Malaysian research-support librarians’ self-directed learning traits: Examining demographic differences and their relationship with competencies

Research-support librarians have to play an effective role in supporting learning, providing services and anticipating the requirements of academic researchers. However, previous studies revealed that these librarians lacked the competencies to keep abreast of new resources, services and technologies. Although there is a large body of literature discussing the comprehensive competencies required of research-support librarians, very few have attempted to investigate this issue in the Malaysian context. Based on this situation, this study attempts to investigate the self-directed learning traits and competencies of research-support librarians in Malaysian public universities. This study also aims to identify the influence of self-directed learning on competencies. A total of 215 research-support librarians from Malaysian public universities were selected. The findings revealed that the competencies of these librarians are still at medium level. The most noticeable and lowest competency was in information technology skills, followed by research and contributions to the profession and library management. The most prevalent competencies were interpersonal skills, followed by information literacy, entrepreneurialism, foundational knowledge and collections development.

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Exploring library management support for enhancing self-directed learning: narratives from research-support librarians

Library Management ◽

10.1108/lm-07-2021-0058 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Nazrinda A. Samah ◽

Lokman Mohd Tahir ◽

Wan Ali @ Wan Yusoff Wan Mamat

Keyword(s):

Learning Environment ◽

Public University ◽

Management Support ◽

University Libraries ◽

Research Support ◽

Self Directed Learning ◽

Content Type ◽

Library Management ◽

Depth Interview ◽

Directed Learning

PurposeThis qualitative study explores the issue of library management support in providing a self-directed learning environment for research-support librarians which is an under-explored feature of librarianship in Malaysian public university libraries.Design/methodology/approachA total of nine research-support librarians purposely selected from these libraries took part in in-depth interview sessions. The responses were analysed using Miles and Huberman's technique, which involves data reduction, data display, conclusion-drawing and verification.FindingsFive emerging themes and 31 sub-themes were identified. There was a general consensus among the respondents that their library management does provide research-support librarians with a self-directed learning environment to enhance their competencies as academic librarians. Nevertheless, these librarians also highlighted some challenges, issues and barriers related to the initiative and support received. Some suggestions are advanced for improvements to support self-directed learning by research-support librarians working in public university libraries.Originality/valueEmpirically, this study attempts to fill the gap in the knowledge that needs to be addressed from the perspective of Malaysian librarians, especially the research-support librarians, who serve in public universities in Malaysia, who have received little attention from local librarianship researchers.

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