10/23/2017 The Job Outlook: In 2030, Librarians Will Be in Demand | Editorial

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You are here: Home / The Job Outlook: In 2030, Librarians Will Be in Demand | Editorial

The Job Outlook: In 2030, Librarians Will Be in Demand |

Editorial
By Rebecca T. Miller on October 17, 2017 5 Comments

A fascinating new report takes a fresh look at

what the workforce is going to look like in the future
and which skills will be highly sought after. According
to “The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030”, there
will be an increased call for librarians, curators, and
archivists, among other occupations.

That’s just the start of the finds in this exploration of

RECENT & POPULAR
where humans will fit in the future, complementing
rather than being completely supplanted by Recent Posts Most Commented Most Viewed
automation. The report—released on September 28
by Pearson, Nesta, and Oxford University—asks how Kansas City Public Library Raises
work will be impacted by the intersection of seven Minimum Wage for Employees
“megatrends.” Change driven by new technology,
including the rise of automation, is right up top. The
others are globalization, demographic change, environmental sustainability, urbanization, rising Virtually There | Product Spotlight
inequality, and political uncertainty.

The report considers globalization but focuses solely on the impact on the UK and the United States. “In
the U.S., there is particularly strong emphasis on interpersonal skills. These skills include teaching,
Library People News: Hires, Promotions,
social perceptiveness, service orientation, and persuasion,” it notes. The “findings also confirm the
Retirements, and Obituaries
importance of higher-order cognitive skills such as complex problem solving, originality, fluency of ideas,
and active learning.” Charleston Conference Preview
2017: The Past is Prologue
“The Future of Skills” is something to read when thinking about the evolution of our work in libraries [as
is our annual report on placements and salaries “Librarians Everywhere,” which provides a look at
what’s happening today]. Perhaps more important, it can help inform library leaders’ strategic direction Supporting Social Justice in the
as they consider how to shape services to support people of all ages through a time of rapid evolution. Community
How will the people libraries serve be impacted by these megatrends, how will they need to learn, and
what skills will they need to develop in order to thrive?

“Although the advance of automation and artificial intelligence may feel like a losing battle to some, Mainland Libraries Aid Maria

individuals will need to focus on developing the uniquely human skills identified in this research,” the Victims with Money, Mapathons

report states in a section on the implications for individual people.

According to the report, we will all also need to learn new things and develop new skills throughout our Knight Foundation, Aspen
lifetimes. To help, the authors include an extensive “Glossary of Skills” mentioned in the document and Institute Launch Trust, Media and
offer recommendations for educators and employers. Democracy Initiative

There’s no doubt in my mind that libraries and those who work in them are here for the long haul. This
report can and should stimulate conversation about how to make the long run ahead as relevant as
possible for the many people who depend on libraries for the tools they need. INFODOCKET BY GARY PRICE

Open Access: Stephen Hawking’s PhD Thesis

Goes Online For First Time
THE TOP 10 OCCUPATIONS Reference Resource: Vermont PBS and Vermont
International Film Festival Debut VAMP (Vermont
Below are the occupations classifications most likely to experience increased demand in 2030 out
Archive Movie Project) Online Database
of the 772 tracked by the U.S. government.
Curators Top Picks of George Peabody Library’s
(Johns Hopkins University) Treasures

1
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10/23/2017 The Job Outlook: In 2030, Librarians Will Be in Demand | Editorial

1 Preschool, Primary, Secondary, and Special Education School Teachers Conference Paper: “Crowdsourcing the Dewey
Decimal Classification: When Users Become
2 Animal Care and Service Workers
Contributors”
3 Lawyers, Judges, and Related Workers
Digitized Rare Books: Library of Congress
4 Postsecondary Teachers Introduces Rare Book and Special Collections
5 Engineers Division Web Portal
6 Personal Appearance Workers Reuters: “Trump to Release JFK Files, Subject to
7 Social Scientists and Related Workers ‘Further Information’
8 Counselors, Social Workers, and Other Community and Social Service Specialists
9 Librarians, Curators, and Archivists ADVERTISEMENT

10 Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers

SOURCE: THE FUTURE OF SKILLS: EMPLOYMENT IN 2030

This article was published in Library Journal. Subscribe today and save up to 35% off the regular
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About Rebecca T. Miller

Rebecca T. Miller (miller@mediasourceinc.com) is Editorial Director, Library Journal
and School Library Journal.

Filed Under: Careers, Editorial, LJ in Print Tagged With: LJ_2017_Oct_15, The Future of Skills
Discussion: View 5 Comments

Comments

Jose Rodriguez says:

October 17, 2017 at 2:10 pm

What about healthcare? Nurses and Physicians? Did they not make the top 10 list?

Reply

pigbitinmad says:
October 18, 2017 at 5:16 pm

All I know is that if the jobs of the future depend on “likability,” (and the corrollary of being
a “people person”) I may as well give up now. That’s the one skill I neither I or people like me cannot
learn.

Automation is great if you are an extrovert. If you are introverted and cannot join the upper genius
echelon, you may as well kill yourself now.

Reply

Tim Dodge says:

October 19, 2017 at 3:13 pm

Well, as someone who will turn age 73 in 2030, I expect to be retired by that point but,
who knows? Glad to know that if I still need to be in the workforce that I likely will still have a future.
About 20 years ago I was worried I might be obsolete before being eligible to retire thanks to the rise
of the Internet, disappearance of print journals, and students and administrators thinking a physical
library was on its way out. Glad to still be employed here now at age 60. Hoping to work another 5-
10 (by choice) and glad to see that my fears of obsolescence may be overblown in case I might still
need to work in 2030!

Reply

FEATURED JOBS
Kyle Banerjee says:
Town of Prescott Valley
October 21, 2017 at 3:49 pm
10.02.17 Prescott Valley, AZ
What happened to librarians evaluating the information sources?
Sales Consultant - Northeast Region
This “report” is just marketing copy by a company whose raison d’etre is selling the ideas in their EnvisionWare
conclusions. Their projections are way out of whack with other studies out there. 10.20.17 Work from home

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10/23/2017 The Job Outlook: In 2030, Librarians Will Be in Demand | Editorial
Since occupations tracked by the government are mentioned, seems like Bureau of Labor Statistics
Library Manager - Micanopy Branch
might be a good place to look, maybe even the Occupational Outlook Handbook…
Alachua County Library District
Reply 10.18.17 Micanopy, Alachua County,
FL

New York and Brooklyn Public

Pamela Benjamin says: Libraries - Director, BookOps
October 21, 2017 at 8:27 pm
New York & Brooklyn Public Libraries
All I can say is that nobody has a crystal ball, but things are rarely neither as good or 10.12.17 New York, NY
bad as perceived. I doubt librarianship will be demolished as field nor will we necessarily be in high
User Services Librarian - Tenure Track
demand. I do believe that in the face of pervasive automation, our human touch will be a primary
saving grace. We will need to be more than info gatekeepers. We are moving into the world of
concierge level assistance – including those much feared third rails of social services – medical and ABOUT LIBRARY JOURNAL
legal help. Go to the damn need and fill it.
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