Training action for the development of competences in the reference sector

Abstract

Presents ongoing research results in the reference sector of two university libraries. The first phase of this research discovered which competencies the librarians of the libraries researched possess, those that need to be developed and those that need to be potentiated to work in the reference sector. For this he used the qualitative approach and the principles of the participant research. Data were collected through interview script, prospecting form and field diary and were analyzed using the content analysis technique. The second and current phase of the research, objective of this article, emphasizes the preparation of a training action with the purpose of impelling the research subjects to reflect on what they experience in the work environment, what skills and which could be developed to better serve the user. The focus of training is on the steps of the reference process and its unfolding in the daily reality of librarians. From this action in the researched libraries, librarians should understand the importance of acting as protagonists of their work environment, promoting self-reflection about their actions with users and also about the possibilities of improving care, thinking about the information skills that already and in those that need to be developed or improved, in order to provide the expansion of their repertoires of competencies focused on improving the services provided.