Explain the impact of modern technologies on library profession
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The context for this paper is a model for assessment of library staffing and related costing patterns as functions of workloads on library services and operations. The model, called LSM -- The Library Staffing Model, estimates staff requirements and costs using what are called "workload factors". They relate workloads, measured by units of work appropriate to each type of service or operation, to staffing required to handle those workloads. The resulting staff estimates are by categories of staff (e.g., professional, support, and hourly) and by function; they are measured in full-time equivalents (FTE).
The default values used in LSM were first published twenty years ago, but they remain essentially the same in its implementation today. During that time, though, automation has become a standard part of library operations and services. So repeatedly, as the LSM has been presented to librarians, the question has been asked, "Hasn't automation affected the efficiency of staff? Why haven't the workload factors changed?" On the surface, that question is reasonable. In fact, it is being repeatedly asked in commerce and industry where expectations of improved clerical productivity as a result of automation have almost never been met.