applicable and practical handbook, sup- porting guide and single point of reference, I can relay, as a solo librarian practitioner myself, the lessons I have learnt whilst creating and sharing guidance that will assist others finding themselves in a similar role and/or a small team with limited help but with a mandate to connect to global trends and progress in the field of librari- anship and information science. See Figure 1.
Yearly timeline of activities The Solo Librarian: a Practical Hand- book provides a logical process of library provision and the services within. The book is, therefore, a tailored time-man- agement guide, primarily for solo profes- sional librarians based in small and/or specialist libraries and to people moving into management positions in small libraries and teams to provide support where it is needed.
Creating a yearly planner will follow the year in the life of a solo librarian and help identify a timeline of the key activities that occur throughout the library year. Whilst the exact timings of activities may differ between working practices, sectors, and countries, examples are provided. Then, further templates will be made available that outline the key areas for consideration and can be tailored to individual organisa- tions and specific situations. The supplementary guidance and time-saving templates available (which can be easily downloaded, applied, and adapted to reflect other working practices, in different sectors, within the UK and internationally) will then slot into each stage and can be utilised further to aid the management of these daily, monthly and yearly activities often faced by those working in information, knowledge, libraries and related disciplines. The creation of this yearly planner and the identification of a timeline of the occurrences of these key events, activities, and tasks will become a great reference point for future years, for example, especially regarding time planning and management.
Definitions
“The solo librarian, or the librarian work- ing as the sole professional in a library or organisation. I use the term solo librarian to embrace all those librarians, informa- tion scientists, and information workers who manage information units on their own, or who work as the sole professional, providing a library and information ser- vice within the minimum of support.” – Sue Lacey Bryant, 1995
and
“Only one librarian in charge of all aspects of the library”.
– Sarah Engledow Brown (ALA) no date Summer 2025
TSL:
A Practical Handbook
Book Chapters
Covering key aspects of library provision
Delphi Study and Case Studies Learning from others.
Research Reviewing the Literature, and Benchmarking.
Companion Website and Library Toolkit Supplementary resources containing templates to download, apply and amend to working practices.
Useful Information, Advice and Guidance
Supporting Appendices, Top Time-saving Tips and Templates created along the way to help deal with key tasks and activities.
The Solo Librarian’s Yearly Timeline The year in the Life of a Solo Librarian, indentifying key tasks and activities that occur.
Figure 1. The foundations for The Solo Librarian: A Practical Handbook. (Author’s own work).
What constitutes ‘All Aspects’ of library provision, and how did I ensure all areas are covered in this guide?
One of my top tips for achieving success as a Solo Librarian and Information Pro- fessional is registering, becoming a mem- ber, and fully engaging with a professional body, ensuring that you make the most of the membership benefits available to you. To address ‘All Aspects’ of library provision, I used the CILIP: Library and Information Association’s Profession- al Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB) framework as (i) a helpful starting point, (ii) foundations to build upon, (iii) as a useful checklist covering all elements for consideration, and (iv) as a self-assess- ment and gap analysis tool that identifies,
Figure 2. Workforce development for the library and information profession.
for example, all the key characteristics and elements of library provision, and the skills and competencies required for those working in information, knowledge, libraries and related disciplines, as well as catering for different stages within the career development of individuals. This useful self-assessment and gap analysis tool can be easily adapted to working practices in the UK and globally. See Figure 2.
Contents of the book
This internationally applicable and prac- tical handbook, therefore, is to provide guidance to cover:
l Understanding the roles and responsi- bilities of a solo librarian;
l identifying library user needs;
l customer service and customer engage- ment; l research and Benchmarking;
l forming a clear structure – for Physical and Online; Digital; eLibraries and addressing hybrid collections,
l collection management and collection develop- ment (e.g., links with publishers, current awareness services, weeding, disposal);
l library resources and operational management;
l management of library systems (e.g., in an aca-
demic context, this would typically include library management systems and associated discovery tools/layers; library pages on an intranet or Virtual
Source: Robinson K. (2022) Insight: ‘President’s View – Workforce development’, Information Professional, January – February 2022, p16.
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