This brief article attempts to highlight selected points brought forward by each member of the panel. Dr. Howarth focused on library school education and the role of educators in instilling appropriate core competencies in their graduates. Vigilance in incorporating core competencies into library school curricula is in everyone's best interest, she said. Courses must be relevant to current job opportunities or student enrolment will decline. Declining enrolment itself makes library faculties less relevant within their respective universities, which can, of course, have funding ramifications.
Some core competencies remain intrinsic to the profession.
Increasingly, library school graduates need the flexibility to become information entrepreneurs, no longer based in institutions or defined by organizations. Graduates of today's library schools need strategic skill sets, including the ability to analyze and adjust their thinking within a new organizational context. The FIS programs at the University of Toronto, like others across Canada, have evolved to accommodate the new emphasis on technology, information systems, electronic research methods, and information delivery. Dr. Griffiths brought forward some very interesting observations about the Web, information navigation and the future role of librarians. The continuing lack of understanding about the role of libraries and the value of information professionals present special challenges for those attempting to re-define their roles in the light of the new core competencies.