Wanted: Bibliotechnologist

In the midst of a hiring freeze and a diminishing budget, K-State Salina embraced the continuing trend of a combined position that pairs library services and instructional technology. The current economic climate makes adding positions in higher education a luxury. Even a currently existing position is not always filled. The creation of a budget friendly, combined position meets the increased research needs brought about by a new university vision and graduate program. This coupled with the need for onsite instructional technology support led to the search for someone with a combination of library and instructional technology skills a “bibliotechnologist”. This paper explores and discusses how this position came to fruition, the research behind creating the position and how the merge was successfully justified and accepted by college administration. Furthermore, this paper discusses benefits and challenges witnessed since the merged position was implemented.