21st Century Information Workers: What Core Competencies Should MSIS Students Learn?
Conference Proceeding
Overview
abstract
The day-to-day work of information workers charged with information creation, organization, presentation, preservation, analysis, and retrieval is changing dramatically because of rapid advances in technology, the ubiquitous availability of information, and the increasing diversity and globalization of users, patrons, and co-workers. Further, the jobs themselves are changing, such that information workers are not likely to focus on one traditional information task, but must integrate other knowledge and skills, such as data analysis (with large data) and social media. The array of jobs and tasks leads us to ask: what are the core competencies for all information studies students? The authors conducted a survey of more than 2,000 information professionals focusing on six information work roles (archivy, data analysis, librarianship, records/digital assets management, social media, and user experience) to find out about their day-to-day work and their recommendations for formal curriculum. In this special session, we will organize a lively discussion debating professionals’ conflicting recommendations for formal iSchool curriculum.
