Future Libraries not Without Talents – How Talent Management Can Help to Develop Libraries and Make Them Fit for the Future

Authors

  • Petra Düren Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
  • Lara Hoecken

Keywords:

Future Librarbies, Talent Management, Human Resoueces Management, Public Libraries, Academic Libraries

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to show the relevance of talent management for libraries and how talent management can help to develop public as well as academic libraries and make them fit for the future. To maintain the high standard of public as well as academic libraries’ services and to be able to develop them further and lead them into the future, new challenges must be overcome. These are for example the War for Talents / skilled labour shortage, diversity, skills of older and younger employees, the advancing digitization with an increase in digital and hybrid event formats, integration issues, sustainability, and fake news etc.

One possibility to face these challenges is to establish talent management to use its methods on the one hand to retain employees and on the other hand to find well-trained new employees and to be able to deploy them in the right place at the right time.

 

Results from a quantitative study “The Library needs Talents! An Empirical Study on the Use of Talent Management Methods for Staff Recruitment and Staff Development in Libraries” with findings about the status of this topic in German libraries and the possibility of implementing talent management as well as results from a group discussion with librarians of academic and public libraries in which we discussed the questions “How can talents be found for and in a library?” and "How do you keep these talents in the library?" with interesting findings will be presented.

 

The interest in talent management exists in German libraries, but a lack of expertise on the subject has hindered its implementation in libraries thus far. Also, career opportunities and development prospects still have room for improvement. Particularly in smaller institutions with only a few employees, career advancement can be challenging. All in all, the size of the institution plays a minor role. While complete talent management may not be feasible in smaller institutions, individual aspects can still be addressed and implemented. This is already happening to some extent. For example, relevant competencies that talents should possess could be identified in advance and reflected in job advertisements.

References

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Article or chapter in a collective work

Bos, Peter, Marian Thunnissen and Katja Pardoen (2020): The Missing Link: The Role of Line Managers and Leadership in Implementing Talent Management. In Stephen Swailes [editor]: Managing talent: A Critical Appreciation. Emerald Publishing Limited: 87-105. DOI 10.1108/9781839090936

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Article in a Scientific Journal

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Thesis or Dissertation

Hoecken, Lara Alina (2019): Talente braucht die Bibliothek! Eine empirische Studie zur Nutzung von Methoden des Talent Managements zur Personalgewinnung und Personalentwicklung in Bibliotheken. Bachelor Thesis. HAW Hamburg. Access date: 21.02.2024 available at http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12738/11110

Electronic Sources

Hays AG (editors): HR-Report 2023: Mitarbeiterbindung, Access date 21.02.2024 available at https://www.hays.de/lp/hr-report

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Published

2024-10-07