On Fri, 15 Jul 2011, Ted Koppel wrote:
> Is this really a new controversy? Seems like ... every now and then it
> pops to the top of the list and then moves along.
The reason for that may be obvious-- librarians seem to pay too much
attention to being "outstanding in their field" and too little to being
innovative and expanding the parameters of that field.
> Each time, the question "What is a library? Does it have a reason to
> exist?" comes up. And each time ... the outcome has been that ... value
> added services provided by library personnel ... [are] what gives the
> library it's raison d'être.
It's time we considered dealing with the collections as a value-added
service in relation to what no one else is doing or could do as
efficiently as we "knowledge managers"-- teach people critical thinking
and how to interpret information. Spoon-fed information is as
counterproductive and misleading (if not dangerous) as handing an infant a
loaded assault rifle. The reciepient has to at least learn how to clean
it!
> I'm somewhat disheartened by Mr. Huppert's assertion that librarians are
> nothing more than accountants.
Agreed, but he may not be the only one ...
> I'm more inclined to agree ... that it is not *only* book and not *only*
> databases and not *only* personnel that gives the library its value -
> rather, it is the combination of all three that either makes a library
> valuable (or as sometimes happens, not.)
Actually, the number of accounts the librarians handle to balance a
single budget, or a static relationship with the outside world, does not
give them exceptional value either. Think outside the "box"!
Cheers!
jgm
John G. Marr
Cataloger
CDS, UL
Univ. of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
jmarr_at_unm.edu
jmarr_at_flash.net
**There are only 2 kinds of thinking: "out of the box" and "outside
the box."
Opinions belong exclusively to the individuals expressing them, but
sharing is permitted.
Received on Fri Jul 15 2011 - 12:27:36 EDT