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# Deskilling searching?
- URL: https://www.lorcandempsey.net/deskilling-searching/
- Published: 2005-01-27T21:08:23.000Z
- Updated: 2005-01-27T21:08:23.000Z
- Author: Lorcan Dempsey
- Tags: Institutions, Systems

A discussion has broken out in the UK about proposals from the University of Bangor to reduce the number of librarians in light of the changed environment of search. This is a passage from the message from a library staff member which sparked the debate:

> The University of Wales Bangor in the UK no longer feel that subject librarians / academic liaison librarians are needed in the modern academic library. They have made restructuring proposals which include removing all bar one of the subject librarians and a tier of the library management, including the Head of Bibliographic Services. The university management thinks that technology has ‘deskilled’ literature searching. As far as I know, this proposal is unprecedented in the United Kingdom.  
> In essence, there will remain 4 professional librarians serving a ‘research-led’ university of 8,000 plus FTEs and with 8 library sites. These will be the university librarian, cataloguing librarian, acquisitions librarian and Law librarian. \[[LIS-CILIP Archives — January 2005 (#67)](https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=ind0501&L=lis-cilip&T=0&F=&S=&P=8631&ref=lorcandempsey.net)\]

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