Shooting for the moon: an analysis of digital initiatives librarian job advertisements

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of technology-oriented university librarian positions and analyze digital initiatives librarian job advertisements to determine the number and type of skills that academic libraries desire. Design/methodology/approach Forty-nine job postings between October 2010 and March 2016 were found via the Code4Lib listserv. Information on job title, desired skills and responsibilities and other information was compiled and analyzed. Findings Twenty-four skills and responsibilities were identified; the top four were metadata, digital preservation, digital collections and digitization. Other skills and responsibilities are frequently listed by ACRL as emerging trends. Research limitations/implications Digital initiatives librarian job postings have risen substantially in the past five years. A total of 24 skills and responsibilities were identified and skills related to the administration of digital collections are the top desired skills of digital initiatives librarians. Originality/value Job analysis literature has influenced the design of job descriptions for new roles and the literature offers a “picture of how academic librarianship is developing” (Cox and Corrall, 2013, p. 1528). Library administrators are encourage to design digital initiatives librarian positions strategically, basing the responsibilities on demonstrated needs on their campuses, rather than in response to trends in academic librarianship.