Library school students sometimes ask what they should study if they wish to become special librarians. Special librarians are so diverse that it is difficult to answer this question. Kerry Grosser [9] explored the issue with a view to defining a possible curriculum and concluded that the basic skills of librarianship are still highly relevant. This accords well with my own views. In Grosser's study the extra qualities, beyond these basic skills, most sought in practicing special librarians were subject knowledge relevant to the host organisation, practical experience and personal qualities ranging from commonsense to dedication. There was also a strong emphasis on the need for continuing education and personal development.
It may be easier to identify a curriculum for specific types of special library and this is discussed, with respect to the medical field, by Roper and Mayfield. [10] In a significant overlap with Grosser's findings, they found that the skills which practicing health librarians felt were most important to their jobs were oral and written communication, knowledge of the needs of health science practitioners, and interpersonal skills.
The skills required by special librarians are international and the (American) Special Libraries Association make a useful list of suggested competencies available on their World Wide Web page. [11] Jackson and Shirley [12] discuss globalisation in exploring the qualities special librarians need for the 21st century with particular emphasis on ‘conquering techno-fear’.
As technology and information management become more necessary for more tasks, there is a convergence of skills needed to undertake previously different jobs. This is very evident in special libraries where people trained as librarians work closely with those from different disciplines. Koenig [13] explores this interesting situation and notes that it is associated with ‘an increasing fluidity and flexibility in career paths’. However, in my opinion, this flexibility must be based on a thorough and sound understanding of basic library skills.
One of the delights of special librarianship is that there is probably a niche that uses any individual attribute. Helen Martin suggests that to be suitable for media information work, a librarian needs not only ‘a feel for what is newsworthy’ but also ‘an interest in gossip’. [14]
Special librarians can never stop learning. A checklist at the end of this chapter, which draws partly on the articles mentioned above, suggests the abilities needed to be a special librarian. St Clair and Williamson [15] devote a chapter of their book to the qualities needed to be a solo professional librarian.