Construction of University Librarian Team in the Context of Double First-Class Initiative

Jin MENG

Library of Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China

Abstract Data services, knowledge services, and information services are the core service elements of university libraries in the context of the Double First-Class Initiative. Combined with the current situation of insufficient overall service capacity of libraries, this paper proposed strategies and implementation paths for optimizing the service system from three aspects: the construction of the professional qualification system for librarians, the establishment of post institutions, and the construction of library culture. Long-term path: putting library human resource management into the legal track, taking the lead in local legislation, and promoting the construction of library legislation and professional qualification certification system; optimizing the personnel system, implementing hierarchical management and classified assessment for professional librarians and auxiliary librarians. Short-term path: intensive post allocation, namely, assigning the core strength in the core post, and tackling the temporary major work combining multiple forces in the form of a "working group"; building an open knowledge service ecosystem, accelerate the cross-border integration of libraries and other organizations, and striving to build the core competitiveness of libraries.

Key words University, Double First-Class Initiative, Construction of university librarian team

1 Introduction

As the literature and information resource center of the university, university library is an academic institution that serves talent training and scientific research. The creation of world-class universities and first-class disciplines is inseparable from the support of first-class libraries. Building a first-class teaching team, cultivating top-notch innovative talents, improving the level of scientific research, inheriting the excellent culture of innovation, and striving to promote the transformation of achievements are five tasks of Double First-Class Initiative, and are the three levels in the knowledge chain, namely data, knowledge, and information[1]. These three levels cover all the information needs of library users in the context of Double First-Class Initiative, and also represent the core content of library and information work in the new era. The library has developed from the ancient "book storing building" to the modern open library, digital library and intelligent library, and its value and function are constantly changing. However, as the main body of service, the role orientation of librarians has not changed much. The root cause of this contradiction is not only the personnel system, but also the level of understanding. Optimizing the librarian team system is not only related to the realization of the objectives and tasks of the Double First-Class Initiative, but also related to the transformation and development of the whole library cause.

2 Current situation of university librarians in China

TheRegulationsforLibrariesofGeneralCollegesandUniversities(2015) issued by the Ministry of Education stipulates that libraries of general colleges and universities are academic institutions serving personnel training and scientific research. Librarians include professional librarians and assistant librarians, and the number of professional librarians should not be less than 50% of the total number of librarians. Professional librarians should generally have master’s degree or above or senior professional and technical positions, and have received professional education or systematic training in library science[2]. According to theStatisticsoftheNumberofStaffinUniversityLibrariesissued on the website of the Steering Committee for Library and Information Work of Higher Education Institutions of the Ministry of Education, Cheng Huanwenetal.[3]counted the number of staff in 42 first-class university libraries from 2015 to 2018. They found that in 2018, on average, there were 1.09 librarians with doctoral degrees, 10.4 librarians with master’s degrees, and even fewer librarians with library science professional backgrounds. In 2021, Wu Hanhuaetal.[4]found that according to the data analysis submitted in the "University Library Fact Database of the Ministry of Education", about 80% of the librarians had a non-library science professional background, and the position was not much related to academic titles; the number of in-service librarians continued to decline, with a certain increase in academic degrees, with an average of 1.15 librarians with doctoral degrees and 10.2 librarians with master’s degrees in 2021. The number of master’s degree librarians in some Double First-Class Initiative universities such as Shanghai Jiaotong University continued to rise. Generally, at present, there is a certain gap between the academic level and professional background of university librarians and the regulations of Ministry of Education.

3 Content of construction of university librarian team in the context of Double First-Class Initiative

3.1 Promoting the construction of library professional qualification system and bringing library human resources management into the legal trackChina’s university library has developed from the ancient "book storing building" to the modern open library, digital library and intelligent library, and its value and function are constantly changing. The change in library function is accompanied by the change in librarian’s role, that is, from librarian, knowledge and information transmitter to "partner" of library users, participating in the process of user’s knowledge and information creation and utilization. The nature of the work has changed from transactional to business type, and the degree of specialization is more demanding. This is the role orientation of university librarians in the new era, which has been widely studied and demonstrated at the academic level, but is unsatisfactory at the practical level. Objectively, the phenomenon of "de-professionalization" in library recruitment is very common, such as low entry threshold, vague professional and ability requirements, marginalized status of librarians, and outsourcing of core business in libraries. Subjectively, the academic research ability of librarians is insufficient, the service work is mainly transactional work, and the deep-seated cooperation and communication with users is insufficient. The scientific research output of university librarians fully reflects this point. It is the premise and foundation for the sustainable development of librarianship to establish the library professional qualification certification system and ensure the professional status of the library and the professional quality of the practitioners. To promote the construction of library professionalization, it is necessary to regard library work as a specialized profession from the system and establish authoritative professional standards. Library law is the legal guarantee for the construction of library professionalization. Only when there are laws to abide by, can the feasibility and authority of library professional qualification certification be guaranteed.

3.2 Adjusting the organization setting and post responsibilities in a timely manner according to the changes in user demandsThe library is a growing organism. Its external environment is changing with the development of society, economy and technology, which is mainly reflected in two aspects of technology and user demands. Changes in technology include the spread of mobile devices, the widespread accessibility of electronic resources, and the rise of data science. Changes in user demands are reflected in changes in the content, depth and breadth of services. Changes in the business environment have prompted the restructuring and reform of institutional functions, and the job demand has changed to a diversified and composite direction. Correspondingly, the institutional setup should be developed in the direction of intensification and comprehensiveness. On the whole, it is necessary to do a good job in top-level design on the principle of "stable change, and setting up posts as per demands", scientifically layout the institutional system, adjust institutional functions in a timely manner, add new posts, and give new requirements and content to traditional posts. As far as the current situation is concerned, there is a general disconnection between "supply and demand" in China’s university libraries, that is, the mismatch between institutional settings and user demands, which will cause three problems. (i) The user cannot find a suitable service window, and the information request cannot be resolved. (ii) On-the-job librarians are unable to make the best use of their skills. (iii) It restricts the recruitment of outstanding professionals and hinders the transformation and development of libraries. For example, data services are greatly mature in foreign university libraries, and there are special posts and responsibilities. However, except Peking University and Fudan University, there are few posts and research data platforms named "data librarian" in domestic universities[5-6]. The five construction tasks of the Double First-Class Initiative revolve around talents and science and technology, while the introduction of talents and scientific and technological innovation can not be separated from information and scientific data. Intelligence information and scientific data are the main contents of data service. In short, data service is an important way to complete the five construction tasks of Double First-Class Initiative, but the position of data service is in blank.

3.3 Strengthening the construction of library culture and striving to build the core competitiveness of librariesAs for the elements of library competitiveness, different scholars have different research emphasis, but the mainstream view always focuses on the three elements of resources, services and management. Specifically, resources include collection resources, technology and equipment, human resources, library culture, and fund input,etc; service refers to the knowledge service and information service with the user’s demands as the core; management refers to the collaborative management and application of knowledge that embodies the core value of the library. Core competitiveness is the key element of competitiveness. It is difficult to copy and imitate. It has the characteristics of scarcity, irreplaceability and non-transcendence. It belongs to "soft power" and needs long-term cultivation, accumulation and inheritance. Library culture, goodwill and social welfare are invisible resources of libraries, and are part of the core competitiveness of libraries.

Library culture is the soul of the development of library cause. Library culture is defined inLibrary,InformationandDocumentationTermsas the sum of values, behavior, management system, spiritual outlook and psychological state formed in a series of activities such as the collection, collation, processing and transmission of documents, including material culture, institutional culture and spiritual culture. Material culture refers to the external architectural style, internal structural layout, spatial expansion, resource types and collection quantity of libraries. Material culture intuitively shows the humanistic connotation and value pursuit of libraries and is the basis of library culture. Institutional culture embodies the spiritual connotation of "people-oriented" in libraries, and is the guarantee of library culture. Institutional culture not only provides sound procedural norms for user services, but also creates a cultural atmosphere for librarians’ career development, such as personnel system, salary system, assessment system, training and continuing education system. Spiritual culture is the core of library culture. It is the sum of values, service concepts, service organizations and service standards formed with the core of "reader first, service first". The professional spirit, professional skills and service attitude of librarians are important reference indicators to consider the spiritual culture of libraries[7]. Library culture has a lasting penetration and plays an incentive and guiding role in the value orientation and behavior of librarians and users in a subtle way. Excellent library culture is conducive to enhancing internal cohesion and external competitiveness.

Goodwill and social public good also have the attributes of core competitiveness. In terms of documentation and information services, the identity of the library is the most pure, free, and equal. Free public image and library spirit have a long influence in the minds of users. Especially, the university libraries have won good reputation for libraries with the advantages of scientific and authoritative image, knowledge information base with complete disciplines, diversified talent resource base, humanized physical space, point-to-point service and communication, and sustained and stable financial support chain, which has won a good reputation for the library and is a resource that commercial organizations can not imitate and replace. The only path to build the core competitiveness of libraries is to build an open knowledge service ecosystem, integrate various aspects across borders, further strengthen the cultural construction of libraries, enhance the value of goodwill and maintain the characteristics of social public good with the help of new ways of thinking and management concepts of commercial institutions.

4 Implementation path of university librarian team construction in the context of Double First-Class Initiative

4.1 Local legislation should go ahead and actively promote the construction of library legislation and professional qualification certification systemEstablishing the library professional qualification certification system is the premise and foundation to ensure the professional status of libraries and the professional quality of librarians. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the United States, Japan, South Korea, the former Soviet Union and China (except China Taiwan) established and implemented the library professional qualification system. There is no library professional qualification certification system in China (except China Taiwan). On the one hand, it is because the academic research in this field started late, probably in early 2000. On the other hand, it has a lot to do with the slow legislative process of China’s libraries.

Library law is the legal guarantee for the establishment of library professional qualification certification system. On November 4, 2017, China’s first library law, thePublicLibraryLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChina, was formally issued, but it did not involve the professional qualification system, indicating that it is a long way to establish a comprehensive library professional qualification certification system. China’sLegislationLawstipulates that local governments may formulate local regulations based on specific circumstances and actual needs when the state has not yet formulated laws or administrative regulations[8]. On this basis, corresponding laws and regulations will be established in areas where conditions are permitted and mature, and the library professional qualification certification system will be implemented on a pilot basis, and after passing the post-legislative assessment, legislative proposals will be submitted to the central government. It is a positive and prudent way to gradually promote the construction and implementation of the library professional qualification certification system in a bottom-up manner. In the past 20 years, China has paid great attention to and supported the construction and research of the library professional qualification system. On November 3, 2022, we used China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) as the search platform, selected "full text" for the search conditions, entered "library professional qualifications", and retrieved a total of 949 articles. The time span is 22 years (2000-2022). Among them, 21 articles were funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China, 3 were funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 2 were funded by the Ministry of Education, and 12 were funded by various provincial projects, fully reflecting strong support of the state. The author units were mainly universities and library societies, which shows that universities and library societies were the main force to promote the construction of library professional qualification systems. The literature research achievements include the introduction, analysis and reference of the implementation of the system in developed countries, the necessity and feasibility of implementing the system in China, and the basic elements, basic ideas and basic provisions of the vocational qualification certification system. The literature research achievements are relatively comprehensive, which lays a good foundation for further promoting this work.

4.2 Optimizing the management system of the librarian team: business management intensification, personnel management hierarchical classification assessmentUniversity libraries are the most frequent environments where intersections of disciplines, professions, industries and fields are frequent. Service subjects need both intellectual workers and a small number of manual workers. Intellectual workers need multiple theoretical knowledge and skills, such as graphic knowledge and skills, academic background of various disciplines, computer network technology, foreign language ability, academic research ability, communication ability, and so on. However, the real fact is that one might have learned the doctrine earlier than the other, or might be a master in his own special field. No individual can combine all knowledge and abilities, only the collective can. Therefore, building a scientific and reasonable talent echelon is of great significance to promote the efficient operation of libraries.

TheRegulationsonLibrariesofGeneralCollegesandUniversities(2015) stated that librarians in general colleges and universities include professional librarians and auxiliary librarians. The number of professional librarians should not be less than 50% of the total number of librarians. Professional librarians should generally have master’s degree or above or senior professional and technical positions, and have received professional education or systematic training in library science. In other words, the construction of university librarian team allows the structural collocation of more than half professional librarians and less than half non-professional librarians. The prominent problems at the current practical level are: first, the number of professional librarians who meet the requirements ofRegulationsonLibrariesofGeneralCollegesandUniversities(2015) is insufficient; second, there is no difference between professional librarians and auxiliary librarians. Specifically, the post setting does not achieve "professionals do professional things", and the personnel assessment does not fully reflect "remuneration according to the amount of labor expended". As a result, the librarians’ enthusiasm and self-confidence are frustrated, and work efficiency is low, which in turn reduces users’ evaluation of the overall service quality of the library. In order to solve the problem of insufficient human resources in a short period of time, the principle of intensification should be fully reflected in business management, that is, limited core strength should be placed in core positions. The information department and the discipline department undertake major tasks such as the school’s strategic development planning, discipline construction and planning, talent introduction, and teacher scientific research. Therefore, it is necessary to concentrate high-educated and highly qualified librarians with professional knowledge backgrounds such as library and information science, computer, and key disciplines into these two positions to ensure the participation and contribution of libraries in major school activities. The major temporary tasks of the university are accomplished in the form of "working groups". For example, key discipline construction declaration, inspection and acceptance, five-year development plan, shortage professional declaration, talent introduction plan,etc., should be headed by the curator, and discipline librarians and information librarians are dispatched, and temporary working groups are formed with relevant department heads and discipline secretaries to cooperate with each other to complete the target tasks. In the long run, to solve the problem of insufficient library human resources, we must first implement the library professional qualification certification system to ensure that there are laws to follow for the training and introduction of library and information professionals. Second, in terms of personnel management, professional librarians and auxiliary librarians should implement hierarchical management and classified assessment in terms of title promotion, job recruitment level, performance appraisal,etc.In this way, the enthusiasm of librarians can be stimulated, and the overall quality and service efficiency of librarians can be improved.

4.3 Building an open knowledge service ecosystem and accelerating the cross-border integration of libraries with other industries and organizationsThe core competitiveness is largely reflected in the "soft power" aspects such as culture, system, service concept and operation mode, and the problem it faces is the adaptability. The problem of social adaptability can not be solved by a single organization through specific countermeasures, but requires the participation of multiple parties at interest to improve through complementary advantages and resource integration[9]. Libraries have never been a single business, and cross-border cooperation has a long history, from small-scale literature resource sharing and joint cataloguing among early libraries to cross-regional and cross-industry integration in the era of computer networks. With the development of information technology and the changes in supply and demand market of literature information resources, the density, depth and scope of cross-border integration of libraries are expanding. The integration scope goes beyond the integration of traditional libraries, booksellers and library alliances, and begins to be based on the deep cross-border integration of Internet platforms with new media, publishing houses, public cultural institutions, commercial institutions and Internet educational institutions.

The vertical integration of libraries and knowledge supply chain organizations is conducive to the development of new brands of knowledge products and services. Database resource providers belong to the upstream institutions of library knowledge supply chain. Some foreign database providers have merged and reorganized different publishing houses and magazines to order and integrate knowledge resources. Through building a powerful resource integration service platform, they provide users with cross-database retrieval, citation retrieval, full-text links, analysis functions, evaluation functions and other services. Libraries choose to cooperate with excellent database resource providers, which can effectively solve the problems of single resource product and repeated purchase of resources, thus reducing expenditure.

The horizontal integration of libraries and stakeholders helps to alleviate the pressure of funds and enrich the quantity and structure of collection resources. Library alliance is an organization established by different libraries in a region to realize the sharing of resources, technology and services, which plays a coordinating role among member libraries and between member libraries and resource suppliers. It can effectively improve resource sharing and utilization, organize group procurement of electronic resources, enhance the negotiation ability between member libraries and digital resource suppliers, strive for more favorable prices and better services for member libraries, share the cost of member libraries, and reduce the cost of library operation. "Internet+Library" is a cross-border integration based on user adaptability, using information and communication technology and Internet platform. Promoting the reconstruction of library management mode and the transformation of service caters to the changing trend of knowledge dissemination and people’s reading habits, and effectively implements the service concept of "user-centered", which is the best way to realize the upgrading and transformation from traditional library to intelligent library.

5 Conclusions

Data service, knowledge service and information service cover all the information needs of university library users in the context of Double First-Class Initiative, and also represent the core content of library and information work in the new era. In view of the fact that the service ability of university libraries is generally not high, we came up with three recommendations for the construction of librarian team. (i) Local legislation should take the lead, actively promote the construction of library legislation and professional qualification certification system, which is the premise foundation for ensuring the professional status of libraries and the professional quality of librarians. (ii) It is recommended to strengthen the construction of librarians from the aspects of business management and personnel management, revitalize human resources, and improve service efficiency. (iii) It is recommended to build an open knowledge service ecosystem, accelerate the cross-border integration of libraries with other industries and organizations, and promote the transformation of libraries from traditional services to intelligent services.