One notable finding was that certain skilled technical library positions were
clustered together at the “most needed” end of the scale, whereas other skilled technical
positions were clustered together nearer to the “least needed” end of the scale.
Those scoring highly in terms of being most needed included roles such as “Arabic
Language Cataloguer” (70 per cent), “Digital Content/Electronic Resources Librarian”
(68 per cent), and Systems Librarian (68 per cent). Those with lower scores included
“English Language Cataloguer” (56 per cent), “Special Collections Librarian”
(54 per cent), “Book/Paper Conservator” (35 per cent). This seems to reflect an
anticipated shift to an increasingly digital/electronic dominated library work
environment and to an environment where the needs of the local, Arabic speaking
population will need to be given far greater prominence.