Roles of the Librarian in a Research Library in the Digital Era: Challenges and the Way Forward

This article describes the roles of librarians in a research library, particularly in the digital era. Librarians' roles vary from the custodian of resources to providers of a diverse nature of activities ranging from collection development, organization of knowledge, information services, preservation and conservation, and management. Librarians perform the aforementioned functions traditionally by using printed tools ranging from collection development tools (e.g., publishers' catalogues, books in print, Ulrich, bibliography); cataloguing tools (e.g., classification schemes such as Library of Congress Classification [LCC] and Dewey Decimal Classification [DDC]); information services (e.g., bulletin, notice board, flyers); preservation and conservation (e.g., clean shelves, use of acid free boxes); and so forth. The traditional ways of performing these functions is being eroded by modern technology. This calls for changes in the products and services of research libraries to the research community served. These changes and the roles that librarians play are discussed in this article. Also enumerated are the challenges, such as dwindling budgets, capacity building, inadequate facilities, among others, of optimizing innovative ways of achieving more enhanced services. Some suggestions that could move the profession forward are also proffered.

Keywords: librarians; information professionals; roles; research libraries; developing countries; Nigeria; information technology

In the research library, the traditional roles of librarians include collection development, organization of knowledge, dissemination of information, preservation, and management of information and staff aimed at satisfying users' information needs. With the advent of Information Technology (IT) in all spheres of life, librarianship inclusive, ways of handling these activities have developed rapid and tremendous innovation and modern structures. Selection, acquisition, and subscription to teaching, learning, and research (TLR) resources are carried out online on the publishers' portals. However, some are accessed through the agent portal. Payment of such acquisitions and subscriptions are completed online using debit cards, Internet banking, and so on. This provides the users with the opportunities to utilize the type of resources in a format most useful to their study or research area anytime, anywhere. Librarians can utilize tools for resource organization that are available online; for instance, the Library of Congress Online catalog is being used to organize learning resources (LR). This saves the librarians' time of processing, provides zero duplicate effort, and encourages timely access to new additions to LR.

However, locally generated materials acquired are catered for by in-house built schemes. Information dissemination to the TLR communities are accomplished through notice boards, round drums, and now, additionally, through institutional websites, e-bulletins, Emails, blogs, Moodle, podcasting, Twitter, and so on. Preservation of library resources is transformed to digital objects, making them accessible either through local server or Digital Access Repository (DAR). All these activities are timely, readily available, and accessible for TLR. Librarians must acquire the necessary skills and timely training to execute these functions in the information communication technology (ICT) age. The purpose of the library establishment determines its collections and functions, whether public, special, national, academic, or research libraries. Researchers' information needs and information seeking behaviors have drastically changed with the advent of information technology. Patrons' expectations from the research library are timely response to their information needs which, in turn, requires modern library facilities, products, services, and acquisition of new skills by the professional. Librarians face some challenges to achieve this goal, among them are underfunding of libraries, inadequate facilities, short staff, and capacity building.

The academic library is a library based in a university, polytechnic institute, or college of education to support teaching, learning, and research function of the institution. Part of the university library is a research library meant for postgraduate researchers whose activities are purely research. However, libraries in research institutes also serve as support to research and development of their institutions. They strive to reach their objectives and justify their existence. According to Beencham and Harrison ([6]), the objectives of the academic library are to:

• • serve the needs of the academic community
• • provide reference materials
• • provide study areas for users
• • provide lending service
• • provide information service (238)

These are also applicable to the research library but the only difference is that it serves a research community whose information needs are tailored to specific needs as well as general. To achieve the aforementioned objectives, librarians are required to perform related tasks. However, librarians are confronted with the challenges of the establishing and sustaining technologies involved. Hence, librarians must determine ways forward in the ICT age in order to stay relevant.

Librarianship is primarily a service enterprise aimed at making the accumulated records of man's intellectual activity readily available to users (Shera [24], 9). These records could be that of individual, associations, and governments, as well as organizations' output that have been made available in an organized way locally or remotely. Furthermore, (Gates [11], 4), defined librarianship in a humanistic way as the makeup of the people to whom the collection, preservation, use, and transmission of information and knowledge are trusted, and the facilities used to carry out these tasks.

According to (Gorman 2000), the following are the major activities of librarians:

• • Selection: physical objects and digital resources
• • Acquisition: purchase, subscription, gift, or exchange
• • Organization and access: cataloguing, classification, and online information access
• • Preservation and conservation: physical and digital resources
• • Users services and training: reference services, loans, providing information skills training, and user instruction
• • Management: personnel, services, and library organization (13–14)

With the recent development in librarianship, information technologies have significantly changed the library and the information world in general. Librarians as custodians' of information are now engaged in creation of new services as well as its dissemination and management of knowledge. Resources, accessibility, and users are the purpose of librarianship existence (Lougee 2012).

The roles of the librarian in a research library include the following functions.

Selection tools for building research library resources are now available online. Physical materials to be acquired are selected on the publishers' online bookstores (e.g., Alibris, Nobles and Barners, Amazon) and from agent/booksellers (e.g., Dawson), which serve as online portals for purchases. Electronic resources such as journals, databases, and other digital resources are also available for subscription online from individual libraries or through consortia. When electronic resources, especially journal databases, are subscribed to jointly, funds allocated to journal subscriptions are maximized. However, there must be fair dealings in title selection representing each institution involved. This will enhance commitment and promote timely payment of dues to maintain sustainability. Cutting costs of acquisition of library resources, especially in this time of dwindling budgets allocated to libraries, would be better managed through joint acquisitions and subscriptions of resources (Ramos and Kamsiah 2005). On the other hand, the ability to access electronic scholarly resources allows researchers to retrieve the required information without their physical presence in the library, which allows them access to information anytime and anywhere (Fabunmi et al. [10]). Furthermore, the problem of theft and mutilation of print resources in libraries as surveyed by Fabunmi ([9]), Ajala and Oyeboade (2008), Bello ([7]), and Pedersen ([20]) would be discouraged and minimized due to the availability and accessibility of resources online at any point in time regardless of the researchers' location. Also, weather problems in the African continent that deteriorate print collection faster would be reduced. However, other users who use research libraries as visitors should be provided with printing and photocopying privileges which must be within the copyright law. This will prevent infringement of intellectual rights. In addition, space problems related to print collection storage would be better managed.

Cataloguing and classification of resources is another important duty of librarians. This involves the bibliographical details of materials as well as the categorization of these resources with tools such as Anglo American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2), Subject Headings, Classification Schemes: Library of Congress http://catalog.loc.gov/, Universal Decimal Classification, Dewey Decimal Classification, Moy, author classification, and so on. All these tools were formally in print but, now, most of them are available electronically, updated regularly, and can be accessed and used via the Internet. This could be referred to as the organization of knowledge. Also to maintain universal identification of materials, LC made available on the www.materials are already catalogued in which other libraries can use as copy cataloguing. Hence, the precious time of librarians cataloguing such materials is saved. However, libraries that deal with special users may not adopt copy cataloguing due to in-depth requirements of subject matters. Automation of these processes gave birth to the online public access catalogue (OPAC). This enhances quick, easy searches with various fields. This can be viewed via Intranet or Internet as the infrastructural capacity of the institution served. It enables users to search the holdings of their library virtually. Hence, old searches of catalogue cards: author, title, subject are now turned onto new searching systems that embraces Boolean searches. Users can search with combinations of author, keywords, subject, publisher, title, year, and ISBN.

Preservation or conservation has taken a new dimension with modern electronic technology. Librarians are to ensure that materials are well-shelved, shelves dusted, good ventilation, and lightning. The most important documents are kept in acid free boxes and in a controlled temperature level. All these are done to elongate the life span of library collections. Furthermore, digitization of important materials that may deform due to age and weather condition are being carried out by information professionals. A librarian identifies materials to be digitized, clears copyright issues, digitizes, provides metadata, and acquires software to make such resources available, as well as its maintenance in form of digital library. Users can simultaneously search and use the information for teaching, learning, and research. However the original documents will still be kept for generations to come (Fabunmi et al. [10]).

Moreover, institutional repositories are now gaining ground especially in developing countries. It is a form of preserving our cultural heritage and institutional output generated by members of such community. Librarians receive such works and update them in the institutional repository. This enhances better visibility of the institution, its achievements, and fosters collaboration with researchers around the world. Software being used for institutional repositories are: Green stone, D-Space, E-Print, and others. Most institutions and organizations within Nigeria utilize institutional repositories, for instance, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the University of Jos, the University of Nigeria, and the Federal University of Technology. Some of the Nigerian universities use D-Space software and the University of Ibadan is about to adopt same software for their institutional repository. Also, institutions in the developed world mostly use D-Space, followed by E-Print. From time to time, information technology and its ephemerals are dynamic; hence, hardware and software, used for better visibility, accessibility, sharing, preservation of learning, teaching, and research, which are the heartbeat of any institution, requires upgrading and updating from time to time. This would prevent such resources from becoming obsolete, being cut off from other resources, or being left behind. This may also deny users access to necessary or needed information for learning, teaching, and research at any particular point in time.

Information services are another important work of librarians. If patrons do not patronize the libraries either physically or remotely, then all effort to acquire, organize, circulate, and preserve learning, teaching, and research resources is worthless. These kind of services include library loans, reserve, information literacy, interlibrary loans, referral and reference services, document delivery, registration of patrons for IP authentication for electronic resources access, and so on. Hence, there is need for awareness of these services to enable users to optimize its usage. Librarians create such awareness through: electronic newsletters, Ebulletins, Emails, promotional items, blogs, library webpage, YouTube, live chat, podcasting, and so on. These are innovative ways of passing information regarding libraries to its users. Users do not need to come to the library physically due to information technology that provides them with the remote access to needed resources from anywhere in the world. This is in line with Ramos (2007) and Singh and Pinki ([25]).

Personnel management entails forecasting labor demand and availability of workers with the skills required to meet the research library demand. The librarian ensures that hired staff have the job specification skills and abilities needed to successfully perform the job. Orientation is a vital induction to help employees learn more about the research institution served and familiarizes staff, especially new staff, with the vision and mission of the institution and its relationship with library products and services, as well as what is expected of them. Training and career development on the job should be encouraged to enhance staff, putting their best into their productivity. Appraisal and compensation should be done timely to encourage motivation (Gomez-Mejia and Balkin [12]).

Capacity building is an issue affecting the progress of the profession. Many librarians in Nigeria possess outdated skills that do not fit the twenty-first century library functions. This could be attributed to the non-exposure to current skills required due to inadequate library funding.

Most of the research libraries in Nigeria face the problems of infrastructural facilities which deny them of better ways of serving the research community.

Resources in libraries are no longer current. Obsolete TLR materials are found due to inadequate funding. Even when we have hard copies, the possibility of distribution to users at the same time is slim due to insufficient numbers of copies available. The exchange rates and the economic meltdown have also contributed to this issue. Power supply problems are also a serious issue in Nigeria, which affects almost every activity of human endeavor in which the research library is part. Some libraries resulted in using generators while some library activities stand still until the government power supply returns. Use of generators consumes a lot of fuel, and its servicing and maintenance is very expensive to sustain.

There is need for regular training of librarians. Training of librarians and other information professionals is important. This concurs with Sampath Kumar and Biradar ([23]), Singh and Pinki ([25]), Ukachi ([26]), Komolafe-Opadeji ([14]), Ajidahun ([2]), Nwalo ([16]), and Buckland ([8]). It should be prioritized and observed from time to time to enable them to remain current and relevant in supporting the vision, mission, and objectives of the institution served. Such training could be national, international, or both as deemed fit, and grants, fellowships, exchanges, and sponsorships should be made available to librarians. There should be room for hands-on practice of new skills acquired, as well as the opportunity to pass on such knowledge to other professionals through training the trainer. This could be carried out on a monthly or quarterly basis, as in house workshops or seminars on different areas of librarianship.

There is need for investment in infrastructural facilities in our libraries that would foster better services for the research community and promote better relationships with sister libraries around the world. This would also embrace consortium building, resource sharing, electronic document delivery, teleconferencing, and joint online public access catalogue (JOPAC). This would make resources richer in serving a larger research community.

There is need for more acquisition and subscription to more online resources which would avail the research community of the opportunity to simultaneously access and use research materials within the library, within the community, and even remotely. Furthermore, the BBC News ([5]) reported that the well-known 32-volume print edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica was ending and would now focus on digital expansion. This implies that more and more intellectual resources will be made available predominantly in electronic format, and libraries will have no choice but to fall in place with its acquisition to enable users its access.

Furthermore, the Federal Government of Nigeria should seriously quicken the solution to the electric power supply problem of the country. This will help libraries operate on minimal use of diesel generators. Huge money spent on fuel and maintenance of generators will be utilized wisely for other library needs.

This article has established the following as the roles of librarians in a research library: collection development, knowledge management, preservation of resources, users' services, and personnel management. Information professionals are in a dynamic world as a result of information technology and its invaluable opportunities that avails the profession. Problems of obsolete skills as a result of the lack of capacity building to meet the digital era responsibilities should be given urgent and adequate attention. When due attention is given, this will equip the librarian for the present and future digital era duties and responsibilities in a research library. Hence, the government, institutions, and organizations should embrace capacity building of staff, which would enhance their relevance on the job and increase productivity.

The problem of dwindling funds experienced by libraries, especially research libraries (Ola [18]; Odeneye [17]; Oyelude and Ola [19]), should be looked into, to prevent derailment of on-going research. If a reasonable amount of money is allocated to such libraries, it would enable librarians to fully maximize their products and services in the research library and, in turn, enhance and encourage exceptional scholarly research which could lead to better informed and developed nation, partnership, and collaboration with other researchers around the world.