Week 6 #15

I read all of the five perspectives. I found "Away from the Icebergs" and "To a Temporary Place in Time" to be the most interesting. I have been a librarian for 15 years, and libraries have made rapid changes in that time due to technology. Our card catalogs only disappeared about 12 years ago (and yet I still have people coming in asking where the "card file" is). I find that I have become more of a teacher. Every day I help people use the computer to find their information. The generation of children coming up will not need that kind of help, but I feel they will need help sifting through the vast amounts of information out there. I often feel overwhelmed with so much information. As librarians, we can be the guide, the info coach (as Wendy Schultz calls us) to help people find exactly what they need.



Since I have only been a librarian 15 years, I don't feel the need to collect the print sources, just in case, as some of my colleagues do. I have worked with a couple of librarians who have a tough time giving up some of the traditional reference sources, because someone once used it 3 years ago. As librarians we need to embrace the databases and information available online and make it easily accessible to our patrons.



I really liked the analogy that Rick Anderson uses about our shift from product to service. We used to sell coffee in coffee shops, and now we have Starbucks, which provides an entire atmosphere for it's coffee drinkers. We could do the same, provide a more elegant, relaxing atmosphere for our patrons. Abandon the days of no food or drink and provide small coffee shops for a more inviting experience. The way everything is changing, we're going to need to create a virtual library for our customers, as well, an online place where they feel comfortable and can easily access information.



It's an exciting time for librarians. We have a chance to redefine who and what we are. We need to continue to stay in touch with what our customers need and want, especially our younger customers who have grown up with online information. We need to keep open minds and search for new ways to bring quality service to our customers.