I'm glad this topic came up because, for better or for worse, our profession is symbolized by the book. Such symbolism has limited us, and we have done this to ourselves.
Books are simply one of the manifestations of data, information, knowledge, and to some degree wisdom. If you were to ask the person on the street about libraries, then they would mention books. On the other hand, why, when you ask the same people about surgeons and carpenters do they not mention scalpels and hammers?
Libraries are not about books, but rather what is inside them. We have too much identified ourselves with the tools of our trade as opposed the core purposes. Changing this perception, both from the inside as well as the outside, will be a l o n g time coming.
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Eric Lease Morgan
University of Notre Dame
Received on Thu Jul 14 2011 - 08:55:02 EDT