Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Vivacious 21st Century Librarian

Many people believe that Books are being pushed aside for digital learning centers and gaming areas. "Loud rooms" that promote public discourse and group projects are taking over the bookish quiet. Hipster staffers who blog, chat on Twitter and care little about the Dewey Decimal System are edging out old-school librarians (Sutter).

So how can working librarians get past the chronic stereotypes and present themselves as information professionals who represent a vivacious 21st century profession? Personally I believe the stereotype that librarians have will always be there; because for one it gives people something funny say when they come in contact with someone that works at a library. I too must admit that I once stereotyped librarians. I always thought of librarians as being mean, old, and smart (I thought they knew everything).  I viewed them (us) that way because that’s all I had seen on television, so when my parents would take me to the library it terrified me.
Now as technology is progressing so has the duties of a librarian, and they are changing constantly, but the foundation will forever be the same. But getting past the stereotype and striving in the 21st century doesn’t and won’t happen overnight.
Working librarians will get past the chronic stereotypes by knowing who they are as a person and as a professional. Many people become librarians because they enjoy helping others find information. We have librarians that are stereotyped as tall, short, big, little, big hair, no hair, with teeth, and without teeth. None of these attributes contribute or take away from how we provide services to our users.
Today more than any time in history information is more social and more online and because of this, librarians are possessing a whole new professional look.  The physical building of a library no longer enslaves librarians to a particular space. Librarians now must venture into the digital space, becoming a professional on Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs. With the new found duties are also some new titles; Information Scientist or Information Specialist (Sutter,2009).

Reference
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/04/future.library.technology/

6 comments:

  1. Re: Library stereotypes. I never really thought about them much until I entered this program. Now, whenever I tell people that I'm studying MLIS, people tell me, "Oh, I can see that." In fact, when I was an intern, I went to a City Council meeting, and the mayor told me that I "looked like a librarian." What does that mean?! At any rate, I guess I should just take it as a compliment and say "thanks." No need for me to further reinforce any negative stereotypes about librarians. ;)

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    1. Hi Michelle, people tell me, oh you don't look like a librarian. And I proudly ask, what do librarians look like. Time brings changes, the library as we know it has changed. More people come to the library to use the internet and wi-fi that to check out books. So why can't the "Librarian" Change...

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  2. You know, it seems like librarians' perceptions of themselves and their place of work are changing waaaaaay ahead of the public's. A patron shushed ME the other day when I wasn't even using my outside voice. Yes, the library can be a place of quiet study, but if you want that to be guaranteed, book a study room. The public library I work at has quite a steady stream of families with their kids and, truth be told, it can get a little noisy. It's really more of a community gathering place than an academic, austere environment. The library staff don't "shush" patrons unless they are being unreasonably loud or disruptive. I guess all we can do to change the stereotype is just keep being our cool, professional selves.

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    1. Hi Kate, your library sounds a lot like our library. Times are different for the public libraries and getting a study is the best thing for the "shushers"!

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  3. "Hipster staffers" made me literally laugh out loud. I love me some hipster library blogs. I also had the exact same experience when I was a child going to the library and being scared of the librarian. I can remember two that when I saw them I would hide behind my mother. Being now employed in the library system where they worked I mentioned my experience to some of the senior librarians and they were surprised. Apparently the two ladies I was terrified of were actually very sweet and were great to work with. But, as a child when a librarian did not make the effort to engage me and did not address me I equated it with meanness. I have learned from that and will at least smile and say hello to children who come into the library. Librarians have to make the effort and project a pleasant image.

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    1. Angelica, you make a great point, being polite to the children will help children feel more comfortable enjoying the library, instead of having a fear like we did. I "try" to make everyone feel welcome.

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