Studies show that LIS employers seek professional or “soft” skills such as
communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills, making these skills essential to the
employability and success of emerging professionals. This panel shares the preliminary results of
a national study examining the extent to which LIS faculty are teaching and assessing these skills
in their courses. Survey questions focused on skills and areas previously identified as important
to employers, including, interpersonal skills; writing; communication; teamwork; cultural
competence; reflective practice; customer service commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion;
presentation skills; and flexibility and adaptability.
The presenters will provide some brief background on previous studies that highlight the
demand for soft skills by employers and share the findings of the current study. The results of
this study provide a baseline of the extent to which LIS faculty are addressing these important
skills, as well as insight into the specific instructional strategies they use to these skills. They
also offer an overview of faculty perceptions the importance of soft skills for career success, and
their role in helping students develop such skills. The findings could help guide curriculum at the
individual faculty level by providing insight and inspiration for lesson planning and course
design, and could also inform curriculum decisions at a programmatic level by providing an
overview of the extent to which these skills are currently addressed and identifying potential
gaps in the curriculum
