Emre Hasan Akbayrak, of the Middle East Technical University Library, tells us about his role within the academic society.
Emre Hasan Akbayrak is the associate director of the Middle East Technical University Library. Between 2005 and 2006, Mr. Akbayrak held the position of Head of Serials and E-Resources Department at METU Library, and between 2001 and 2005, he was Reference Librarian in the Library. He has been working for ANKOS (Anatolian University Libraries Consortium) since 2002.
Role and objectives
“I began my work at the Middle East Technical University Library in 2001, and worked as a reference librarian until 2005. Between 2005 and 2006, I held the position of Head of Serials and E-Resources Department at METU Library. I have been the associate director of the Middle East Technical University Library since 2006. As the associate director, I manage and maintain the METU Library’s e-resources and print journals, negotiate licences, analyse usage statistics, manage teams, design and implement workflows. I play a role with ANKOS, a university libraries consortium in Turkey and have been working for ANKOS since 2002. I’m the key contact for several databases such as Wiley Online Library, Passport GMID, World eBook Library and ICE Virtual Library at ANKOS. I also serve on the steering committee of the Turkish Librarians’ Association.”
Impact of digital technology
“As a leading university in Turkey and also the Middle East, we believe that the Open Access movement is one of the most important and key developments to enhance scholarly communication nationwide and worldwide.
Working for a leading university is really challenging. We need to focus on the needs of our end users. Middle East Technical University is placed among the top 60 universities in the “World Reputation Rankings 2013″, recently announced by Times Higher Education (THE). METU Library plays a vital role in research processes and scientific output. I think the technological advances will force librarians to redefine their job descriptions and their roles”
Role of a librarian today
“There are several critical skills librarians need to thrive in today’s academic society where digital information is widely available. It’s important for librarians stay current in the latest trends in web communications and social media. That will help for planning and executing programs for mobile technologies. To provide a library with reliable and licensed content that are worthy investments, librarians need to constantly research different products and providers, monitor trials, obtain price quotes, as well as provide collection analysis and other data assessment.”
To read more about Emre’s work, you can reach him at akbayrak@metu.edu.tr, connect with him on LinkedIn, follow him on Twitter or visit his blog http://bluesyemre.com/.
