation of the institution	8	2
Accounting systems	9	8

Public libraries placed the greatest importance upon the following themes:

1. Co-operation between libraries.
2. Preparation of projects and programmes.
3. Analysis of institution goals and processes, decision-making.

The control group of specialised libraries agreed in the case of the Preparation of Projects and Programmes priority. In contrast to the public libraries, however, Fund-raising and the Economic Situation of the Institution was given a high priority in the area of management.

GROUP C - information technology

With regards to information technologies, all libraries researched were unanimous in their opinions on the priorities in four areas, namely:

1. the creation and use of the automated library system;
2. using the Internet in general and retrieval tools and information sources on the Internet in particular;
3. the work of the system librarian.

Problems relating to educational activities offered

While it is difficult to add much to the selection of priorities, and each evaluation of the situation will more or less be just another subjective opinion, then the last results outlined here, however concise they may be, should lead managers, institutions responsible for the libraries, educational bodies and other institutions to an analysis of existing possibilities and to the assessment of the viability of further co-ordinated steps. The data here are certainly significant information and inspiration for an entire area of further (life-long) education for librarians.

The following problems in educational activities were mentioned most frequently by all the libraries participating in the research:

• financial problems (public libraries);
• the absence of a systematic offer for education on site (specialised libraries);
• the absence of a special library themes (specialised libraries).

(Other problems were mentioned with less urgency.)

The first problem was, of course, not surprising - it will always come up and, to a certain extent, it is the question of setting the priorities right; but the remaining two items refer to a large extent to the question of what vocational schools, professional organisations and other bodies that declare their educational functions, have to offer to libraries.

Conclusion

We are still working on the summarisation of the results of the whole research project and the extrapolation and formulation of other conclusions. They will be published in trade journals, and a detailed report will be available on the web pages of the National Library of the Czech Republic. It is already evident that we should not concern ourselves with a topic that will be put off for another ten years, but that individual issues should be researched in more depth, some questions should be better and more clearly formulated, and methods other than the questionnaire also used. Most importantly, the knowledge gained from the research should be further used in personnel work in libraries and in the field of further education, because, as in other fields, the decisive resource in libraries is the employees. And their quality and the appreciation of their work will have an impact on the broadly debated future of libraries. That is a task for the management. Let's hope that the following words of a library manager can be taken simply as a (not very funny) joke.

Question: What languages do library employees have an active command of?
Answer: None.

Question: How do you evaluate the level of language competency in your library?
Answer: Optimum.

* College in the sense of tertiary education of non-unive rsity type. Back to the text