You need a degree for that
- 1. On the Road to Find Out: Why You Need a Degree For That IST 511 Sarah Helson
- 2. Librarians are often thought of in stereotypes, and therefore people also assume that they are all the same.
- 3. They assume that as a librarian, you are going to walk around dusty stacks shushing people while wearing glasses, a prim cardigan and a bun.
- 5. Many people will also ask you why you need a degree to be a librarian.
- 6. Their questions and assumptions may surprise you.
- 7. How hard is it to do an I only read on my Kindle, I don’t use libraries internet Do they teach you how to shush people? search? How hard can Libraries are dying. Is there a class in how to make a shelving be? perfect bun? You need a degree Digital book to manage the Anyone can collections count and use decline of libraries? don’t need a the Dewey librarian. Decimal I can Google it. System. If you don’t need a master’s to publish books, why do you need one to store/sort/care for them? Is it really that hard to alphabetize books? Books are all digital now.
- 8. Librarians do so much more than those things. And we are breaking the stereotype every day.
- 9. Librarians are constantly evolving in order to help their communities. For instance, many now use Twitter to help connect them to their patrons.
- 10. Far from becoming obsolete, librarians are capable of adapting easily. A portion of this comes from the new librarianship that is taught in graduate school.
- 11. Librarians are taught that their mission is to “improve society through knowledge creation in their communities.”
- 12. This does not mean that we, as librarians, will stay behind a desk and simply answer the questions about the location of the bathroom.
- 13. We will go out into the community and ask how we can help.
- 14. This might be by answering a question on how to find a book or other resources, or it could be by helping a member find the tools to start their own business.
- 15. Much of a librarian’s work can also be behind the scenes and they might never shelve a book.
- 16. A book needs to be cataloged before it reaches the shelves, and the world of MARC records and metadata can be confusing for the average community member (or the first year graduate student).
- 17. Plus, who said that a librarian has to be confined to the walls of a library?
- 18. Virtual reference practically allows you to keep a librarian in your pocket. Or your laptop.
- 19. But this reference librarian can now wander the aisles of the grocery store while answering your questions or while watching their favorite TV show.
- 20. As long as there is access to information, librarians will be there to help you find it.
- 21. Regardless of the status of ebooks in the library.
- 22. In the end…
- 23. We are facilators in the community
- 25. We are teachers
- 26. We are learners
- 27. We are information seekers
- 28. In the words of Cat Stevens, librarians are people who are “on the road to find out”
- 29. Credits Written and Produced by Sarah Helson as a portion of IST 511 at Syracuse University Song: “On the Road to Find Out” by Cat Stevens Quote from The Atlas of New Librarianship by R. David Lankes, page 14.