Librarians and Media Collections Specialists

People in this career often have these skills:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

People in this career often do these activities:

• Process library materials.
• Teach others to use technology or equipment.
• Select educational materials or equipment.
• Search information sources to find specific data.
• Maintain operational records.
• Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.

• Help patrons use library or archival resources.
• Direct department activities.
• Confer with others to conduct or arrange operational activities.
• Classify materials according to standard systems.
• Plan community programs or activities for the general public.
• Troubleshoot equipment or systems operation problems.
• Diagnose equipment malfunctions.
• Develop policies or procedures for archives, museums or libraries.
• Inspect materials or equipment to determine need for repair or replacement.
• Train staff members.
• Direct activities of subordinates.
• Develop library or archival databases.
• Attend training sessions or professional meetings to develop or maintain professional knowledge.
• Compile specialized bibliographies or lists of materials.
• Collaborate with other teaching professionals to develop educational programs.
• Negotiate purchases or contracts.
• Order instructional or library materials or equipment.
• Maintain inventory records.
• Maintain the inventory of equipment.
• Inventory materials or equipment.
• Serve on institutional or departmental committees.
• Operate audiovisual equipment.
• Construct exhibits or parts of exhibits.

• Computer User Support Specialists

• Network and Computer Systems Administrators

• Business Teachers, Postsecondary

• Education Teachers, Postsecondary

• Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary

• Archivists

• Curators

• Audio and Video Technicians

• Broadcast Technicians

• Sound Engineering Technicians