I am sometimes, and more often than I care for, approached
by friends, family, and library patrons with a particular question: "With the internet and everything going
digital, aren't you worried that Librarians won't be needed anymore?"
My first response is always surprise because initially the
question feels more like "Isn't your job kind of unnecessary right now
given all of our technology?" And
then I try to put myself in their shoes.
They probably haven't had to ask a Librarian for help in a while because
they either don't use the library very often or were taught (by another
Librarian a while ago) how to use a library catalog or other library resources,
including digital ones! Or maybe they
are under the impression that libraries are for keeping books (and being
quietly shushed by conservative ladies with nerdy glasses) and that only Google
is for finding information.
Whatever the reason, I try to show them that we Librarians
are more relevant than ever. Who else
can navigate new digital resources ahead of our patrons to help them through
rough information searches? Who else can
teach their children how to not only read a picture book for entertainment, but
a cereal box for information, and a website for its reliability. Who else can they chat with in-person, over
the phone, online, and through text messages to get information on where to
find something or advice on what they might enjoy reading? And who else is going to show them new and
innovative ways to use that new technology that is supposedly making libraries obsolete?
I write this post, not as a complaint so much as a faithful proclamation,
that libraries have and always will evolve to suit the needs of their society
and that Librarians will always be the keepers of knowledge, teachers of information
gathering skills, and advocates for those who still need our professional
expertise.
