New Document on Competencies for Librarians in Canadian Research Libraries

 The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) has released the final version of Competencies for Librarians in Canadian Research Libraries which is intended "to assist with personal and organizational goal setting while providing a context for recruitment and professional development":

"The competencies may be applied in CARL libraries for strategic planning or restructuring purposes, or in the development of mission and vision statements. Schools of library and information studies may consult them for curriculum development purposes or to prepare graduates for job interviews. Employers may find them useful for recruitment of new librarians, in training and development, and to assist those transitioning into new roles within the research library."

"The Competencies represent a range of knowledge, skills (often cited in the document as 'Knowledge of...' or ‘Ability to…’), and mindsets (often cited in the document as ‘Understanding…’) for librarians in research environments. Librarians will learn and develop their own competencies over a period of time and not all competencies will necessarily apply to every position. Individual libraries may want to place more emphasis on select aspects only, depending on their unique environments, the nature of individual academic or research librarian positions in question, or as levels of specialization in the profession evolve. To build flexibility throughout, CARL has taken an aspirational approach in developing the Competencies document with firm grounding in the fundamental principles of the profession. The aim is to match a set of aspirational values to the knowledge, skills and mindsets that are required for success in academic librarianship in Canada."