[Publib] Jobs and People

[Rob Amend]

Unfortunately, I think that two traditions work against us when it comes to
creating the mystique that other professions have. First, we teach our
patrons how to do it themselves--how to find a book in the catalog, how to
locate an article in a  database, how to refine their searches to find what
they're looking for. If we're showing someone how we did something, it must
be simple, right? Granted, their eyes may glaze over as they shut this step
out, but they'll just tell themselves that it was something boring that they
didn't really need to hear. We don't have a skill set, we just know the
layout better than they do.

Second, we tend to respect patron privacy by avoiding responsibility for
their information. We tend to worry that knowing the personal information
needed to complete a thorough search violates a patron's privacy. So rather
than having an ethical impulse not to disclose private information, we tend
to shun it altogether, so as not to be burdened with such a responsibility.
I know that this is a generalization, but I've seen it pretty consistently
in practice and in discussion.

So, if I work with a professional who tells me how to do things rather than
doing things for me, and they're afraid to handle my personal information, I
may not be inclined to take them too seriously.

Again, these are very broad generalizations. I'm just trying to get into the
heads of our patrons. There are other aspects of our profession that should
be more transparent, like what it is we do exactly when we're not on the
desk.

Rob Amend
Reference Librarian
rob.amend at gmail.com
blog.reftechrob.com


On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 7:04 PM, Hayden, Laura <lhayden at bcgov.net> wrote:

> I like to imagine that we'll be more behind the scenes, organizing
> information and creating (or helping programmers create) user-friendly
> interfaces - something like "information administrators." So maybe more
> required computer science-type courses in library school would be helpful -
> web design, database design and administration, maybe some *shudder*
> programming. Since I learned about the informatics program at Indiana
> University (
> http://www.informatics.indiana.edu/overview/what_is_informatics.asp) a
> couple years back, I've figured courses in that field would also help us
> out.
>
> This whole discussion almost - ALMOST - makes me wish I'd been a mechanic
> or electrician or something, so I don't have to explain all the time WHY I
> need a master's degree to use Google/point at the restrooms/unfreeze the
> computers/investigate wet chairs. (As for that last one, it's raining here,
> thank goodness!)
>
> Laura Hayden, MLS, Reference Librarian, Beaufort Branch Library
> 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC 29902
> 843.470.6522   lhayden at bcgov.net
> www.beaufortcountylibrary.org
> For Learning ~ For Leisure ~ For Life
>
> *Opinions are my own and not necessarily those of Beaufort County Library*
>
> ________________________________
>
>
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