Information Vigilance

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.