Librarians without Libraries?!
by L. Young
(A brief look at where the profession is heading)
Book digitization and digital media is changing the way libraries work. Much like the internet changed many retailers' business models, the internet and proliferation of digital information is forcing libraries to consolidate and change how they "do business." As Eric Hellman explained in a recent post on his blog Go-To-Hellman:
"book digitization and the shift to e-books … will completely change the way most people use libraries.
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Public libraries will need to adapt their physical plants to accommodate this changed usage pattern. Stacks will become more warehouse-like; public spaces will have fewer books and more coffee. Patrons will demand larger collections, but will accept less physical access to print. Home delivery of library materials will become much more common.
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All of these trends will put pressure on libraries to work together on shared services, and ultimately to merge. Larger libraries will be more effective at delivering both print books and e-books, and patrons will care less about where the print books are stored when they're not being lent. Smaller libraries will find it difficult to support the technical and operational expertise needed to run the public library of 2020. (Hellman, 2010).
While this trend of library consolidation is easy to see, the question that I would like answered is: What is going to happen to all the librarians?!
A rather bleak view, expressed by poster "Jennifer" in response to Hellman's Blog, is: "One result of [library consolidation] will be a need for far fewer professional librarians and (possibly) more library assistants. Here's hoping the profession gets ahead of this coming reality and boosts the assistants pay scale as fast and as far as they can since the future is one of many professional librarians living out their careers as assistants." (Hellman, 2010). Another view expressed by Barbara Quint, a writer for Searcher Magazine, anticipates that some library professionals will thrive while others are probably doomed (Quint, 2010) ("Fewer, Better Libraries run by Fewer, Better Librarians"). Other scholars believe that many of today's librarians will have to re-invent themselves to become "Cybrarians" - i.e., specialists at finding information on the internet, see Rau and Babo, 2001 (collecting sources), and still others believe that librarians, even in the traditional sense will still be needed and relevant tomorrow:
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| Intelligent agents may eventually "think" like librarians do today. (Rao and Babo, 2001). |
Codification and classification of [] information to facilitate easy location is best done now as well as in the foreseeable future by librarians. The familiarization with new gadgets and methodology of locating information for vast majority of population requires guides and librarians can easily fit into this role with training. The leveraging of the available information to suit the needs of clientele is also best done by the librarians. (Rao and Babo, 2001).
While I hope this latter prognosis is correct, with all of the changes that seem to be occurring in this profession, I am beginning to wonder what the future of librarianship actually is.
References
Hellman, E. (2010, Jan. 3). 2020: Fewer librarians, more locations. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://go-to-hellman.blogspot.com/2010/01/2020-fewer-libraries-more-locations.html
Quint, B. (2010, Feb.). The great divide. Searcher Magazine. Vol. 12, No. 2. Retrieved from http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/feb04/voice.shtml
Rao, K.N. and Babu, K.H. (2001). Role of librarian in internet and world wide web environment. Information Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 1, p. 27.
I wanted to lead folks to a couple of blogs. A Google search under the following turns up some thoughtful information. The first is: A Librarian at Every Table, the second is: A Librarian at the Kitchen Table. A quote...Librarians are the keepers of culture and history.
ReplyDeleteI think we might be somewhat hopeful just reading the WSU email job possibilities. I think librarians have much to offer and certainly an expanded role for them both in the kinds of work that can be done and in where we are doing it. Do you think it would be true that the more people know their local librarians and what they can contribute, the more they will appreciate their libraries? Library visits for the next project have been enlightening. I visited a tiny library with a staff of 8. They answered a whopping 7300 reference call last year! There is an article in a now defunct but indexed blog called Ex Libris, about community outreach for librarians. You can fine it at http://marylaine.com/exlibris/index.html.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments and links Geri. I too have been surprised by how many job openings there are on the listserve. What's worried me since I started the program is how underpaid some of the positions seem to be, especially for the more experienced and technical positions.
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