As a penultimate journal entry, we’ve been
invited to revisit our opening posts, to take another look at our assumptions
and beliefs as we began this semester’s explorations of the LIS profession, and
to see if there are ways that these assertions have changed, evolved, or stayed
the course. I offer a snapshot of each
assumption below, along with a bit of commentary, regarding where I am now,
after getting my feet wet in the LIS pool.
#1: Rapid changes in technology have made for a
very different LIS landscape than just a few years ago – yet even with such
significant changes, the foundational tasks of librarianship still remain the
same. As we round out this semester
of introduction to the profession, I am pleased to note that this assumption
still holds water. I myself have held
firm throughout, with a solid stance in the foundational people-focused areas
of librarianship – especially service, intellectual freedom, equal access and
social responsibility. This stance has
been buttressed by our learning about such essential professional components as
the ALA’s core
values and code of ethics for professional librarianship, and as some of my posts below will attest, there are so many
ways in which librarians across the spectrum are sharply focused on how best to
provide excellent library service – on behalf of the people they serve and the
possibilities that are before each individual, each community, and our very
society – as the information terrain continues to morph into the future.
#2: LIS professionals embrace change and
innovation a bit more quickly and positively than members of other professions,
harnessing the power of new technologies in light of our shared mission to make
resources readily and easily available to the people who desire and need them. I’m going to say that I’ve had to take a wee
step back from this assumption… Not
because I’ve encountered LIS professionals who are generally wary of new
technologies, but because it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons of new
technologies, towards living out our libraries’ missions on behalf of the
people we serve. Our team blog
assignment on patron-driven acquisitions offers a
good example. The jury’s still out on
PDA, as a collection development method that benefits libraries and patrons
alike; there appear to be plenty of academic librarians who have embraced PDA,
as well as plenty who yet remain unconvinced that this is a responsible way to
grow a library’s offerings. Social media
tools provide another good example.
Rather than jumping on the bandwagon, libraries do well to think
reflectively about whether such networking and marketing opportunities will
enhance their mission, or instead distract from the work that is at the core of
librarianship. With all of that said,
I’ll tweak this assumption, to say that LIS professionals embrace change and
innovation, with a healthy amount of professional skepticism (a “hermeneutic of
suspicion,” some might say in other circles), and with an eye toward what is
professionally responsible.
#3: Wherever I (or any other LIS professional, for that matter) will end
up, it is incumbent upon us to be a champion for our public libraries – for
they offer a service to each of us and to our common good that is perhaps
unmatched anywhere else! As with my
first assertion, I will stand firmly by this one! As I noted in my opening post, all libraries
are about possibility, as they contain a diverse wealth of ever-growing
knowledge and information, and they provide individuals and communities with
access to that knowledge and information, sparking new potential and growth for
any and all who may seek it. And our public libraries are about possibility in the broadest, most democratic
sense. One thing that I have begun to
sense this semester is that bridges between public libraries and other library
settings may be more common in research and academic/blogospheric reflection
about librarianship than it may be in actual practice. One of the librarians I interviewed for a
class “library visits” assignment lamented the increasing lack of connection
between public libraries and academic libraries (she being a public librarian
in a big ten college town). And even in
the blogosphere, there may some rifts here and there (e.g., a
recent rant by Annoyed Librarian about the apparent paucity of non-public
and, especially, special libraries in the very public library focused National
Library Week celebrations). But such
day-to-day divisions aside, it is still incumbent upon all of us to champion
our public libraries, for the ways they contribute to human potential and
growth within so many communities throughout our nation and globe. And I would imagine that even the most non-publicly
focused librarian – even if prone to the occasional rant – is yet committed to
this essential public service!
#4: And
my closing assumption in that first post?
I receive the most satisfaction
from my work when I am able to help people find the resources that they want or
need in order to do what they seek to do, be it for the most specific of
research or vocational interests, or for the simple joy of pleasure
reading. With that consistent pattern, my natural sense of curiosity, and
my dual passions for service and fostering life long learning in others… I have
a hunch that I’m gonna love this new endeavor!
Thanks to LIS 6010, so far so good! J
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