Week 7: Defining a Profession
***This week I read the assigned articles in reversed order, which I think altered my overall impression yet it didn’t interfere with the global theme of stereotypes. I started with a more light-hearted comparison between librarian and party girl, moved on to a depressing analysis of the deprofessionalization of my career choice compounded with the racial biases of librarians’ in the first half of the twentieth century. Finally, it was the US Department of Labor that gave me hope once again that librarianship is not a sinking boat, that there is a place in the near future (and hopefully much longer!) for librarians, but that the librarian of the future will not be the same as the librarian of the last century. Overall, these readings were bittersweet at best, but I feel optimistic for the next wave of librarians who can proactively change society’s conception of librarians and the role of the library in society through awareness and professional evolution.
Gary and Marie Radford “Librarians and the Party Girls”
This article effectively illustrates how alive the stereotype of the female librarian as cold matriarch remains in our modern society, as even recent films prey on these characteristics. When I began telling friends and family that I would be starting library school, the majority of people reacted the same: so you want to learn the Dewey Decimal System right? Do libraries still use the Dewey Decimal System? How do you feel about the Dewey System? That particular system of cataloging is so pervasive that people completely unaffiliated with libraries (people I would generously label infrequent library users) know Dewey as a catch phrase for library professionals, as Mary experiences from her friends. Once people got the Dewey Decimal System quips out of their system, the second most common question was whether or not I’d be getting more practical shoes now, possibly a hanging chain for my glasses (which I don’t even wear), or how tight I would be winding the librarian bun on my head. I still get these comments; I was shopping with a friend and she lovingly pointed out “the most librarian of outfits you could get”. It was a dress with a long pleated skirt, high neckline like a turtleneck, and long blouse sleeves. I remember telling her that what she picked out was everything I was actively avoiding in terms of image, and how I planned to breath a little life into the profession. Not only with my meager sense of trendy fashion, but more importantly, I will try to integrate modern ideals of a changing library world with an outdated popular construction of who a librarian is and what a librarian does. This article provides a solid starting point, not only by calling attention to the main character’s transformation through stereotypes, but also by showing how LIS can benefit from an interdisciplinary analysis of its professional and academic scope. In order to switch gears from traditional library paradigms to more modern views of librarians in a technological society, future librarians will need to be educated with a well-rounded knowledge of LIS matters in addition to related fields, like computer science, psychology to further understand users, or cultural studies. Only by expanding the librarian’s functions out of the stacks and into the developing information markets can we hope to update how librarians are seen by the techno-savvy library users of tomorrow.
Roma Harris “Information technology and the de-skilling of librarians”
The author’s pessimistic analysis of how automation is changing librarianship made me wonder whether I have decided to pursue the wrong profession. With all the quotes she incorporates on how librarians of the past won’t have a place in the future, I wondered if I had just bought a last minute ticket for the Titanic. After only a few moments of despair, I realized that is truly the attitude of a quitter, not to sound like a middle school coach. With society’s growing emphasis on digital information and the development of new information management software, databases, and web-based programs, it seems to me librarians will need to adapt, evolve, and flourish to avoid being phased out of various information agencies. Harris claims that even new labels will be created, like “information consultants” to mimic new responsibilities like a “for-profit version of traditional library reference service” (7). That sounds to me like one very exciting opportunity, to be able to efficiently and thoroughly help users because I will only be focusing on a few. However, Harris’ idea of the commodification of information certainly made me reconsider the traditional values of our society as upheld by public libraries, in particular how access to materials should be provided for everyone, not just those who can pay for it. In the future, I see a split in librarianship. There will be those who engage in private practice, working as said information consultants or personal reference assistants, within a natural progression of specialized or corporate libraries. Maybe some librarians will be fortunate enough to stake out their own firm or business, self-employed and taking on clients with the same prestige and autonomy as say an attorney or other intimate consultant. Concurrently, some librarians will hold fast to the public institutions, but with their increased knowledge in new information management technology these ‘librarians’ (who may be called something else in the context of a digital library) will provide an invaluable service to society by educating those people who are most susceptible to being marginalized by information with a cost. Even though capitalistic momentum seems to be headed towards privatizing access to information, like Internet hook-ups with a monthly fee or database access only with privileged student status acquired at the price of tuition, it would be a sad, sad day if we as a society were to lose sight of all the benefits that come from the work of public and school librarians. Furthermore, how would librarians function without a library space equipped with the necessary resources to compete with other information markets if we do not continue to value their work and thus provide adequate funding? In light of privatization, we must always remember to value that which betters all of society, or all too soon we will feel the negative consequences of letting free access to information slip away.
Klaus Musmann “The ugly side of librarianship”
It’s unfortunate that such an article as this had to be written. It gives me hope to look back over the history of just the last few decades and see how far society has progressed, but it is also critical to acknowledge how many more changes still need to be implemented. One of the most striking parts of this article for me was the paradoxical status quo that librarians, administrators, and others in positions of authority during the 1920/30s rested on in good conscience. Musmann documents how African Americans were rarely if ever able to find employment in libraries; in Kansas City the “librarian at the African American branch was white since the library has ‘never found an efficient colored one’ (90). However, Musmann also details how even Kansas City, which ranked high in public library access for African Americans relative to the rest of the country, failed to provide equal access to library training programs since the school system was segregated. Isn’t that a convenient circular arrangement to prevent any upheaval of the current power structure in place? Certainly an untrained African American could not compete for employment with all the other applicants who had finished a professional program; who could? The playing field could not conceivably be rendered any more unleveled. In light of this gross inequality, I was also surprised to learn that the ALA did not take a more active stance to help African American librarians find a foothold; they wouldn’t even grant a permanent round table allowance on the topic at their annual meeting. Fortunate are we all that exceptionally valiant people come along, like Ernestine Rose, Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Margaret Sanger, and Susan B. Anthony to name but a select few, who set a brilliant example of the greatness of which we are all capable.
US Dept. of Labor “Occupational Outlook Handbook—Librarians”
As I stated earlier, though this was the first assigned reading on the syllabus, I chose to read in reverse order, and I am glad I did. This publication on the outlook of librarianship as a profession seems to be optimistic for the next wave of librarians, at least in the sense that no end is yet in sight. In the future, however, libraries will need to adjust their infrastructure considerably in order to stay competitive with other information providers like Google and their online, universally accessible format. There may also be serious changes to the traditional perception of a librarian. Not only will we have to consistently keep up with if not ahead of new technology and with how to effectively integrate it, but will also need to evolve into personal information consultants or risk obsolescence. Though I do not see the public library disintegrating in light of the Internet, more people will find the information they need online, and so they will need guidance more than an actual locale. As the older generation gets ready to retire, the newer generations of librarians will need to face the challenges of faster, newer technology head on, designing a new model for the library and its transforming role in the lives of its users.
Gary and Marie Radford “Librarians and the Party Girls”
This article effectively illustrates how alive the stereotype of the female librarian as cold matriarch remains in our modern society, as even recent films prey on these characteristics. When I began telling friends and family that I would be starting library school, the majority of people reacted the same: so you want to learn the Dewey Decimal System right? Do libraries still use the Dewey Decimal System? How do you feel about the Dewey System? That particular system of cataloging is so pervasive that people completely unaffiliated with libraries (people I would generously label infrequent library users) know Dewey as a catch phrase for library professionals, as Mary experiences from her friends. Once people got the Dewey Decimal System quips out of their system, the second most common question was whether or not I’d be getting more practical shoes now, possibly a hanging chain for my glasses (which I don’t even wear), or how tight I would be winding the librarian bun on my head. I still get these comments; I was shopping with a friend and she lovingly pointed out “the most librarian of outfits you could get”. It was a dress with a long pleated skirt, high neckline like a turtleneck, and long blouse sleeves. I remember telling her that what she picked out was everything I was actively avoiding in terms of image, and how I planned to breath a little life into the profession. Not only with my meager sense of trendy fashion, but more importantly, I will try to integrate modern ideals of a changing library world with an outdated popular construction of who a librarian is and what a librarian does. This article provides a solid starting point, not only by calling attention to the main character’s transformation through stereotypes, but also by showing how LIS can benefit from an interdisciplinary analysis of its professional and academic scope. In order to switch gears from traditional library paradigms to more modern views of librarians in a technological society, future librarians will need to be educated with a well-rounded knowledge of LIS matters in addition to related fields, like computer science, psychology to further understand users, or cultural studies. Only by expanding the librarian’s functions out of the stacks and into the developing information markets can we hope to update how librarians are seen by the techno-savvy library users of tomorrow.
Roma Harris “Information technology and the de-skilling of librarians”
The author’s pessimistic analysis of how automation is changing librarianship made me wonder whether I have decided to pursue the wrong profession. With all the quotes she incorporates on how librarians of the past won’t have a place in the future, I wondered if I had just bought a last minute ticket for the Titanic. After only a few moments of despair, I realized that is truly the attitude of a quitter, not to sound like a middle school coach. With society’s growing emphasis on digital information and the development of new information management software, databases, and web-based programs, it seems to me librarians will need to adapt, evolve, and flourish to avoid being phased out of various information agencies. Harris claims that even new labels will be created, like “information consultants” to mimic new responsibilities like a “for-profit version of traditional library reference service” (7). That sounds to me like one very exciting opportunity, to be able to efficiently and thoroughly help users because I will only be focusing on a few. However, Harris’ idea of the commodification of information certainly made me reconsider the traditional values of our society as upheld by public libraries, in particular how access to materials should be provided for everyone, not just those who can pay for it. In the future, I see a split in librarianship. There will be those who engage in private practice, working as said information consultants or personal reference assistants, within a natural progression of specialized or corporate libraries. Maybe some librarians will be fortunate enough to stake out their own firm or business, self-employed and taking on clients with the same prestige and autonomy as say an attorney or other intimate consultant. Concurrently, some librarians will hold fast to the public institutions, but with their increased knowledge in new information management technology these ‘librarians’ (who may be called something else in the context of a digital library) will provide an invaluable service to society by educating those people who are most susceptible to being marginalized by information with a cost. Even though capitalistic momentum seems to be headed towards privatizing access to information, like Internet hook-ups with a monthly fee or database access only with privileged student status acquired at the price of tuition, it would be a sad, sad day if we as a society were to lose sight of all the benefits that come from the work of public and school librarians. Furthermore, how would librarians function without a library space equipped with the necessary resources to compete with other information markets if we do not continue to value their work and thus provide adequate funding? In light of privatization, we must always remember to value that which betters all of society, or all too soon we will feel the negative consequences of letting free access to information slip away.
Klaus Musmann “The ugly side of librarianship”
It’s unfortunate that such an article as this had to be written. It gives me hope to look back over the history of just the last few decades and see how far society has progressed, but it is also critical to acknowledge how many more changes still need to be implemented. One of the most striking parts of this article for me was the paradoxical status quo that librarians, administrators, and others in positions of authority during the 1920/30s rested on in good conscience. Musmann documents how African Americans were rarely if ever able to find employment in libraries; in Kansas City the “librarian at the African American branch was white since the library has ‘never found an efficient colored one’ (90). However, Musmann also details how even Kansas City, which ranked high in public library access for African Americans relative to the rest of the country, failed to provide equal access to library training programs since the school system was segregated. Isn’t that a convenient circular arrangement to prevent any upheaval of the current power structure in place? Certainly an untrained African American could not compete for employment with all the other applicants who had finished a professional program; who could? The playing field could not conceivably be rendered any more unleveled. In light of this gross inequality, I was also surprised to learn that the ALA did not take a more active stance to help African American librarians find a foothold; they wouldn’t even grant a permanent round table allowance on the topic at their annual meeting. Fortunate are we all that exceptionally valiant people come along, like Ernestine Rose, Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Margaret Sanger, and Susan B. Anthony to name but a select few, who set a brilliant example of the greatness of which we are all capable.
US Dept. of Labor “Occupational Outlook Handbook—Librarians”
As I stated earlier, though this was the first assigned reading on the syllabus, I chose to read in reverse order, and I am glad I did. This publication on the outlook of librarianship as a profession seems to be optimistic for the next wave of librarians, at least in the sense that no end is yet in sight. In the future, however, libraries will need to adjust their infrastructure considerably in order to stay competitive with other information providers like Google and their online, universally accessible format. There may also be serious changes to the traditional perception of a librarian. Not only will we have to consistently keep up with if not ahead of new technology and with how to effectively integrate it, but will also need to evolve into personal information consultants or risk obsolescence. Though I do not see the public library disintegrating in light of the Internet, more people will find the information they need online, and so they will need guidance more than an actual locale. As the older generation gets ready to retire, the newer generations of librarians will need to face the challenges of faster, newer technology head on, designing a new model for the library and its transforming role in the lives of its users.
posted by lwinkle at 7:51 PM
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