Databrarian ed? Preparing information specialists for participation in an open datafied society

Environmental scans, futures studies and technology assessments have defined multiple trends affecting libraries and librarians in the 21st century; but arguably it is the confluence of three key factors that are currently driving and will continue to shape the future of our profession – the open movement, the data revolution, and participatory culture. Industry commentators, thought leaders and enterprising practitioners have observed evolving library specialties, suggested alternative professional paradigms, and implemented new service models for the complex pluralist context of our changing digital world. Professional educators are similarly reviewing curricula, rethinking pedagogies, and redesigning programs to meet the needs of the current and future workforce. This chapter explores the challenges and debates surrounding pre-service education and continuing professional learning for an environment in which data literacy, user experience, open scholarship, community engagement, relationship management, and social impact are among the critical success factors and key performance indicators for all information service organisations. It argues that education for library and information work needs to change radically to build professional capacity for transforming libraries into open participatory data-centric organisations: educators need to move beyond tinkering and quick fixes to more fundamental re-engineering of programme content, course delivery and professional engagement. Data management, open cultures, pedagogical know-how, collaborative working, experiential learning and reflective practice must become central elements of the required core curriculum for all library and information professionals instead of being treated as optional specialist tracks. Forward-thinking educators in the UK and US have risen to the challenge; others need to do likewise