Cataloguers' competencies in the academic library environment in Malaysia/ Zati Atiqah Mohamad Tanuri and Fuziah Mohd Nadzar

Academic libraries are part of teaching-learning and research endeavours of universities or institutions of higher education. In order to carry out this important role, one requirement that academic libraries must have is a team of competent cataloguers to organize the library collections. Academic library cataloguers need to have the required competencies to carry out their tasks and perform their work professionally. They need to possess several competencies related to their job scope in the organizations they serve. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the competencies needed by cataloguers in the Malaysian academic library environment. The objectives of the study are to identify the core competencies for academic cataloguers, to identify the approaches used to increase the competencies of the cataloguers, and to describe the challenges faced by cataloguers in the academic library environment. This study used the quantitative research methodology. Questionnaires were distributed to a total of 39 cataloguers who work in selected academic libraries in the Klang Valley. The study population consisted of all cataloguers attached to the cataloguing department who are essentially responsible for cataloguing the library materials. The results revealed that the various competencies of the cataloguers can be grouped into four categories: crucial competency, required competency, basic competency and least required competency. Competent cataloguers need to also acquire general skills in order to present their best work performance. The approaches and challenges faced by cataloguers in carrying out their tasks were found to useful in identifying the core competencies needed.