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LIBRARIES ARE TAKING A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN THE CREATION OF SOFTWARE AND ARE DEALING WITH MANY MORE INTEGRATION ISSUES.
One of the most rewarding aspects of working with technology in a library involves finding ways to solve day-to-day problems and to shape its computing environment to best meet the needs of its staff and users. It's great to find ways to support the organization in ways not necessarily possible with the out-of-the-box automation systems that comprise its official technical infrastructure. For a library to be able to extend and enhance its technical environment, it's helpful to have one or more staff members with the ability to write or modify scripts and programs.
Not all libraries may need in-house programming capacity - the vast majority don't. But if your responsibilities include involvement with the library's technical infrastructure, or if you manage technology and you are thinking about the skills needed as your organization moves forward, you might think about where computer programming falls into the mix of skill sets to cultivate. This month's column takes a look at some of the opportunities, advantages, and caveats involved with having a programmer on staff.
Acquiring Programming Skills
Gaining mastery of a programming language enables a wide realm of possibilities in solving problems. In libraries, some of the common tasks include extracting or transforming data, creating utilities that address gaps in functionality not available in other products, or finding ways to connect applications. With even a basic level of proficiency, you can begin to accomplish useful tasks. Once you gain a higher level of mastery, opportunities to make important contributions to your library, or even to the broader community of libraries, greatly expand.
Library programmers arrive at their station by many different paths. Some will come with training in computer science and programming. These individuals will have great technical skills but have to work hard to learn more about library-specific issues. Libraries deal with data in quirky ways that may seem unusual to those coming from an IT background in other industries. Alternately, many others begin with experience or education in the library profession and gravitate toward technology, so they may have picked up some level of programming skills along the way. It's the blend of experience...