STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL CHARACTERIZATION IN THE SUB-SECTOR OF UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Abstract

Backgrounds: the studies of occupational characterization arise from the National System of Education to Work (SNFT – Spanish acronym) and from Sector Tables. As a consequence, the sector table of Archival Documentation Science and Restoration agrees in carrying out a study of characterization of different sub-sectors. Objective: to make a study of occupational characterization to describe the characteristics of the university libraries sub-sector regarding the following environments: organizational, educational, technological and occupational, in order to be considered as a guide document for further regulation of specific working competences for this sub-sector. Method: it is based on the document Metodología para la Elaboración de Normas de Competencia Laboral (SENA, 2003); a survey, made to collect information; was applied to 21 universities at a national level. Results: in the organizational environment, the participation of the sub-sector in professional guilds, university academic nets and outsourcing services contracting were considered; in the technological environment, the influence of new technologies of information in the development of university libraries was measured; in the educational environment, the current academic offers in the country for Documentation Science in formal and non-formal education were identified; and in the occupational environment, the level of employment, unemployment, wages, positions and functions were identified in the sub-sector of university libraries. Conclusions: the methodology applied makes possible to identify the main characteristics of the university libraries sub-sector, to carry out a general and occupational analysis of the current state of this sub-sector.