Redesigning the Job Description & Job Specification for the Librarian

Redesigning the Job Description & Job Specification for the Librarian

Hisham Al Ghunaimi, Dr. Saleh Al Mamari & Dr. Salem Al Abri

A’Sharqiyah University (ASU), Oman

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.7862

Received: 02 June 2023; Revised: 06 August 2023; Accepted: 10 August 2023; Published: 11 September 2023

ABSTRACT

The primary purpose of a librarian is typically overseeing daily operations in a library. Moreover, librarians tend to provide different research and information services to different scholars. In this technologically changing era, the role of librarians has also evolved from an armchair librarianship into technological based librarianship, where the roles are more defined and regulated. In such case for the betterment of the academics, they should provide additional forms of services that include authorizing and authenticating different relevant books, documents, manuscripts and other related sources. This study contributes to the literature by providing an understanding of the new role of public librarians as notary officers. Specifically, the study identifies the new responsibilities that librarians in public libraries can carry out to keep abreast with the changing needs of the society. Therefore, considering the significance of the librarians it is necessary to redesign the job description and job specification of the librarians. Henceforth in order to get a clear understanding about the redesigned job role and job specification this specific study can be quite beneficial. Thus, this study highlights the importance of the need of redesigning the job role and how it can be beneficial for other academicians.

Keywords:  Librarians, Public Notary Officer, Literacy and Education, Verifying Officer, Publication, Validation, Roles and Responsibility, Notarization, Copyright, Endorsements

 INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Libraries act as the juncture of social contact for many people, mainly those who are going through social isolation. In due course of time the job description of the librarian has evolved. During the lockdown of 2020 and 2021, when the physical libraries were no longer accessible by people, some librarians tried reaching out to the vulnerable groups, mostly, the elderly people by dropping off books (Rizzo, 2022). Public Librarians are considered to be the important tool of the society as they a significant role not only for the academic scholars but also for the society. Librarians tends to provide different relevant research and information services to the academicians, thereby helping the students, scientists, researchers to enhance the knowledge of every individual. But due the emergence of technological advancements, librarians no longer act as medium of providing simple information (Ratledge, and Sproles, 2017). In the digital era, librarians have adopted themselves to the digital technology and digital library. They have enacted a role in integrating the new digital services and systems into the libraries for the sake of their own and the users’ benefits.

Figure 1: Library collection use physical vs digital

(Source : Rizzo, 2022)

The above figure illustrate that the digital library is getting more digital than ever. In addition, it states that there has been a decline in the physical use of libraries and there has been an increase in the digital use of libraries (Rizzo, 2022).Therefore, from the above analysis it is quite apparent that the emergence of digital information is eventually changing the role of Librarians, thereby making them more imperative to provide them relevant information and services at much faster pace across the nation. Hence accordingly it can be said that the job specification and job responsibility is taking a new paradigm shift by transforming them from armchair librarians to as an intense information professional who tends to provide informational services across different countries.

By considering the roles and responsibilities of the librarians this specific study proposed an action plan of redesigning the job description and job specification of the librarians where they will be given the role of public notary officer (Ratledge, and Sproles, 2017). This particular role demonstrates that the Librarians will get the power to verify deeds and other relevant documents which can be quite beneficial for different researchers and scholars. Hence while redesigning the role the job tittle will get more enhanced and prestigious as compared to the traditional librarianship.

Problem Statement

Although librarians play a major role by providing information and research service but according to some critics’ traditional librarianship job is not considered to be prestigious and is not respected much (Lord, 2018). With technological advancement, the need for authentication of books is incredibly essential for the future growth and development of the society (Mehra, Bishop and Partee II, 2017).  On the other hand, it is said that many authors, students and scholar fail to get an opportunity to publish their respective work. Henceforth if the librarians are given with the power to authenticate any document it would help many students, authors, and researchers in various ways (librarianshipstudies.com, 2016). Therefore, from the above assertion it is clear that there is a complete need to redesign the job responsibility and job description, in order to mitigate the job monotonousity (librarianshipstudies.com, 2016). day-by-day the job of the librarians seems to be fading and gets no scope to make their respective job interesting and progressive in terms of career. Hence with the new role and responsibility the job role is considered to be prestigious and therefore students will tend to choose librarian as a career option. The new job role and description of the Librarian would be similar like a verifying officer, where he/she will have the right to authenticate and validate any piece of work.

Research Aims and Objectives

By considering the above discussion, it is identified that the research aim is to redesign the job description and the job roles of the public Librarian. This specific study will provide an in-depth insight about the traditional and the current roles and responsibilities of the public librarians and what are the main changes that are need to added or executed in order to transform the traditional librarianship into a verifying officer. However, in order to accomplish the main objective and aims it is of utmost importance to discuss various related concepts, elements, and aspects associated with the subject of the research topic. Hence from the above discussion the following objectives which can be illustrated:

1. To evaluate and assess the current needs for Redesigning job description and job specification for Public Librarians
2. To comprehend the redesigned job responsibilities and job specification of Public Librarians

Significance of the Study

This specific research study is considered to be quite limited as the main aim of the study is to redesign the job role and job responsibilities of the public librarians. Many researches have been conducted in the study in order to explore the job responsibilities and job description of the public librarians as a verifying or a public notary officer.

Hence from the above assertion it can be inferred that this specific study is quite significant as there are very few journals, articles and other related documents related to the context of the scenario. Indeed, this specific study can turn out to be quite advantageous for different researchers researching on that particular topic area as it depicts the current need for the redesigning of the job responsibilities, efficiency of the proposed plan and how it should be redesigned. The study will contribute towards the literature and practice by evaluating and assessing the current needs for redesigning the job of public librarians. Different aspects related to the job roles and responsibilities will build the information about the public librarians as a verifying officer. Thus by being a verified officer, librarian as library managers, can manage work schedules, training, managing budgets and employee evaluations. This implies that a librarian can develop the management practices with the redesigning of the job description and job role.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

A Librarian is generally in charge of collecting, issuing, organizing library resources that includes the books, films, audio files, video files and a lot more. Therefore, it can be said that they tend to work in different range of settings that includes different public libraries in the country, museums, schools. Thus, their duties involve conducting regular audits, and issuing resources (Tiwari, 2016). Henceforth in order to execute the duties and responsibilities it is necessary to great interpersonal skills which involves an efficient interacting session between different local community such as parents, students, young children and a lot more.

As per the job specification and job description is the task of the Librarians are quite monotonous. In the current scenario of 21^st century the specified task of Liberians is not related to authenticating or validating any piece of work in the library, which will eventually help the student, researchers or authors in the future for including their work. Thus, the main purpose of the Librarian is to organize and recommend different books to public and students. Therefore, from the above analysis it is quite apparent that it is necessary to redesign with appropriate plan action the current job description and specification of the Liberians as the job of the Liberians are getting monotonous day by day and therefore today’s youth are not opting for Liberians as a career option.

Overview of the Current Roles and Responsibilities of the Public Librarian

According to Bava, and Solanki, (2021) librarians play an integral part in providing proper research and information services to respective students, authors, and researcher. Due to the advancement of technology the role of modern Librarians has changed dramatically. For instance, nowadays Librarians are more associated with researchers, professionals and students. On the other hand, Ubogu, (2021) opined that nowadays modern librarians get easy access to various information in the internet. In the globalization era some of the emerging new trends such as open educational access, E-books, institutional repositories, scholarly communications insist Librarians to work in order to win the heart and mind of the customers. Therefore, it can be said that the role of Liberians is not limited to only books and can be considered to be as important professionals. On the other hand, according to Lankes, (2016) nowadays Librarians also promote different advancement activities in various social media platforms in order to fetch some meaningful yet beneficial content needs.

In the era of technological advancements and digital age the role of librarians is to comfort respective readers in every possible way. According to Bandyopadhyay, and Boyd-Byrnes, (2016) Librarians always played an integral part in the current era by providing scientists with various essential; information and therefore it can be said that nowadays librarians has evolved themselves as one of the crucial multifaceted jobs on various public and university campuses. It generally happens because they are tasked with engaging their support with the latest forms of resources and technologies. On the other hand, as per Masiye, and Lusaka, (2019) librarians are specifically are regarded as system Liberians, electronic and information specialists, which requires special form of skills and activities.

The roles and responsibilities of the public librarian can be supported by the Descriptive theory of Library classification. This is regarded as the first stage in the development of a library classification, as responded to the needs of the universe of subjects. This theory was developed by Richardson, Brown, Bliss, Sayers and Hulme. By means of their writings and schemes these stalwarts contributed towards the development of the General theory of the library classification.

 The need for Redesigning job description and job specification for Public Librarians

According to Siengthai, and Pila-Ngarm, (2016) job redesigning generally motivates employees, thereby enhancing the quality of the work life. By considering the job role of librarians in the digital age it is totally different from the traditional librarianship. For instance, in previous year the traditional roles are typically associated in sitting down in the midst of the books and different types of people used to come and read different sources.

Khan, (2016) posited that modern day Librarians must be quite expert in retrieval and dissemination of information with the help information communication technology or (ICT). This can be generally done through internet, E-mail, CD-ROM, slides, computer, global system of telecommunication and a lot more. Hence from the above assertion it can be said that Librarians need to get access on storing different materials or resources on CD-ROMS in order preserve and retrieve vital information as per the need. Therefore, it can be said that it is necessary to create a paradigm shift for role of Librarians so that the job specification and job role is transformed from armchair librarians to thoroughbred information professionals who can provide different forms of information to users across different location. On the other hand, Pincus, et al., (2017) opined that with the change in technology the publishing industry has also changed. With evolution of time, it is considered to be very difficult for the author to self-publish a book and at the same time self-publications may also lead to various legal issues. According to Joyce, et al., (2016) majority of the authors experience one of the most common concerns related to legal issues which is related to copyright. Many writers and authors often fear of thefts by agent and publication. Therefore, it can be said that there is a current need to authenticate and validate the writing as it enhances the further progress and the development of the society. Authentication and validation of various sources such as unpublished books, maps, journals, manuscripts from any public figure or government in order to gain some value in future.

According to Morgado, et al., 2017 the main purpose of the validation is to provide a quality product to different researchers. Therefore, the basic principle of authentication and validation of unpublished document is that the specific document is made to fit its intended use. Hence in such scenario certain government symbol or any sort of authentic stamp will provide a legal structure that reflect about the fact that the information cannot be stolen from the book. Hence by considering the situation, it is important to provide the Librarians a role of a verifying officer. Therefore, the role and responsibilities will be to prepare, attest, verifying various content and other related documents. Therefore, as per the above assertion it is quite apparent that librarians will be given a huge responsibility, thereby the role of librarians will tend to have a prestigious position in the society as trusted personnel.

Redesigned Job Description and Job Specification of Public Librarians

Library is the storehouse of information because it helps to gain immense knowledge in every field. So, the role of librarian is vital because they arrange the information in the form of books, reports and articles based on time and importance thereby helps the readers to derive exact information in a hassle freeway.

According to Bertot, et al (2016) Public libraries are the gateways to knowledge and culture thereby performing a fundamental role in the society. The librarians are responsible to formulate new opportunities for learning, support literacy and education. Moreover, they are also responsible to shape new ideas and perspectives which leads to innovation and creativity in the society thereby leading to robust growth and development of the society. Public libraries are also seen as patrons and communities who are exposed in providing services to the community or society relating to information, education, economic regeneration, culture and diversity. Furthermore, public libraries are considered useful and efficient when they have the potential to meet the public needs and demands in a short span of time.

Public libraries are considered efficient when they have the potential to provide superior service, have great funding, train and retrain staffs for better development and outreach their service for the society. It is also evident that libraries are safer place for accessing information on particular matter as the librarians’ role is to collect authenticate materials and preserve for the future generation. The public librarians’ role is to help the society to find exact information according to the needs and demands. The free access to the internet also enables the researchers or common people to access online and authenticate manuscripts for analyzing the information better. Therefore, the role of the public librarians is huge apart from maintaining viable information. The extended role of the librarians helps the society in generating knowledge and diction thereby helps in future growth and development throughout their life.

With the improvisation of technology, work processes are upgrading continuously. Technology has led to more practical approach than the traditional approach. Hence with each of the changing platforms the role of the librarians is also changing continuously. Apart from managing information their role is changing towards authentication and validation of the unpublished works like journals, manuscripts and books.

According to Wanner, and Janiesch, (2019) without proper authentication the information printed in these materials are useless because they cannot gain reliability of information. Hence the librarian role is to collect as much information from various places and authenticate them so that it is circulated throughout the society. Authentic information without validation and credentials are considered as less valuable in the public libraries even if the information is rich and are of high quality. So, the public librarians’ role is to enhance the authenticity of the collected information and make them reliable and trustworthy for the readers. It is also vital for the librarians to make endorsements for the unpublished books and manuscripts so that the unpublished works gets importance in the society. Endorsements are required so that the unpublished works get proper value when the authors submit their work (Widodo, 2018). For example, most of the book stores does not accept works if there are no proper and decent endorsements. Endorsements are highly powerful because it engages with the community as far as the unpublished work extend its areas. Endorsements also increases the sale volume of the books significantly. Apart from community engagement it also leads to further co-operation, workshops and conferences so that the unpublished works attain value in the society. According to Yucesoy, Wang, Huang, and Barabási, (2018) Good endorsements also help the author of the book to gain attention of others apart from the well-known circle. Good feedbacks also motivate the authors to write new books and gain feedbacks post publication. As endorsements are highly valued in today’s society the changing role of librarians are highly valued in the society as they can work as an endorser for the unpublished books. The job of the librarians is continuously evolving and are free to work as an endorser thereby it raises significant engagement to the community.

Three to four good quality endorsements also raise the quality of the book significantly. As the roles and responsibilities of the librarians are changing, they must also look into the endorsements whether they are appropriately placed so that the book does not lose its value. However, putting the ‘key’ endorsements at the top of the page is also beneficial because it enhances the authenticity of the unpublished work. Endorsements also requires one paragraph so that the readers are highly i9nfluencced to read the book. Hence it increases the credibility of the book significantly. The endorsements characters also require no more than 150 words. Short and crisp endorsements with related information are highly preferred by the readers thereby enhances the urge to read the unpublished works. Hence the value of the endorsement increases when it is followed in the right way thereby enhancing the credibility and reliability of the unpublished works. The librarians are also responsible for the maintaining authenticity and compliance of the unpublished works. So, for this reason it is vital to put copyright so that the ideas, feelings and interpretations related to a particular topic is not misused and generates authenticity of the unpublished works.

Hence there is a shift in the role of the librarian as they need to work as the authentic member of copyright as well in order to reduce the duplicity of the information Cox, and Verbaan, (2016). For enhancing the integrity of the book, the librarian needs to check the unpublished manuscripts, genuineness of the unpublished before stamping the copyright symbol. Genuine approach and compliance both are essential to follow when authenticating a book for betterment of the community. As the unpublished works require a sign of authenticity or copyright the publisher will have to enter into a legal contract with the librarian to published the unpublished works and issue multiple copies of it to satisfy the public demands. Hence due to this responsibility of the librarians the authors are more relaxed because they have a generalized view that the publishing of the unpublished works will be done from authentic sources by maintaining all the lawful actions by the librarians. The process is more hassle free and safe thereby catering to the society’s needs and demands. The generation of income by the author through the involvement of the librarians will be finalized when the librarians meet certain terms and conditions. However, the librarians need to contact with the authors so that it grants the publisher the right to publish and sell their works. In the age of digitization, the librarians also need to connect with the several online platforms so that the works are available to the people all over the world. So f0pr this reason it is vital to take the consent of the author and other lawful measures before applying for digital version of the unpublished works. Hence these measure by the librarians makes sure that integrity, authenticity are maintained fully so that knowledge is circulated throughout the society.

According to Cherinet, (2018) the changing role of the librarians to endorsers, verifying officer and compliance authorities portrays that the librarians are not only meant to control the libraries, the number of books they have but their roles are extended beyond it in the modernized society. The publication system of unpublished works has really become easy thereby the information on each aspect is perfectly circulated in the society. Hence it leads to the improvement of the society because the information is reaching to the people in both digital and traditional means. The process also becomes hassle free and the unpublished works acquires thorough applaud in the society. Therefore, the changing role of the librarians are towards the betterment of the society leading to enhanced growth and development of the economy through the revenue generated from the unpublished works.

Efficiency of the proposed plan

The proposed plan as mentioned above suggests that the librarians would obtain the power of authentication of any unpublished work so that it can be later utilized by different authors and researchers in the future. Therefore, it can be said that as per the new roles and responsibilities librarians will technically act as a notary officer where they have the power to comply with the original copies and stamp it accordingly. Hence in such scenario students, researchers would have to go to the library in order to authenticate their respective piece of work. Hence according to Wade, (2021) the librarians will immediately take those unauthorized piece of work and accordingly in order to upload it or to register the specific work in the library, so that the students and researchers can easily extract various information from the original source and utilize them in the future. Hence from the above assertion it is quite apparent the power of notarizing any piece of work or book will turn out to be beneficial for any researcher or students. On the other hand, Kelley, et al., (2017) opined providing the power of notarization to the public librarians various public and private sectors will improve. It is because as indicated by Goint, Bertelle, and Duvallet, (2021) notarization generally assures the author or the owner of the document that the piece of work is genuine and provides a quality content. On the other hand, as indicated by various critics with the help of such a proposed plan the education sector will get the opportunity to enhance itself. For instance, library is considered to be the backbone of the education sector, therefore the power of notarization to librarians will further help the students in various researches and further learning in the future.

According to Sharp, Peters, and Howard, (2017) there are certain sources that includes manuscripts, transcripts that are considered to be useful for students as such sources can be easily utilized by them at much ease, thereby sustaining the quality of their respective researches. Thus, from the above assertion it is quite apparent that with the power of authorizing, the librarians could help the students by offering them some quality information and researches, thereby enhancing the research skills and study. From the mentioned plan it is quite apparent that librarians as a notary officer enhances the level of their work as it provides the power of authenticating any sort of rare books, journals, manuscripts which eventually provide the student a new sphere of learning and opportunities.

According to Willett, (2016) with such new role and job responsibility of the Librarians different journals, books and manuscripts tend to be get available easily with no credibility issue, thereby offering different relevant data to the society in a most transparent and furnished manner. As a result of which different scholars and researcher will eventually get hold of very rare kinds of information at much faster pace. Simultaneously it will be more convenient for the scholars and researchers to get an authentic work and therefore gets a fair chance of acquiring more knowledge in the field of their respective interest.

Research Gap

From the above study it has been observed that different journals, books and articles utilized as a secondary source failed to provide sufficient data related to the given context and scenario. Therefore, it can be said that while designing the job description and job specification for the public librarians the concept of “Public Librarians as a Public notary officer” got neglected vividly. Despite the massive changes that technology has brought to the workplace and its implications on work process and job responsibilities, researchers have not given this enough attention, especially when it comes to the impact of these changes to the contemporary role of public librarians. Hence due to lack of sufficient data related to the concept and shortage of adequate amount of time proper interpretation and translation was not executed in a proper manner. The research gap is thus evident.

In a nutshell, by providing the role of verifying officer to the Public Librarians will eventually help the research by verifying both published and unpublished works in terms of the quality content, language and references. Thus, providing this kind of power to the librarians will enhance their respective job tittle and will individual to pursue library course as a career opportunity. Henceforth while transforming the public librarians into public notary officers, it is essential in redesigning their job responsibilities and specification in which they get the power to authenticate and validate of various documents such as nooks, manuscripts, old maps and a lot more related document.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is the important aspect of the study because it deals with collecting useful information focusing on the study area. The study selects qualitative approach because it results in gaining in-depth information on the study area. As the selects qualitative approach thereby creates a significant tendency for exploration of data in the future. Thus, exploratory research design is selected to generate insights about the changing roles and responsibilities of the librarians to a notary officer. The research design allows for more flexibility and can adapt to any changes in case of need. As the study selects exploratory research design. Explicit information is found in secondary sources of data.

The data collection strategy includes extracting information from peer reviewed journals, articles, newspapers and government reports on how the public libraries worked in the past years and some hints on how its role is changing in the present and would change in the future year with the growing need and demands of the society. Moreover, the secondary sources are collected from Google Scholar database by applying the appropriate search strategy using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT). Moreover, well-defined, and appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria are incredibly essential for ensuring the quality of data to be included for analysis (Yung and Khoo-Lattimore, 2019). The publication information such as the title, authors’ names, name of publishing journal, and date of publication are considered vital for the study, as it ensures significant reliability and trustworthiness (Singh and Twalo, 2015). The relevant articles were selected by applying the appropriate criteria which helped to generate good insights. Furthermore, the objectives were grouped as themes and analysis were made based on the extracted information. The data collection process and procedure enhanced the credibility and reliability of the study.

DISCUSSION

From the articles, journals and other secondary sources reviewed in the literature review it is apparent that nowadays the librarians are no longer dealing only with books, manuscripts and a lot more.  Moreover, they look after all kinds of sources such as eBooks, magazines, and other digitalized sources. In fact, some pubic librarians also provide IT facilities, community services, classes and other related services.  From the findings it is clear that the 21^st century of the modern era demands for certain qualities and competencies which will help them to be flexible, an ability to think in a creative manner, and teach others. But due to certain change in the technology and in various publication industry different authors, students and other related scholars face a lot of legal issues during self-publication.

As per the findings sometimes authors also find it difficulty on publishing a book due to insufficient money and lack of faith on the publishers. Hence from the above assertion it is apparent that if the librarians are provided with the power of authentication and validation then it will be easier for the author to publish his writing in much faster pace. Therefor while redesigning the job description and job role of the public librarians it is necessary for the librarian to review the author’s copy and provide an honest review about the book, after that he will need to send the book to the central authority. While performing such responsibility librarians will regain their respective powers and feel prouder of doing the tsk. From the findings it can be said that with the proper redesigning the job responsibilities the job of the librarians will become more prestigious and attractive due to which today’s youth will pursue the librarian job as a career option. On the other hand, as per the findings it can be said that validation and credibility is considered to be crucial because sometimes certain unpublished books contain good contents.

Hence by considering the scenario the librarians must have proper knowledge and also must possess the credibility so that he could understand about different books which is good or not good for the society. Therefore, as a result of the new job description and job role the current responsibility of the librarians would be to review, scrutinize the books and authenticate the documents which assures that the piece of work written by the document is genuine and provide a quality content. Therefore, from the findings of the specific study suggests that the role will be changed as a notary or verifying officer. The proposed job role of the public librarians will further enable them to comply with the original copies and put stamp on it. With such an interesting job responsibility students, researchers, and other scholars can easily extract different information from the original document and can utilize further in their respective work.

As indicated in this specific study it is also necessary for the pubic librarians to make relevant endorsements in order to ensure that the unpublished book or the document get significant value in the society. Endorsements are considered to be quite important for the librarians as it tends to enhance the sale, thereby increasing the value of the specific piece of work. Thus, it can be identified that with this kind of job role and responsibility the education sector which would enable them for further leaning. According to Bandyopadhyay, and Boyd-Byrnes, (2016) educational advancements is considered to be an integral part for students and researchers, therefore with such a new job role of librarian’s, professors will be benefitted from such service. Therefore, it can be said that librarians are constantly open to any changes in their respective field and area, but there must be a sense of eagerness in order to improve the skills and knowledge.

As per the current needs the librarianship today is needed to be different from the as compared to the previous arm chair librarianship, therefore the public libraries should require professionals who have the ability to develop and embrace the technology accordingly. On the other hand, as per Singer, and Alexander, (2017) it is also required to implement certain measures and procedures in order to embrace the reader. Henceforth according to the analysis, it can be said that the concept of redesigning the role of librarians can very concisely change the perception of every individual by creating an innovative way to meet and fulfill the requirements of the society or community as a whole. On the other hand, as per the findings the librarians also tend to confront with other difficulties related to the authenticity, document management, and authorization. Therefore, in the process it is important to focus on such critical areas as it creates a certain kind of barrier in managing access to information for respective readers. Therefore, it is apparent that the authorization system is considered to be the major issue for the librarian with the new job role that need to be represented by the library adequately. On the other hand, with such huge responsibility the librarian also needs to follow some rules and regulation based on the government law. Thus, breaching in any of the rules and regulation can lead to serious problem for the librarian.

CONCLUSION

Public libraries play a major role in the society but at the same time, the current roles and responsibilities are still limited. The study aimed to evaluate and assess the contemporary and changing roles of public librarians. Hence by considering the fact, this specific study redesigned the job role and job description of the librarian as a public notary officer where he gets the power to scrutinize various published and unpublished documents. Henceforth with such huge responsibility the job of the librarian will become more attractive and prestigious which would be certainly beneficial for the society. Compared with the traditional role of public librarians, with new advances in technology and the changing needs of the society, public librarians can play a much wider role and incorporate different tasks to their job description.

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