The “impossible mandate.” Competencies, professionalization, and the reality of job postings in public libraries

Abstract

Public libraries face an “impossible mandate” dictated by strategic guidelines that require them to be safeguards against disinformation, promoters of the SDGs, defenders of cultural rights, and experts in IA. This discourse, however, clashes with an administrative reality that perpetuates deprofessionalization, evidenced by job postings for staff without the required specific training and the increasing outsourcing of services. This article analyzes this structural contradiction, using a heritage project (“Iron, Sea, and Digital Memory”) as a case study to illustrate the actual skills needed (institutional mediation, pedagogical design, responsible digital publishing, accessibility), which are incompatible with the required profile. It is argued that, while a degree does not automatically guarantee excellence—a point that demands professional self-criticism—it is a necessary condition for addressing the complexity of current library work. The analysis is based on specific data regarding calls for proposals in the Basque Country (Table 1), connecting them with previous studies on the precarious situation of libraries in rural areas and small towns nationwide. The underlying problem is identified as a structural funding shortfall, and the legal framework (Law 11/2007, Library Cooperation Council) is reviewed. Finally, the text concludes with a call for collective professional action: to move beyond the implementation of individual “best practices” and become actively involved in defending the library ecosystem through associations—the thankless but essential work of “the third screen.”