A coming brain drain as librarians retire?

As libraries face the departure of staff with well-honed reference skills, years of experience in the community, and deep knowledge of the collection and traditional resources, how can we identify and retain their departing expertise—the gold in the library's intellectual vault? How can we ensure that newly minted employees with e-knowledge skills have access to and a growing appreciation of what is most valuable in traditional knowledge?

Now, perhaps more than ever before in the history of our profession, what we do and what we are will be affected by retirement's brain drain. We need to be proactive in finding ways to hold on to valuable skills and knowledge. This is more than just succession planning; it is the redefinition and reinforcement of our core services and values. Read more of this article by Amy Hartman and Meg Delaney on how to address this increasingly common situation in America's libraries as more and more librarians reach retirement age in American Libraries
online.