I have been a librarian for fewer than 10 years, and have seen so many changes already that sometimes it boggles my mind to think of where we might be in 5 years, in 10 years... BUT as a profession we have always tried to be collaborative, customer friendly, and welcoming.
I personally work very hard to embrace the changes that bring daily challenges to my work space and my patrons. I take to heart the comment that "if our services can't be used without training... fix the service" but I also understand that we serve patrons at both ends of the technology spectrum, and we must continue to realize, while moving ahead and embracing the tools of the 21st century, that we can't ignore patrons who need help bridging the technology gap, and we can't ignore patrons who come to the library for a human interaction.
I think the challenge is to be there 24/7 in web 2.0, but also to realize that some patrons want and need the brick and mortar library as well. Our goal then is not to impede access on either front.
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Joey,
ReplyDeleteYour post really got me thinking. Our 21st century careers are morphing quickly, aren't they?
In my experience, the services we offer students DO need training and it's not because they need fixing. Because my patrons range in age from 4 to 10, there will always be users who can't "intuitively use" the automated catalog, our databases, our media applications, etc. because the features of the programs are outside their inexperienced intuition.
I think being there at the point of need, whether it is based on a technology need or just finding that wanted book with the red cover is the challenge. Whether the patron is online or inside the bricks, most of them appreciate a live person's assistance--especially in elementary school libraries.