The Myth of the Dying Library

Too many times in the past couple of years there have been calendars and magazine covers from various spots around the country touting sexy, hip, tattooed, and beer sipping librarians. Not to mention cute slogans for t-shirts that no one ever sees outside a library that say "I geek history". As if this translates into going to the library to find out more. Wearing this t-shirt only makes people read and dismiss the shirt with a shrug and "who cares" attitude. Marketing ideas that sadly miss the mark. Which makes librarians look like the whiny kids in a junior high lunch room who want to sit at the "cool kids" table. Seriously, is it any wonder why no one pays attention or takes our message to heart. Who cares if our image is the little lady with the bun, glasses and practical shoes. I'd much rather have that image then have the myth of the dying libraries being spread from community to community. Yes, another blog about why libraries matter in our communities. More importantly, why libraries will play an intergral role in the future.

First and foremost, librarians are true reformers in every sense of the word. Technology has not taken us out of the picture as it relates to providng information and services. Rather, eBooks, digital database and online access are all part of the library's arsenal to lead our patrons into the Digital Age. These nifty digital tools have allowed librarians to provide quality service, quickly and responsibly with the use of documented sources. It seems absurd that images of the card catalogs with three by five cards remain. Could this be due to the fact that many patrons have not been in a library since their school days twenty years ago? On the positive side, these patrons that are coming back to the place where they know inforamtion can be found. That is the library's brand, information.

The library has evolved over the centuries. Pharoahs and Kings considered libraries as signs of "wealth." Roman culture not only saw the value of literacy in the home, but they may have been the first to come up with the idea of a community centered library. In American history, Benjamin Franklin introduced the idea of a "subscription" library which later became known as the public library. These examples of the library's role in communities all point to a common theme: Information and sharing of ideas. The digital age has taken information and shairng ideas to a different playing field. It's all about access. Which leads to the next radical step for libraries. Owning and lending books is no longer the job of the library. Access from any computer, any time, any where is the key to the library's future. Many libraries have already begun to blaze a trail through the digital landscape. Which is good, but now is the time for a bolder vision.

Libraries of all shapes and sizes have performed the task of providing information and ideas by purchasing books, periodicals and videos for the community that they serve. Thus the materials belonged not to the libarry but to the community. The day is coming, where libraries will act as portals for information to flow through. Will there be a "need" to purchase and store books, videos or other sources of inforamtion? Not in the traditional sense. The storage will slowly but surely drift towards servers, databases and computers. In other words, libraries' computer networks will provide the "stoarge" for digital information for anyone who has a computer to tap into on a day to day basis. There will be no need for checking out items. One will simply download the inforamtion needed. Sharing documents and ideas can be effectively done through social media. Which begs the question, why would a library as a physical place to visit be needed? It is quite perceivable that the library will morph into a community center/park and recreation facility.

Librarians will have to face the challenges of becoming a leader in informantion searches and retrieval. There are many, budgeting for digital resources is high on the list. Now is the time to act quickly on securing private funding for the expensive upkeep of computers and digital tools. What every libarian must keep in mind is that in this ever changing world, there are two commodities that will always be useful, powerful and sought after: information and ideas. Libraries have the abilty to pocesses and use tools to secure these commodities. Its time to put the buidling blocks into place before every community begins to believe the myth of the dying library.

A Librarian is...

This entry of the blog began many months ago but was never published. For some reason every time it was just about ready to post, something seemed out of place. As if the definition of a librarian was not fully developed or explained. It really isn't difficult to describe what the profession provides to a community. What can be a road block often tends to be ripping apart the stereo-type of librarians. Perhaps the best way to describe who a librarian is and what the job entails is to address the myths.

Myth number one: Not all librarians are quiet, nerdy and spinster. Added to that being uptight. Each librarian, as in any profession, has their own personality, quirks and passion. Librarians happen to be a pretty interesting group of people. Recently, librarians have had to become a little bit vocal due to the budget cuts that are effecting libraries nationwide. That is a good thing. It's time to break the myth that librarians are the quiet, respectful and let the chips fall where they may types. Give it some thought, librarians have the ability to be rebels of society with a simple mouse click. Information is a dangerous thing at times, and librarians are just the rebels who can help the masses get a hold of information that will make some in Washington quake in their boots and listen to their constituents.

Myth number two: A librarians job is great because they get to read great novels all day long. Any smart librarian will agree that their job is wonderful, but what it's not because they get to read all day. (That is only the case with retired librarians, underemployed and unemployed librarians.) The days of a librarian are filled with book reviews, ordering, programming, answering question and cataloging. In some small libraries, it may even consist of one librarian doing all of the above us circulation duties, inter-library loan and the list goes on. Don't assume that a librarians knowledge of literature is a by product of the job. Much of it is because it they read on their own time. Just like everyone else who loves to read but can't do it on work time.

Myth number three: The profession can be done by someone with a high school diploma. To this day, most people don't realize the training that a librarian goes through in order to obtain a librarian's job. First of all, the time and financial constraints that are placed on a person to obtain a Master's degree is well worth the work. Before obtaining the degree, librarians must understand the process of research, information organization, and identifying resources tools that fit the needs of a particular library. For example, a small town library may not invest in the same databases that a medical library would and vice versa.

Myth number four: In regards to Children librarians, their job must be the easiest of all in the library because they don't deal with "adult" topics. That is so false it's not even funny. Children Librarians deal with every child from birth to ninety-nine. Grandparents seek the Children librarian's advice when looking for titles that will appeal to their young grandchildren. Parents consult librarians on how to foster and encourage their children to read. Children from elementary school through high school need homework help from the local library. All of this is mixed in with storytime, programming and collection development. Whew! Talk about your Super Hero who does it all in one day and still finds time to save the world.

Myth number five: Librarians are not with the techie times. Really, more often than not librarians are keeping up with digital trends such as e-book and social media, not only to keep themselves up to date but also to help their patrons to stay on top of all the changes in gathering information. Cascada's music video "Everytime We Touch" is both humorous and infuriating. While giving the artist credit for choosing a male librarian as the object of her "serenade", one has to ask what library still has a card catalog? Libraries and librarians have long let go of the ancient tools for a novel invention called computers, digital catalogs and databases. Why if Cascada is really interested, she may even find out that library patrons have access to their library's catalog in their homes by using the internet novel idea. As a side note, if a librarian is planning a Wii party, they may choose to use Dance Dance Revolution which by all accounts would get the teens in a dancing frenzy, but hey, it's all in the day's work of a librarian.

Myth number six: Librarian know it all. Well, partly this true because of all the weird trivia facts that have made their way into reference questions. Some facts are just hard to shake out of your head. Why else would a librarian know what the ethnic generational background of a person who is Quadroon is? In truth, librarians don't know it all but they do know the proper place to look for the information.

Librarians don't make a ton of money, but for all that they do there is no proper way to compensate their talents. In the words of the famous MasterCard commercial, "Book Budget $50,000, Library programming for adults and children: $10,000, Cost of a librarian with a Master's Degree: PRICELESS. Soon it will be National Library Week consider a thank you note to your favorite librarian. Their value to your community is Priceless.