Education and training for digital librarians A Slovenia/UK comparison David Bawden Department of Information Science, City University, London, UK, and Polona Vilar and Vlasta Zabukovec Department of Library and Information Science and Book Studies, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia Abstract Purpose – To determine and compare approaches to the education and training of librarians for work in digital libraries. More precisely, to identify – in general terms, rather than specifically – the important competencies required by information professionals in creating and managing digital libraries, and in facilitating their use, and to assess how these competencies are treated in LIS education and training, and therefore how the capacities of the information professions are being developed. Design/methodology/approach – Literature analysis of the skill sets required by librarians working with digital materials. Evaluation of formal education and of professional development programmes in the UK and in Slovenia, to assess how these needs are being met. Findings – Both formal education and continuing development training are adapting to cover aspects of the digital library environment, both in the UK and in Slovenia. This is happening as part of the normal process of the redesign of degree programmes and of training courses. Digital library skills and knowledge – embodying conceptual, semantic, syntactic and technical aspects – are being included in existing courses, for the most part, rather than in entities labelled “digital library”. This approach has strengths and also weaknesses. While there is some agreement on core topics, there is much variation in how they are presented, and in the relative importance given to them. Research limitations/implications – Based on comparison of education and training programmes in two countries, the UK and Slovenia. Practical implications – Recommendations for curricula are made. Originality/value – Provides an insight into education and training needs in a developing and important area. Keywords Digital libraries, Education and training, Professional education, International standards, United Kingdom, Slovenia Paper type Literature review Introduction Library and information science has always been concerned with the collection, organization, storage and retrieval of materials and information, in order to respond to users’ queries. It has also often been noted that new technologies for the generation, distribution, processing and storage of information have brought changes in the nature, volume, and format of that information. The digital library is only the most recent of these. The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/0001-253X.htm Training for digital librarians 85 Received 17 June 2004 Revised 21 June 2004 Accepted 5 November 2004 Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives Vol. 57 No. 1, 2005 pp. 85-98 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0001-253X DOI 10.1108/00012530510579084