Thomas Benton (the pen name of William Pannapacker, an associate professor of English at Hope College, in Holland, Mich.) has had an article he wrote published in The Chronicle of Higher Education. It's titled "Marian the Cybrarian" and it will likely end up being linked on many library web sites for the public to read and used (if for no other reason except motivation) by librarians/cybrarians (particularly the first-half) for some time to come. It might even be excellent item to get into the hands of people who haven't used a library in person or remotely in years.
Yes, it's published in the Chronicle of Higher Education so the focus is on academic librarians. However, that should stop you from reading it if you are another type of info pro since most of what Benton writes can be applied to all librarians or cybrarians, if you prefer.
Benton's article is more than sixteen hundred words. So, you're going to have to go and read it all. However, as always we will provide a few passages on our site. Also, the two people mentioned in the article have be mentioned, discussed, and had resources linked to in the past on ResorceShelf. So, look for several see also links at the end of the post.
1) Benton Writes:
It's not that many of today's librarians routinely dress in sunglasses and black leather (though some do). It's that, more than any other class of professionals in higher education, librarians possess a comprehensive understanding of the scholarly ecosystem....No less important, they are often the most informed people when it comes to technological change—its limits as well as its advantages.
2) Benton continues with very positive words about Marilyn Johnson's book, "This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All." Awesome!
Plus, just the quotes from Marilyn along with the interviews that she has give have been wonderful. We said this in several posts about the book posted on ResourceShelf beginning in February, 2010.
For example, this post includes a portion of a review from Salon with a link to the review, links to other reviews, ResourceShelf mentioning that Johnson should be a keynote speaker at every librarian conference and then hired by a major library organization, and a link to the Amazon.com page for the book. If you haven't read the book yet, you can skim/read some of it online for free. You can even search it using Amazon's Look Inside the Book Program.
A quick aside. Johnson's book is a good example of extra features and content from Amazon.com not being available on Google Books. Of course, the opposite is also true with many titles. That's why it's crucial to know about and use more than one resource. In this case, Amazon allows you to search and preview the book while Google Books has no preview available.
Now, back to the article.
3) Benton writes:
In my experience, librarians almost always pass the beer test: They are among the most likeable people you'll find at any college. They have the intellectual curiosity of academics without the aloofness and attitude often displayed by professors. If you are a stranger on a strange campus, the one person who will always save you is a librarian. They may still shush you in some places, but librarians will also go to the most extraordinary lengths to help you achieve your scholarly goals without asking for any of the credit.
Wow, not much to say about that passage except wow, one more time.
4) After a discussion of a Harvard Magazine article from the May/June 2010 issue, Benton begins to discuss comments made by the director of Harvard University Libraries, Robert Darnton that does an excellent job of summarizing Dr. Darnton's key points. Most of the rest of the article is a discussion of Darnton's thoughts.
5) Benton writes:
Unfortunately, much of our born-digital era will ultimately be lost to history because it was never recorded in the more stable medium of paper. Librarians can observe problems in physical libraries (such as fragments of yellowed paper around copiers), but media obsolescence and bit-rot can go on undetected until someone needs something digital that can no longer be recovered.
He's on target. What he writes about is very distinct possibility unless we remedy the issue with the proper technology that will be available in the next few years as opposed to being ready in 20 years. In fact, one research project is underway in Europe to learn more about the life span of various types of digital media. We think that digital preservation will become (it's just about there) one of the major issues for info pros moving forward. One reason, as we move forward more and more information will be produced. Where and how will it be saved and stored?
6) Finally, Benton selects a passage from Marilyn Johnson to conclude the article.
And as Marilyn Johnson describes them, libraries are becoming "the new village green." Far from being the declining years of these revered institutions, the present offers new opportunities for collaboration and democratization with the library—and librarians—at the center of that experience.
Let's hope so. For some types of libraries and librarians what Johnson describes can happen but it's going to mean a lot of hard and well organized group effort that includes promoting ourselves to the write people, demonstrating what we can do (vs. what people think librarianship is about (insert a Dewey Decimal related comment from a friend or relative here)) and keeping motivated. It's hard to go forward when each day you hear about colleagues being let go or read about libraries having their budgets severely cut. Two events I think will be key at least in terms of public libraries.
1) What happens in NYC regarding the MASSIVE budget cuts proposed by Mayor Bloomberg. If they come to pass or even if half of the cut is put back into the budget it will still be a major concern. Mayors and city councils around the country will say if NYC can do it, we can at least give it a go.
2) It will be interesting to see if the Google Book Search program reaches its desired goal. If so, again those who write the checks will likely ask, "why are we spending x amount of dollars on books when we can get something for free or a low once a year fee vs. buying books from all over the place. Karen Coyle has discussed this topic on several occasions. What Google Books gives us and are users is good enough. It could take the concept of satisficing to a whole new level.
Don't laugh, several years ago a librarian friends told us that a leader of the company dropped by the library asking if they still needed to pay for a database or two (essential resources in the field) since everything is on Google. Again, that was a couple of years ago.
As we always say, stay tuned. It's going to be interesting to watch and be a part of.
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