Learning Outcomes
After studying the module you should be able to:
- explain why consulting has become a significant activity in the LIS field;
- describe the origins and development of the consulting profession;
- identify the key skills a consultant can bring to an organisation and its management, and the circumstances in which the role is a particularly useful one;
- outline how the process works;
- consider whether you might have a future as a consultant.
Brief description
The increased involvement of independent professional consultants in the management and development of information and library services in all sectors is, perhaps, one of the most significant developments in the field during recent decades. There is considerable evidence to support the belief that information consulting is now an information profession which has grown out of, and parallels, the more traditional profession, and significantly impinges upon library and information management. Therefore, it is important that students studying and obtaining formal qualifications in the knowledge, information and library disciplines become more aware of this particular phenomenon and the way in which it may exert an influence on their work and careers, directly or indirectly.
This module aims to provide a relevant and useful introduction to the practice of consulting in the information and library field and to some of the issues surrounding it.