Core competencies in the professional practice of the library and information science programme

Abstract

A professional practice is a type of internship, a practicum, that encompasses a supervised hands-on training experience for students to develop and identify the core and enabling competencies required in a professional environment. It also allows them to identify the developed and underdeveloped skills that are important in the labour environment while still undergoing an academic training. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to determine the core and enabling competencies required and developed by the students coursing the Library and Information Science Programme at Universidad Tecnologica Metropolitana during their professional practices carried out from 2019 through 2021. To this end, a questionnaire with open and closed-ended questions was used as data collection instrument. It was applied to a sample of 64 graduates from this Programme, out of a universe of 70 students in addition to a focus group to delve deeper into the answers obtained. The results established that both core and enabling competencies had been relevant in their professional practice. The most relevant core competencies were those related to information and knowledge services; information analysis and data retrieval; and organisation of data, information and knowledge assets meanwhile the most relevant enabling competencies were communication, teamwork and adaptability.

Keywords

Professional practice internship librarianship library and information sciences competencies skills

1. Introduction

A professional practice is an academic subject matter akin to an internship included in the curriculum of a professional degree programme. It involves students putting into practice the theoretical knowledge acquired during their academic training process while immersed in a real learning environment.

In higher education, most universities offer programmes that include a practical professional experience through this course, and Library and Information Science is no exception. While in some North American curricula there is a current trend not to include a mandatory practicum or professional practice internship in their curricula (Juznic & Pymm, 2016), in general, worldwide, most librarianship programmes continue requiring a professional practice as a mandatory component in the training and preparation of future professional librarians.

A professional practice is central to educating future professionals, as it provides them with an opportunity to gain experience and understanding of the day-to-day activities and challenges amid an institutional environment in real-life situations. According to Bird et al. (2015) “Internships play a key role in professional education by exposing students to real life professionals, their everyday activities and the challenges of an institutional environment. Students who participate in these opportunities gain a better understanding of their chosen profession and are better able to connect theory and practice.” Sargent et al. also mention that field work helps students develop a professional identity and find a librarian mentor for career guidance (2011).

In the case of the Library and Documentation Science professional degree programme offered by the Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana de Chile (UTEM), the professional practice internship takes place during the programme’s tenth semester, and it is held only once the student has approved all the required courses up to the ninth semester. The professional practice has a duration of 640 hours and is divided in 600 work hours and 40 hours to prepare a final report that accounts for the activities therein performed.

This internship is designed as a programmed work placement within an information unit, and may be carried out in libraries, documentation centres, archives, museums or other organisations connected to management of information. These centres may be chosen by the students according to their interests; however, they must be validated by the Practice Coordinator, to verify that the activities that will be performed relate to the objectives of the course. It is supervised by a Practice Tutor from the information unit, usually a librarian guide; however, this is not an excluding factor and the tutor may be another professional if there are no librarians in the unit. In addition, the School of Library Science will appoint an Advisor to supervise the students’ performance and provide guidance during the entire process.

This supervised training experience enables students to develop the core competencies of the discipline, bringing to life the education acquired in the classroom in a practical setting and laying the foundations for the new graduates’ future training and professional development (Khan, 2022). “The essence of library practicum is to let the students go through a variety of tasks and learning experiences in a range of library operations such as acquisition, cataloging, circulation, public services and the like. It provides students an opportunity to apply the theoretical learning of the classroom in real-world settings” (Malik & Ameen, 2010). It is essential for students, as it allows them to recognise the essential competencies they will need to function in a professional environment, as well as to identify the developed and undeveloped skills from their academic training, that are important in a work environment. In addition, this internship provides UTEM’s School of Library Science with relevant information related to the competencies that the market will require from new and future graduates. This allows for curricular decisions-making in order to update the curriculum according to the needs that arise in the work environment, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, which generated changes in the work contexts, and possibly involves requirements for new competencies and skills from the graduates.

In light of the above, the goal of this research is to determine the core and enabling competencies required and developed by UTEM’s Library and Information Science Programme students in their professional practice internships between 2019 and 2021.

2. Literature review

Competency as a concept is essential to understanding education today as it is an organising pillar in curriculum development at all educational levels. “Competency-based education is focused on the individual needs, learning styles and potential of the students, so they can master the skills and abilities identified in the labour field” (López, n.d., p. 2). Therefore, a competency-based approach education does not focus on “the transfer of knowledge, which constantly becomes obsolete, but rather on mastering basic competencies, which enable [students] to acquire knowledge by themselves” (Kulik et al., 2020).

Competencies are multifaceted, and for individuals they “encompass their full range of knowledge, skills, attitudes and capabilities in the personal, professional or academic sphere, gained in different ways and at all levels (from the most basic to the most advanced), and whose implementation results in a better performance, which in turn, contributes to the achievement of their goals” (Galdeano and Valiente, 2010). According to Martínez and Sauleada (2005), “it refers to internal capacities, skills, abilities, mastery, practices or expertise achieved by the learner, and therefore requires student-centred teaching and assessment that does not only take into account the knowledge acquired from the curricular content, but also procedural know-how. It is the ability to respond to complex demands and to carry out diverse tasks appropriately. It involves a combination of practical skills, knowledge, motivation, ethical values, attitudes, emotions and other social and behavioural components that are mobilised together to achieve effective action.”

In other words, competency-based learning implies that the learner not only possesses or acquires certain skills, attitudes and knowledge, but must also be capable of mobilising these resources at their disposal, knowing when and how to apply them in different contexts. That is to say, competencies cannot be reduced to knowledge as they require action. A competency is “a personal ability that is made visible by displaying successful behaviour in a specific contextual situation. A competency is dynamic over time and can be developed to a certain extent. A competency consists of an integrated set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, where also personal characteristics and professional functioning aspects influence in some way the development of competencies” (Dochy & Nickmans, quoted in Koenen et al., 2015).

Competency involves the ability to use the knowledge and skills acquired in the workspace to achieve a goal or solve a problem (Reynaud cited in Suleman, 2016). It also connects education to the requirements of the labour market.

Due to the above, one of the most important aspects of competency-based education is to connect learning with practice, ideally generated in authentic environments that allow articulating theoretical knowledge with practice. Teaching based on authentic teaching/learning activities allows students to reinforce their competencies in a real context. In this sense, internships represent a space where theoretical-practical-attitudinal learning can be experienced. These internships are therefore instances where “students put into action what they have learnt in the classroom regarding micro, meso and macro skills, as well as professional values and following ethical codes of conduct” (Williamson et al., cited in Concha-Toro et al., 2020). Librarianship is no exception. According to Chambers (2015), Library and Information Sciences Practice allow students “to work in real world settings, guided by experienced supervisors and help them in exploring career options and provide potential employers a valuable perspective on a student’s interests”. Practice is an “experience is very relevant to graduate students of LIS because it creates the opportunity for them to practice what they have learnt in the library school” (Ebiye, 2015). Thus, “it is common for Library and Information Science (LIS) programmes to require students to undertake some form of practicum as part of their studies in order to build a better understanding of the connection between theory and professional practice” (Južnič & Pymm, 2016).

3. Competencies and the working environment

For a long time, the labour market demanded that universities train professionals that could enter the labour world successfully. Employers stated that higher education graduates had adequate theoretical knowledge, however difficulties in recognising when and how to use it. They also argued that in some cases, these graduates lacked the skills to interact with other professionals or join multidisciplinary work teams. This led to the implementation of the Bologna Process and the introduction of a competency-based educational paradigm. The goal of this process was to bring academic training, in terms of knowledge and skills, closer to the requirements demanded by the knowledge-based society (Bartual and Turmo, 2015). As a result, higher education institutions tend to “formulate academic, competency and professional qualification criteria that respond to the demands of the labour market and make it possible to respond to current educational, labour and social challenges” (García and Pérez, 2008).

For Ávila (2016), training by competences implies that universities must pay particular attention to the labour market, whose demands are becoming increasingly specific and require a greater degree of specialisation. Furthermore, it is necessary to understand the perception of the student facing the demands that emerge from specific needs, which must be met not only with knowledge and skills, but also with an attitudinal acquis that reflects the character and social commitment of the institution that trained her/him.

Given that higher education is called upon to prepare its pupils for the labour world, it is crucial to know the competencies required by the labour market. There are two categories of competencies: 1) technical competencies also known as core or specific competencies, which relate to the professional practice and strongly connect the areas of knowledge; and 2) cross-disciplinary competencies which are also known as enabling, soft, personal or employability skills. These competencies refer to competencies that go beyond technical matters, but also relate to the professional practice (Abelha et al., 2020).

Both types of competencies are expected to form part of the profile of higher education graduates so they can effectively develop their professional activity. Both general competencies -useful in any workplace and those specific to a job or occupation are required for a successful insertion in work environments. Even authors such as Belchior-Rocha et al. (2022), point out that to be able to face scenarios of change, as well as the uncertainty and complexity in today’s world, it is necessary to develop in students the specific knowledge in each area of knowledge, together with transversal and soft skills, as this will increase their adaptation, resilience and social responsibility levels so much needed currently.

In this regard library science education is no exception. The modern librarianship scenario, where users have ever-changing information needs and increasingly advanced information technologies requires professionals with competency-based training capable to adapt to these times

4. Competences of librarianship

Due to the above, various globally recognized library associations have developed frameworks that establish the fundamental basic competencies for library science professionals. In 2023, the American Library Association (ALA) published the ALA’s Core Competences of Librarianship, an update of its 2009 policies. The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals – CILIP, developed the Professional Knowledge and Skills Base, a skills standard for the information sector, knowledge, library, and data. In 2016, the Special Libraries Association (SLA) approved the document Competencies for Information Professionals. For its part, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) developed the “ALIA Skills, Knowledge and Ethics Framework for the Library and Information Services Workforce in consultation with sector representatives, industry practitioners, educators and with the oversight of a cross-sectoral industry advisory board and the ALIA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Expert Advisory Group” (ALIA, 2023). In April 2022, IFLA published the IFLA Guidelines for Professional Library and Information Science (LIS) Education Programs. As Saunders (2019) notes, “The proliferation of standards suggests that while there might be core competencies and foundational knowledge that cut across the information professions, there are also specialized skills and specific knowledge to different information settings and different job functions” and different contexts.

These frameworks and others prepared by organizations related to library science aim to serve as a framework to establish minimum competencies that allow information professionals to develop successfully in the professional and work world. The frameworks are not normative, but they offer guidance regarding the professional and generic skills that a librarian should develop, as a basis for their professional performance. The Special Libraries Association (SLA) competency framework was selected because the competencies incorporated to it have a higher degree of coherence with the graduate profile related to the undergraduate program where the study was conducted.

Training in library science schools should include these competencies, in addition to paying constant attention to the new skills required by the world of work. Nowadays, this is essential, due to the dizzying technological advances, new skills are emerging to be developed by information professionals.

5. Methodology

Once the framework of the study was established, descriptive research was developed, since it sought to gather information and evidence on the development of professional practices to answer the research question. The descriptive field “seeks to specify the properties, characteristics, and profiles of people, groups, communities, processes, objects or any other phenomenon that is the object of an analysis”. This scope directly describes the impact of intensive reading on the development of a competent reader (Hernández-Sampieri et al., 2014, p. 126). This was developed with a mixed approach in which quantitative and qualitative methods were systematically integrated to achieve a more complete perspective of the phenomenon.

To develop the research, the students of the course who held their internships between 2019 and 2021 were consulted on aspects related to the competencies required from them during their internship process using a survey method.

The in-house data collection instrument -based on the literature review and on the document Competencies for Information Professionals developed by the Special Libraries Association (2016). This framework was chosen because the competencies it mentions are related to the competencies that the program declares in its graduation profile. The instrument had a Likert scale with a total of 5 indicators ranging from “strongly agree” to strongly disagree. It was validated by 5 students and 5 experts, who evaluated the degree of coherence and clarity for each of the affirmations presented.

The validation by students and experts was carried out through a matrix, where the degree of coherence and clarity of each of the questions was consulted on a rating scale from low to high level. In addition, comments were collected on the wording of the questions for greater precision. The instrument was made up of 10 affirmations related to the competencies used by the students during their internship and their level of relevance. Of these, six were close-ended questions and four were open-ended questions.

The survey was designed in Google’s survey management software -Google Forms- and was emailed to all students of the UTEM Library and Information Science Programme who completed their professional practice between 2019 and 2021. This amounted to a total of 70 students: 15 in 2019, 11 in 2020 and 44 in 2021. The instrument was available for completion from 15 September to 15 November 2022, and was responded by 64 interns in the professional practice, representing 91.4% of the participating population.

Subsequently, focus groups were organised in order to gather more in-depth opinions regarding their practice process. Three focus group sessions were held with 12 participating students An informed consent protocol was used for both the survey and the focus group, which explained the objective of the research and that the use of the data collected would be used with total anonymity. All these elements are in compliance with the ethics regulations of the Universidad Tecnologica Metropolitana (UTEM) for research in the social sciences.

The data obtained was processed using free statistical software InfoStat. As mentioned above, the instrument had 5 indicators ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. A number was assigned to each of the five indicators where 1 was associated with “strongly disagree” and 5 with “strongly agree.” Subsequently, using statistical software, categories were obtained for each variable associated with the numerical coding of the indicators, extracting frequency and percentage for each of the responses. For the word clouds, a frequency count was performed for each of the associated questions, highlighting those that had a higher rate of repetition among respondents.

6. Results

The findings of this research have allowed determining the core and enabling competencies required by UTEM’s Library and Information Science students in their professional practice, carried out between the years 2019 and 2021. The definition of each competency is based in the document Competencies for Information Professionals developed by the Special Libraries Association (2016).

The following are the results and the analysis per type of competency.

6.1 Competency 1: Information and knowledge services

This competency relates to the capability to satisfy the information and knowledge necessity of organizations and communities by providing a vast array of services. It includes aspects such as being able to identify the needs of information and knowledge; provide information services to meet information necessities, teaching and training information literacy and associated skills, among others.

Table 1
Information and knowledge services competencies

Affirmation	The competencies in information and knowledge services were highly relevant in my internship.
Indicator	I strongly agree	I agree	Does not make a difference	I disagree	I strongly disagree
N^∘ of answers	26	34	3	1	0

Table 1 shows that 40% of the respondents strongly agree that competencies in the area of information and knowledge services were highly relevant in their professional practice. Furthermore, 53% of the respondents agree, resulting in an overall 93% of affirmative responses. Some 5% believe that such competencies did not make a difference and 2% disagree.

These statements do not correlate with the responses obtained through the focus group, where participants gave differentiated responses. Some acknowledged that they did not have to work directly with users, mainly due to the context of the pandemic. One of them indicated that “the librarian was directly in charge of providing services to users, she centralised the task, she didn’t delegate it to us (interns).” While another participant stated “I didn’t provide services directly to people I was allowed to do it seldomly, never was I allowed to do it much, not as much as I would have liked to, so I could have learnt more.” Another participant reported that “I didn’t work directly with people that would show up, because I was working on user experience matters, so once I had a meeting with a consultant and it was basically to work on information architecture.”

Among those who reported providing information services, they stated that it was done remotely: “it was through an online chat, where students could request information, they had schedules for each faculty” or “students were assisted via Teams by chat. They would log in with their institutional credentials and we had to answer and provide service with Teams every time they needed something or had questions on how it worked.”

6.2 Competency 2: Information and knowledge systems and technology

This competency relates to the ability to effectively use information and communication technologies to meet the information and knowledge needs of communities and organisations. It includes providing recommendations on information architecture; selecting and implementing information and knowledge systems; selecting and using information management tools, such as library management systems, content management systems, social media platforms and information retrieval and analysis tools; designing interfaces for an intuitive user experience, among others.

Table 2
Information and knowledge systems and technology competencies

Affirmation	The competencies in information and knowledge systems and technology were highly relevant in my internship.
Indicator	I strongly agree	I agree	Does not make a difference	I disagree	I strongly disagree
N^∘ of answers	38	18	7	1	0

Table 2 shows that 59% of the respondents strongly agree that the competencies in the area of information and knowledge systems and technology were highly relevant in their professional practice internship, while 28% of the respondents agree, resulting in an overall 87% of affirmative responses. Some 11% indicate that said competencies did not make a difference, while 2% disagree.

These affirmations are consistent with the responses obtained in the focus group, where the students acknowledge a relevant use of information and knowledge systems and technologies, especially due to situations like the 2019 social outbreak in Chile and the subsequent Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, which implied that a significant share of their activities had to be carried out by telework. Some noted that “we had to work remotely for a couple of weeks due to the outbreak. There were certain matters related to using some applications or platforms that we had already learned in class, and at that time, they were relevant to continue with the work from home” or “I mostly did my internship online $\ldots$ the use of ICTs was reflected there.”

Some of the participants reported on the use of technologies for specialised applications such as cataloguing and others: “What I used the most was cataloguing software, that was what I learned the most in school and it helped me, it was the first time I used it, and it helped. Knowing the basics of my programme helped, and then learning to use the software, which was very intuitive” or “In my experience, I had to use a lot of text programmes, write reviews and biographies to promote social networks, which I also used a lot.”

Another respondent indicated that “I had to design and model databases. It was quite a strenuous work I did not feel prepared for such knowledge and had to invest a lot of time to study it after hours. The database development was very demanding, what we had been taught was minimal. The standard was much more demanding than we were able to realise or understand in the programme.”

Participants also pointed out that “it was very relevant for me because we designed archetypes on design issues”, and also that “we had to telework for a couple of weeks as a result of the outbreak. We had to use certain applications or platforms that we had already studied at school, and they were relevant to keep working from home during that time.”

Finally, it was also stated that “I had to enter magazines or complete issues of magazines into Lilacs, create web content for the same library that was going to be uploaded on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram platforms, and I had a lot of work with databases. It was quite a comprehensive learning experience at a disciplinary level.”

6.3 Competency 3: Information and knowledge resources

Competency relates to the knowledge of the information resources available to meet the needs of the communities they serve. It includes aspects such as evaluating systematically new resources through the application of analytical frameworks and methods; providing resources of all types, media and formats to meet information requirements; analysing the effectiveness of existing resources; mapping information and knowledge assets available within the organisation to advise users on relevant resources; teaching others to critically evaluate information and information sources, among others.

Table 3
Information and knowledge resources competencies

Affirmation	The competencies in information and knowledge resources were highly relevant in my internship.
Indicator	I strongly agree	I agree	Does not make a difference	I disagree	I strongly disagree
N^∘ of answers	28	27	8	1	0

Table3 shows that 44% of the respondents strongly agree that the competencies in this area were highly relevant, while 42% of the respondents agree, resulting in an overall 86% of affirmative responses. Some 13% of respondents indicate that these competencies did not make a difference, while 2% disagree.

The focus group confirmed the results from the survey on this competency. One participant indicated that “In our case, in the regional library of Antofagasta, the national digital library is used. It contains the regional press publications of the time, which makes it easier for us since everything is digitised” or “In my case, as I did my internship in a bi-national, we worked with government databases from both countries. We used the primary government databases, and the secondary ones from what we found online.” Another participant pointed out that “I used several international databases to search for personal data, and also to research people on whom researchers had been looking up information.”

6.4 Competency 4: Information and data retrieval and analysis

This competency relates to the retrieval of complex information and the application of information analysis tools and methods to extract practical knowledge from the retrieved information. It includes developing sophisticated search strategies to retrieve information from various systems and repositories; operating search engines and information retrieval systems; using data analysis, text analysis, visualization and similar appropriate tools to analyse information to extract insights and meaning; communicating the results of information retrieval and analysis projects in a way that is usable by the intended audience, among others.

Table 4
Information and data retrieval and analysis competencies

Affirmation	The competencies in information and data retrieval and analysis were highly relevant in my internship.
Indicator	I strongly agree	I agree	Does not make a difference	I disagree	I strongly disagree
N^∘ of answers	40	19	5	0	0

Table 4 shows that 62% of the respondents strongly agree that the competencies in the area of information and data retrieval and analysis were highly relevant in their professional practice internship, while 30% of the respondents agree, resulting in an overall 92% of affirmative responses. Some 8% indicate that said competency did not make a difference.

The focus group reaffirmed the information obtained through the surveys regarding this competency. The participants indicated that they had to search and retrieve information on different aspects of their internships, regardless of the type of information unit they were working at. One of the participants in the focus group pointed out that “the newspaper makes chronologies; and I had to search for information on a page that has all the news of all the newspapers, I had to know how to search and analyse this information.” Another participant stated that “I had to research judicial processes in primary and secondary sources, I used information retrieval extensively.” They also pointed out having performed information analysis “we had to do benchmarking; the goal was to analyse YouTube videos to implement a pattern for the consultant. So having acquired these tools in the classroom was very good.”

Those who held their internships in museums also reported having used information and data retrieval and analysis and stressed the relevance of this skill: “It was very relevant, for I had to create content on notable characters for the museum (to raise awareness among people), so I had to do extensive data analysis to come up with a good publication” or that “I had to do lots of analysis, because the theme of the museum was very specific, so I had to be very mindful about relevant information.”

6.5 Competency 5: Organization of data, information, and knowledge assets

This competency has to do with data, information and knowledge assets organization, so they can be found, used and accessed during their defined lifecycle. It also has to do with establishing policies pertaining storage, classification and preservation. It includes applying standards for descriptive and thematic metadata for information assets developing customized metadata schemas generating retention and destruction policies and procedures based on legal requirements and the operational needs of the organization applying practices for the organization and management of information, among others.

Table 5
Organization of data, information, and knowledge assets competencies

Affirmation	The competencies in organization of data, information, and knowledge assets were highly relevant in my internship.
Indicator	I strongly agree	I agree	Does not make a difference	I disagree	I strongly disagree
N^∘ of answers	37	24	3	0	0

Table 5 shows that 58% of the respondents strongly agree that the competencies in the area of organization of data, information, and knowledge assets were highly relevant, while 38% agree, resulting in an overall 96% of affirmative responses. Some 4% indicate that this competency did not make a difference in their professional practice internship.

In this case, the focus group did not reveal the answers obtained through the survey, as several participants did not respond or reported not having used this competency. Among those who responded affirmatively, they indicated that “what I did every day was to feed the newspaper’s databases, and for that I used keywords so that the information could be retrieved later” They also pointed out that “everything I learnt in classes was useful for me to apply it, especially when the professors would ask for indicators.”

6.6 Competency 6: Information ethics

This competency relates to the ability to act on a moral and ethical basis and being alert towards issues that commonly arise when working with information and knowledge. It includes elements such as recognizing ethical issues associated with information handling (privacy, confidentiality and security of information, intellectual property and copyrights); with teaching, influencing and training others; contributing to policies, procedures and other information ethics initiatives, among others.

Table 6
Information ethics competencies

Affirmation	The competencies in information ethics were highly relevant in my internship.
Indicator	I strongly agree	I agree	Does not make a difference	I disagree	I strongly disagree
N^∘ of answers	34	19	9	2	0

Table 6 shows that 53% of the respondents strongly agree that the competency in the area of information ethics was highly relevant, while 30% agree, resulting in an overall 83% of affirmative responses. Some 14% believe that such competency did not make a difference and 3% disagree.

The focus group showed the importance that students attribute to ethics from different perspectives, whether it is handling user information or the correct use of information resources. Some participants pointed out that “it was important, because I handled information that should remain confidential, which due to the context the premises, is regarded as confidential” or “there were comments about the limited budget and we had to be careful when listening so as not to repeat the information” or “the archive contains information that cannot be made public… we must know how to work with this.”

Respecting copyrights and educating users on the issue is also an aspect mentioned by the participants: “I don’t work with sensitive information, but what I mostly see is how one conveys information: respecting copyrights, teaching how to make proper citations and references”.

6.6.1 Enabling competencies

Students were asked about the enabling [generic] competencies that were the most relevant during the course of their professional practice process through an open-ended question. The responses included thirty different concepts related with soft skills, of which the most frequently mentioned were communication skills ( $f=$ 33), teamwork ( $f=$ 23) and adaptability ( $f=$ 20). Figure 4 shows all the concepts mentioned by the respondents.

Figure 1.

Enabling competencies.

The focus group allowed us to learn in detail the aspects related to the context in which these competencies were used. One of the participants pointed out that “I never had problems relating to my colleagues and peers. It was somewhat harder with the students though; because it was a different world from mine, however it was never a barrier or something that prevented me from doing what I was doing, but it did make me nervous. I felt there was an evolution from when I started to when I finished the internship.” Another participant indicated: “Teamwork and assertiveness when communicating, taking on other type of tasks such as answering the phone, which required communication skills” Also, the following was mentioned regarding work with third parties: “It is important to be able to relate to one’s surroundings, being able to establish relationships with co-workers, supervisors, being able to communicate what we think when making a suggestion or about aspects where we do not feel comfortable.”

As for other soft skills, flexibility was crucial for those who developed their internships in the context of the pandemic: “The flexibility issue was difficult for me, because I am rather structured. So sometimes I want things to be very square, and because of the pandemic everything was so uncertain. Virtual work was hard on me, I needed to be very flexible so I could adapt to change.”

The ability to adapt was also relevant: “Adapting to the students, adapting to working physically in one place. Also adapting to doing virtually the same work that I did in person, was a transition.”

6.6.2 Strengths in the formal academic training

Participants in the study were asked two open-ended questions regarding the competencies they were able to identify as strengths and weaknesses in their training, once they had completed their professional practice internship.

The first question, related to the strengths, the answers included 43 different concepts, of which the most frequently mentioned were management ( $f=$ 7), cataloguing ( $f=$ 6), communication skills ( $f=$ 6), information analysis ( $f=$ 5), confidence ( $f=$ 5) and ICTs ( $f=$ 5). Of the total mentioned strengths, 21 correspond to enabling competencies such as communication, confidence, teamwork, autonomy, and adaptability, among others. The remaining 22 correspond to discipline-specific competencies such as information analysis, documentary description, information search and use of information technologies, among others.

The focus group made it possible to find out more about the strengths that the students perceive as part of their professional training, highlighting that “the programme provides quite a few organisational tools that can be used in any field of work” or “courses such as bibliographic description, information analysis and management helped me, particularly management, making reports, drawing up protocols. In the museum I created protocols for the use of Instagram which involves the step-by-step process of creating a publication. I also studied the users, because in order to create a publication we had to think what we were creating it for and who we were creating it for.” One of the participants stated that it was useful for her to “know how to search for information, manage primary and secondary sources, have the criteria to choose what is good and what is not in terms of information,” while another student pointed out something similar: “I appreciate what the programme provided us with, the structure to think about where and how to locate information.” Finally, what stands out is the learning related to the search, organisation and use of information: “The bibliographic references topic, using Zotero for example (bibliographic manager), primary and secondary sources, if you do not have a background in librarianship, there is no way for you to realise that you have those competencies.”

Figure 2.

Strengths in the formal academic training.

6.6.3 Weaknesses in the formal academic training

On the question related to weaknesses, the responses included 33 concepts, of which the most frequently mentioned were lack of practical experience ( $f=$ 6), document management ( $f=$ 6), use or implementation of library management systems ( $f=$ 6), archivistics ( $f=$ 4), communication skills ( $f=$ 3) and low frustration tolerance ( $f=$ 3). Out of the total number of weaknesses mentioned, 7 correspond to soft skills like communication and insecurity among others. While the remaining 26 correspond to professional competencies, such as bibliometrics, digitalisation, document management, museum training, non-text format analysis, and information unit management, among others.

The focus group provided more information on the weaknesses that participants recognised in their training. One of the aspects mentioned relates to interaction with other units: “To relate the study programme with other areas. Learning to interact with professors and students not only in the library.” The absence of other information units teaching us apart from libraries is also mentioned: “The main weakness is that it focuses very much on libraries, there are no other approaches; documentation centres have never been seen, neither have archives.”

One more aspect that stands out as a weakness is the digital transformation issue: “We weren’t taught anything on digital transformation, the institutions have to get prepared for this. We could make great contributions, not only in terms of transferring documents to digital formats, but also because the organisation could approach people offering digital processes.”

Soft skills are also acknowledged as a weakness: “I believe that the study programme does not promote soft skills. I know that a lot depends on the individuals’ personality, but I think they need to do a much more work in terms of fostering or strengthening that side of things. I think perhaps there could be classes or workshops on developing soft skills.”

Finally, it should be noted that one of the focus group participants considers that there are no weaknesses in the training: “I feel that it is very solid, what I learned was useful, I even used it in my internship.”

Figure 3.

Weaknesses in the formal academic training.

6.6.4 Competencies developed during the professional practice

Lastly, students were asked an open-ended question on the competencies they had the opportunity to develop during their internships. The answers included 43 different concepts, of which the most frequently mentioned were library management ( $f=$ 9), operation of library management systems ( $f=$ 6), management and use of databases ( $f=$ 5), digitalisation ( $f=$ 5) and archivistics ( $f=$ 4). Of the total number of competencies mentioned, 8 correspond to enabling competencies, such as communication skills, adaptability, autonomy and leadership, among others. The remaining 35 correspond to core competencies, such as technological mastery in various fields like repositories, wireframe construction and automation. In addition, various aspects of management are mentioned, such as project management, cultural and heritage management, document management, data management and information unit management.

Participants in the focus group provided more detail on the competencies they developed during their internship process. Teamwork methodology aspects stand out: “Here, the methodology consists in a weekly meeting, and according to that meeting, we get to discuss the activities that were not programmed, so there is a certain flexibility, the teams work together in a multidisciplinary way, which is not taught in school, because it is not possible.”

Another noteworthy aspect relates to the use of social networks as a work tool: “Something interesting I saw was the use of professional accounts on Instagram. They made us analyse what the users liked, what they didn’t like, the number of likes, the information uploaded, what they want, whether they want specialised information or information related to literature.”

There are also aspects related to the promotion of reading, but through up-to-date methodologies: “Gamification, which is more contemporary, can work much better than traditional reading promotion. We had third graders who couldn’t read. It is very difficult to promote reading in the library, but there are more allies we can work with playfully, like using audiovisuals, art or music, which are left out.”

Figure 4.

Competencies developed during the professional practice.

7. Discussion

A great degree of coherence can be appreciated between the results from the survey and the focus group. Similarly, competency nr. 5, connected with the organisation of data, information, knowledge assets, as well as the creation of policies for storage, classification and conservation, showed the highest levels of agreement among students with 96%. This is followed by competency nr. 1, regarding with information and knowledge services, with 93% of agreement. Next is competency nr 4, on information and data retrieval, with a 92% agreement. This is followed by competency nr. 2, on information and communications technologies and their effective use, with 87% of affirmative responses. Competency nr. 3, on information and knowledge resources, has 86% of affirmative responses, and finally, competency nr. 6, related to ethics, has 83% affirmative responses.

This high percentage of relevance given by the interns to the competencies, all of which were rated above 85% corroborates that this list of competencies defined by the Competencies Task Force -a specialised group of the Special Library Association are acknowledged as core competencies for professionals in the field of information.

In the case of the ethical aspect, the lowest rated affirmative response (83%), it might reflect the fact that students did not consider its relevance during the internship given that they relate ethics to the treatment of sensitive information, hence, this aspect takes on greater relevance for those who carried out their internship in archives, where the confidentiality of information is much greater than in a library. On the other hand, as trainees, they might not have faced ethical dilemmas, either because they were not involved in decision-making or because their work was reviewed and guided by an experienced information professional, who may have outlined the guidelines to perform the actions, without them dealing with any situation of ethical conflict. It may have happened that the type of activities carried out in the professional practice did not involve ethical aspects (e.g., cataloguing bibliographic material). However, there is an awareness of the importance of this issue in the case of students who carried out activities, such as teaching the use of information or applying bibliographic citation rules. Finally, this response rate may be related to the fact that the ethical aspect is not frequently addressed in their professional training. According to Rodríguez (2019), “there is the impression that the issue of professional ethics has little relevance in the plans and programs of schools, and that professional associations of librarians dedicate limited efforts to this aspect” (p. 32).

On another front, between 2020 and 2021, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the internships were held online, meaning that 79% of the students had their professional practices in this modality. However, during 2019 some students were also forced to intern remotely due to the social outbreak. The development of remote internships forced institutions and students to enhance their connection with society using non paid platforms and social networks. The networks are widely mentioned by the interns in their practices. This is due to the usefulness in collecting and analysing users’ needs, in order to reach diverse audiences, creating attractive content and providing visibility throughout the many information units This situation is like that experienced in different library science programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies show that although online professional internships did not allow people to experience traditional work in an information unit, it was possible to have a beneficial learning experience (Siler et al., 2021; Kobert, 2021; Kalová, T., 2020).

Concerning the generic and most frequently competencies used in the internship, the survey points at communication skills, teamwork and adaptability. This is supported by the focus group’s answers, indicating that due to the conditions in which the internships were held, there was no direct relationship with supervisors or other members of the workplace. With them, the virtual interaction spaces had to be fluid, to establish guidelines for the development of the internship. In terms of teamwork, the students indicated that it was necessary to rely on more experienced collaborators. Within on-site internships, it is possible to ask questions regularly or to see how the various internship centres work, but due to the off-site modality, it was difficult for the students to observe ask questions or clear up doubts they might have had regarding their functions. It is observed that the generic competencies indicated by the respondents as those most frequently used in practice are also mentioned in the literature referring to the soft competencies that are required to guarantee the professional success of library science graduates (Gabhane, 2014; Saunders & Bajjaly, 2021; Vedak, 2022).

In terms of the strengths in their training, disciplinary aspects such as management, cataloguing, information analysis and information technologies come up, as well as enabling competencies such as communication and confidence. It is worth mentioning that communication also emerges as a weakness in their educational training, therefore it is appropriate to ask whether this is an aspect that can be developed during professional training or whether each individual’s inherent characteristics influence the degree of development for this competency. As far as specific competencies are concerned, the fact that areas such as management, cataloguing and information technologies arise, is consistent with the number of courses that the programme offers in these areas. The curriculum has four IT classes, three on information unit management and four on cataloguing.

In terms of weaknesses, generic competencies such as communication, lack of practical experience and low frustration tolerance are mentioned, as well as specific competencies such as document management, archiving and the use of bibliographic management systems. In the case of those in the professional sphere, it comes as no surprise that library management systems appear most frequently given that students do not have software at their avail to learn. In this sense, the School of Library Science must upgrade its educational procedures in subjects such as Documentary Description I and II, where it is essential that students not only learn cataloguing principles and standards, but also generate procedural competencies in terms of the software required to process the technical aspects of bibliographic description. Nevertheless, it is important to note that despite their weakness in library management systems, the students acknowledge their training in cataloguing as a strength For instance they feel that they have an important theoretical knowledge despite not having experience in the use of a software to enter the information.

With regard to subjects such as document management and archiving, that also appear as weaknesses, even though the programme’s curriculum has a course for each of these subject matters, it does not count with enough hours for in-depth learning. When it comes to archiving, the situation is even more complex as it is an elective course, so only those interested in the area will have the opportunity to develop competencies.

On the lack of practical experience -another aspect considered weak- the programme has two instances for handson professional work or internships. The first, is during the fifth semester, and consists in a Workshop to apply the speciality, comprising 150 chronological hours, where students must carry out cataloguing and user service activities. The second instance, is the professional practice during the programme’s tenth semester, and consists of 640 chronological hours. Even if these are two significant occasions, there is still a need to create more practical experience for the rest of the subject matters. There have recently been some experiences applying the learning and service methodologies. This consists in developing active learning using the knowledge they have acquired up to that moment, in real contexts, by providing services to community partners with genuine needs. This way, a response is provided to a concrete need in a community and students are able to activate their knowledge and put it in practice. So far, the service-learning methodology has been applied for Documentary Information Analysis II (during 2020, 2021 and 2022) and Information Resources and Services in Science and Technology (during 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2023). Owing to their practically-oriented contribution, these experiences should be systematised and their continuity in the courses should be ensured. This would allow for students to have a first approach to real learning environments and feel better prepared for their performance in a professional practice Practice “provides the students with an opportunity to gain actual knowledge of operations, services, organization, and resources of a library and develop the habits, attitudes, and interests required for the profession” (Yadav, 2021, p. 9).

In terms of the enabling competencies, the wide-ranging need for training in these matters is striking. Although these competencies are presented as secondary elements in a curriculum that prioritises the development of core competencies, the programme has detected the relevance of soft skills and the difficulties caused by their underdevelopment in a professional internship. Consequently, between 2018 and 2020, the school’s administration generated activities implementing career improvement plans, aiming to bridge this gap. In 2018, a workshop called “Interpersonal Skills for Library and Information Science Students at the Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana” was prepared to address personal development, effective communication, human relations and conflict management and decision-making issues. The activity finally did not happen due to a coordination issue with the students. Following that, in 2019, a workshop on work readiness took place. It covered aspects such as perception of higher education training and future employment, self-confidence, perception of the labour market and job offers. Twenty-seven students from the programme attended the workshop. It should be noted that this workshop was compulsory for all students who had to do their professional practice. In 2020, the workshop “I Lead Myself to Lead: Skills for Life” was held for students to develop self-management and personal leadership skills that would enable them to take on and define their personal goals and objectives more efficiently in the academic and professional spheres. Thirty-one students enrolled, but only nine remained for the final session. It is also worth mentioning that, due to the pandemic context, the activity was carried out virtually. Despite these instances, there is still a gap in perceived generic competencies. The above may be since they are not being addressed with the appropriate methodology, which would cause these competencies to not be developed efficiently despite the initiatives implemented (Saunders & Bijjaly, 2021).

Finally, regarding the competencies developed during the internships, several of those relate to technological aspects such as repository construction, wireframe construction and automation. In addition, aspects such as data management is not addressed in the curriculum and is currently becoming more relevant as part of the librarians’ work. Other competencies developed in the professional internship relate to some of which the students indicated as weaknesses in their training, such as document management, archival and library management systems. This shows the relevance of the professional practice as a learning space for the students. Librarianship schools should understand the practice as “an important strategy to expose trainees to real life situations and to equip them with the necessary skills so that they would be job ready when they graduate” (Musonda et al., 2020, p. 376). In terms of generic competencies, communication is mentioned once again, i.e., it is a competency acknowledged as a strength as well as a weakness, and as an aspect that is highly used and developed in the professional practice This correlates with the findings of various studies that recognize communication as a competency of great importance for librarians’ employability and successful professional performance (Martins et al., 2021; Olubiyo, 2022; Lucas, 2020).

8. Conclusion

Establishing the management of competencies is fundamental in the professional practice internship. Not only core competencies are relevant, but enabling ones acquire real value. On account of that, library and information sciences education should consider them both in its students training process. Also, considering the low interest and participation students show in them, it is important that they understand how useful the workshops generated as a complement to their training are, especially those related to soft skills. However, during the course of their internships, students realise the importance of these aspects for a successful development of their practices within their information units Therefore, due to the importance that generic competencies have demonstrated for librarians (Yadav, 2021; Malik, 2021; Saunders & Bajjaly, 2022), it is suggested that library science programs include the development of generic competencies within the curriculum, and that they are not addressed indirectly with talks or extracurricular activities. Frameworks such as those mentioned in the literature review can guide library science programs to know what enabling competencies are required by librarians. The fact that generic competencies are not explicitly included in library science study programs can generate erroneous interpretation on the part of students, leading them to not consider them essential in their professional training.

Regarding the goal of this research, related to determining the professional and generic competencies required by the UTEM Library and Information Science students in their professional practice carried out between 2019 and 2021, we could establish that the core competencies related to information and knowledge services, information and data retrieval analysis, information and knowledge assets, were the most relevant during the process of their professional internships. While the most relevant enabling competencies were communication, teamwork and adaptability.

Therefore, it is appropriate to include soft-skill aspects in the training, as they are essential. Several studies demonstrate the relevance of soft skills for graduate employability, ranging from the perspectives of policy makers to those of employers and graduates (Sarkar et al., 2020). In that sense, particular attention should be paid to the requirements of new competencies, as a result from the uncertain contexts being experienced globally, mainly related to pandemics, automation and artificial intelligence, among others. According to a report from the McKinsey Global Institute, it is estimated that “as many as 375 million workers globally $-$ 14% of the global workforce- will likely need to transition to new occupational categories and learn new skills in the event of rapid automation adoption. If their transition to new jobs is slow, unemployment could rise and dampen wage growth” (2017, p. 7). Hence, it is imperative to prepare future librarians to function professionally in new work environments, where rigidity is replaced by flexibility and self-regulation in the tasks to be performed, where adaptability will be required to constantly develop new competencies, and where communication in diverse contexts and environments -on-site or virtual – is a cornerstone for professional success. Ideally, these skills should be developed as part of the curriculum and not as isolated workshops, since students often do not consider them relevant prior to their experience in their professional internships, resulting in low participation.

On the other hand, among the soft skills is ethics, which should be part of the training of library science students. It is worth remembering that according to IFLA (2012), “Librarianship is, in its very essence, an ethical activity embodying a value-rich approach to professional work with information”. The ethics of library science reflect its fundamental values, and therefore, according to Garmar “in order for those values and ethical responsibilities to be embraced by future generations of library workers, they must be a central learning outcome of any library education program” (2016, p. 10).

In terms of specific competencies, there is also a need to incorporate new knowledge to the curriculum. Document management and data management are aspects that should be strongly considered in librarian training, as well as the use of social networks as marketing tools for information units. The use of artificial intelligence, not addressed in this research owing to the date on which the information was collected, is a new element to be considered when training information professionals. In this sense, professional practices become relevant, because they allow library and information science schools to discover emerging areas in the discipline.

In short, based on the results and the literature, it is observed that the development of professional competencies in professional practice leaves gaps with respect to training, which generates dissonances between what the world of work requires and the skills that are developed in the workplace. This is a common aspect of the training of university students. Various authors point out that although it is possible for LIS students to develop these skills only in the classroom, it is unlikely that they will reach real mastery without experiential learning opportunities. That is the value of professional practice (Huggins, 2017; York et al., 2010; Goodsett, 2018). But in addition, the analysis of professional practices in relation to the needs of jobs must be fundamental to developing future curricular redesign processes with the aim of reducing these gaps.

Building upon the provided statement, it is crucial to underscore that a systematic exploration of the work environment, social dynamics, and ongoing scientific and technological advancements is indispensable. This comprehensive study is essential for understanding the evolving nature of professions, especially in the dynamic landscape of library science. By continually assessing the real competencies demanded by the swiftly changing market, educational institutions can adapt their programs to ensure students are well-prepared and confident as they step into the ever-evolving labour world.

As highlighted by Malik and Ameen (2020), identifying the evolving needs of the labour sector, particularly through immersive professional practices, enables library science schools to update their curricula. This proactive approach aligns their programs with contemporary requirements and positions graduates to meet the demands of emerging labour markets. Consequently, this strategic alignment could enhance the relevance and effectiveness of library science programs, ultimately leading to improved employment prospects for future graduates.

Quijano’s insight regarding professional practice emphasizes the invaluable role of feedback from both students and supervising librarians. This feedback serves as a dynamic source of information for LIS schools, offering real-time updates on the competencies demanded in current work settings. Armed with this knowledge, LIS educators can refine their teaching methodologies and strategies, ensuring that students are equipped with the precise knowledge and skills essential for success in the ever-evolving professional landscape (Quijano, 2015, p. 92). This iterative process of feedback and adaptation not only benefits individual students but also contributes to the continuous improvement and relevance of LIS education as a whole.

Footnotes

Appendix 1: Questionnaire

Professional Practice in Library Science

Dear Students: Below you will find a series of statements related to professional practice, specifically about the competencies required by the student during the internship.

The information will be recorded with total anonymity and will only be used for the purpose of this study.

Section 1

•

E-mail address:

•

Year of entry into the career:

•

Place of internship:

•

Year of internship:

Section 2

SKILLS USED BY STUDENTS DURING THEIR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE:

Below are several statements related to the competencies required in the professional practice of library science. Evaluate the level of influence that each of them had on your internship process. Consider that Strongly Agree means having complete agreement with the statement, and Strongly Disagree means that you completely disagree with the statement.

The competencies in the area of information and knowledge services were highly relevant in my professional practices.

The competencies in the area of information and knowledge systems and technologies (ICTs) were highly relevant in my professional practices.

The competencies in the area of information resources were highly relevant in my professional practices.

The competencies in the area of information and data retrieval and analysis were highly relevant in my professional practices.

The competencies in the area of organization of data, information, and knowledge assets were highly relevant in my professional practices.

The competencies in the area of information ethics were highly relevant in my professional practices.

What generic competencies (soft skills) were used in my professional practice?

After the professional practices, what strengths can I observe in my training?

After the professional practices, what weaknesses can I observe in my training?

10.

After the professional practices, what new knowledge/skills can I observe in my profession?

Thanks for your participation in this research.

Appendix 2: Focus group protocol

Focus Group Protocol

Introduction and objective

This proposal details the methodology for conducting focus groups to be applied in the context of the research to determine Core Competencies in the Professional Practice of the Library and Information Science Programme, which will be applied to students from different cohorts of the Librarianship and Documentation career of the Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (UTEM). The focus groups will be recorded and will be conducted online through the Zoom platform.

Methodology

Pre-application procedures

It is recommended to start with the following procedures.

Introductions

At the beginning of the focus group, the introduction of the professional/academic who will facilitate the focus group and the participants will be made.

Focus Group Protocols

An oral informed consent form is provided that explains the purpose of the focus group and the use of the data obtained only for the purposes of the research process and competencies in professional practice. It should explain that the conversation will be recorded in order to better analyze the information. In addition, it is indicated that the opinions of the participants will be used anonymously, without identifying by name the person who gives them.

The attendees must express in a clear and understandable way their acceptance or rejection of what is indicated in the previous point.

Explanation of the group interview process and indications for the conversation.

The microphones are asked to remain silent, except at the moment of participation.

Explain that in the conversation one person should speak at a time and not interrupt the other members while they are giving their opinions, in order to have clarity in the audio recording.

Since this is an online application, each person is asked to “raise his/her hand” to ask to speak.

Guidelines for the collection of information through the focus groups

An interview guideline will be applied with key questions to guide the conversation, which were obtained from the previously applied survey. This guideline will guide the professional who will facilitate the focus group.

The proposed questions are detailed below:

Do you think that competencies in the area of information and knowledge services were relevant to your professional practices?

Do you believe that competencies in the area of information and knowledge systems and technologies (ICTs) were relevant to your professional practices?

Do you believe that my data and information analysis and retrieval skills are relevant to your professional practices?

Do you think that competences in the technological area (use of software and internet) were relevant for your professional practices.

Do you think that the competencies in the area of information ethics were relevant to my professional practices?

What soft skills did you use during your professional practices?

After the professional practices, what strengths can I observe in my training?

After the professional practices, what weaknesses can I observe in my training?

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