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October 18, 2004
NextGen librarians don't need to be all systems, all the time
Jessamyn posted about my entry on NextGen librarians and my thoughts on how library schools are just as responsible for our education as we are. I remember the conversation we had coming back from the library tour, and I don't remember who said what, either. However, I do remember that we talked at length about basic computer skills, and how every librarian should have them.
I also agree with Jessamyn that not every librarian needs to be a systems librarian. I think that all librarians would benefit from reading The Accidental Systems Librarian by Rachel Singer Gordon, and Net Effects by Marylaine Block. I'm reading both now, and even though I was a tech head in another life, I'm learning a great deal about the integration of those tech skills into the library environment, as well as all sorts of cool stuff that librarians who did and didn't have any formal technology training are doing.
While I do think that solutions in the library world are becoming more and more teched out, I don't think librarianship has reached the point where technology is the end-all and be-all. I made my focus in library school to really understand librarianship as a profession, and to really learn to use all of the tools of the trade, including print sources. To this day, there are times when, if someone asks me a question, I'll know exactly what print source to go to before I even think to do a search on the web.
The key is the *blend* of skills. Classic library skills, communication skills, people-networking skills, tech skills, and a love for the profession. Not just a way out of a recession. That's who the library schools should be putting out right now. And it's who libraries should be hiring.
October 18, 2004 10:28 AM