Comments on: Online Discussion 1: Professions Do Not Stand Still

By: May I ask you a question? « Keeping Awkward in Style

May I ask you a question? « Keeping Awkward in Style — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:11:19 +0000

[...] or attach something to email for the 10th time my patience was tried a bit, but I was reminded of a class discussion we’d had a few months ago concerning this very thing. And more importantly, it is my job to [...]

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:43:27 +0000

I agree with the manager in the article. While I also sympathize with the librarian, I feel that our jobs will require us to do things outside the initial job description or expectations.

Being a librarian means that you are there to assist the information needs and desires of your patrons. That may involve helping with things outside your comfort zone like computer problems. The real key is that you must be willing to put forth the effort to maintain and expand personal knowledge so that you can continue to meet the needs of the community that you serve.

By: phyllis

phyllis — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:13:24 +0000

It is certainly unsettling to hear this sort of ‘not my job’ attitude. As several people have pointed out, it is not limited to computers in libraries. There are people in all fields with all levels of education who are willing to adapt and grow and others who refuse to advance and insist upon stagnation. However, I can understand this librarian’s possible frustration that patrons are more interested in checking email or printing garage sale flyers than reading one of the thousands of books available to them. But, as a publicly funded service organization, it is our job to serve the public – what ever their interest or levels of competency may be. The comment about reading a book to an illiterate person really struck me. It is no mystery what our mission is and how we should conduct ourselves in the line of work. The code of ethics certainly doesn’t limit us, the values are consistent through time. The code doesn’t have to be changed to specifically instruct us to stay current with new technology because the greater message makes that clear.

By: Lorna

Lorna — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 02:52:14 +0000

I was disappointed by the librarian’s stance that she did not get her MLS to help patrons with their computer use in the library. As the blog post stated, professions do not stand still, and librarianship isn’t the only career field that is beginning to require an entirely new set of skills from the way things used to be. If you are a librarian who is dedicated to the profession, and dedicated to helping people get the information they need or want, then you have to be capable of keeping up with the types of info that the public needs. Right now this focuses heavily on computer usage.
When I was doing some reference observation for my 704 class a couple weeks ago, I was disappointed by one of the reference librarian’s lack of computer skills. She passed a computer lab question off to her co-worker, then turned to me and said, “I really don’t know much about computers. I think my co-workers in reference are a little annoyed with me about it.” Not only was she incapable helping the public as much as if she worked to educate herself in computer use, but she was also admittedly putting a palpable strain on those in her department who were computer savvy.
The ALA Code of Ethics clearly puts an emphasis on professional development, which implies that we must keep up with the changing times in order to best serve our patrons.

By: Laura

Laura — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 21:10:57 +0000

While I wasn’t there last Monday, I do feel strongly about this statement. I don’t think we need to revise our code of ethics, I think we need to find people that are willing to live up to those ethics. Libraries are an ever changing organism and librarians need to be willing to change and evolve with it. Perfect example, we recently started using a special pad in the computer to have paperless library cards. The people at the circulation desk don’t think that this new technology is going to work and that it will screw everything up and no one will know how to use it. We have only had it for three days. Of course it’s new, of course there will be a few mistakes in the beginning, but if you start with a negative mindset, nothing will get done. I believe we need open-mindedness in order for our libraries to change with ease.
Laura W.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:13:46 +0000

As many have already said before me, the librarian who claimed she “didn’t get her MLS” to help patrons with the computers was obviously failing to live up to the mission statement of her profession. I have to wonder what she did get her MLS to do. Though the advent of technology has had a huge impact on the profession, it has always been a constantly changing service oriented job. The key to being a successful librarian in any position is to make the materials your library provides as accessible as possible. And before the internet, before computers, there were a myriad of materials and services patrons needed help accessing. Even then, if a librarian got his or her degree simply for the purpose of surrounding themselves by books all day, he or she would have been deficient in the job. Patrons needs vary, and a successful librarian will be prepared to meet those needs, whatever they are. The ALA code of ethics specifically states that as librarians, we must continually strive to enhance our own knowledge so that we can then pass that knowledge on to our patrons through service. If the librarian discussed in this post feels she is not well versed in computer skills, it is her professional duty to become so.

By: Kelley

Kelley — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 04:37:19 +0000

I wonder if the librarian who didn’t get her MLS to help with the patrons on the computers is one of those people who just walk away from a jammed copier because “it isn’t my job to fix it” or takes the last cup of coffee in the pot and just puts the empty carafe back on the burner because “it isn’t their job to make coffee”. I always hated working with those people who were too good to do things that were outside of their job description. It reminds me of a stock broker I used to work with who had the same attitude as if she were better than the rest of us but she was just a salesperson with credentials and money. To that (and that particular person) I say, yeah, well it isn’t anyone else’s “job” here to do it either but that does not mean it isn’t a part of the job. Sometimes things that are a part of the job aren’t written into the job description because it is assumed that everyone knows that it is their responsibility to do it if it needs to be done. I agree with Steve, jobs change and those that do not change with them are left behind and although we all would like to think we are an irreplaceable employee, in truth, we all are replaceable and the next person will not only have that knowledge, but they will probably do it for less money.
I was also really surprised to see comments like “When libraries were solely about books, did we teach the illiterate how to read? Did we teach librarians how to teach people to read? Rarely that happened, but mostly we didn’t do those things.” Uh, really we didn’t? Then why do we have literacy programs in libraries then? Hmmm. Yeah we did, what about the librarians in ancient Greece who were the advisors, and teachers of the people? I think that if you don’t want to help people learn things that are in the library, then you might want to think about working in a different area of the field, I know there are lots of openings for people in tech services, or archives or special libraries. Taking a job in public libraries implies that you actually want to help the public the library serves. Of course, we could just allow the public to go at the technology offered at the library without direction of any sort with a “hey man, we just provide the technology, it is up to you to figure out how to use it” attitude but when the machines all break because people misuse it while using the trial and error method of learning and you have to have them all replaced, don’t complain.

By: Jiachen

Jiachen — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 23:05:13 +0000

This librarian could not and did not want to teach people how to use the computers, for it was not the reason why she pursued an MLS. But I wish that she still had the desire to help people with their information needs. I just don’t know how we “provide the highest level of services to all library users” if we don’t “maintain and enhance our own knowledge and skills?” It is good that the librarian realized her incompetence. But it is unacceptable when she refused to make any progress and complained, as Mary said, “about basic computing skills taught in elementary and high school”. Living in an era in which the new technology plays a very important role, we have to help the library users with their technologic problems, which is a part of librarians’ job. We may dislike computers or other new technologies, but still we need to learn more in order to meet the patrons’ need. No one expects the librarians to be omnipotent. However, since librarianship is a service profession, we should always help people. At least, try our best to help them.

As an international student, I cannot help thinking about the librarianship in my country. I do love my country, but I should admit that the services Chinese libraries provide are left behind the services in American libraries. Sometimes I just don’t understand why the Chinese librarians didn’t try enough to ameliorate the situation. It they are conscious of their backwardness but still don’t make any change, like the librarian in the case, I will be disappointed with the future. If they haven’t grown aware that, it is terrible but there is still a hope. The profession doesn’t stand still. It is the people who refuse to move. I don’t think that the ALA code needs to be updated. All the librarians, American or not, should think about it.

By: Sue H.

Sue H. — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 18:48:29 +0000

Article VIII of the ALA code of ethics includes,”…encouraging the professional development of co-workers”, which acknowledges the understanding that librarians don’t work in a vacuum. As individuals we have a big impact on our fellow workers and it’s possible for us to address reluctance to change with friendly and helpful attitudes. Many times in this class we’ve come across the statistic that most people choose to go to someone they know for information or knowledge, so I believe it applies to situational learning for librarians as well.

The ALA Code of Ethics is a broad umbrella for the entire profession, but I believe that the individual library must also have its Mission Statement address this issue and ensure further education and training in the various aspects of evolving technology to its employees. It is reasonable to expect that a professional in any given field keep up with the applicable advanced technology, but it is definitely in the employers best interest to provide such training in a friendly and non-threatening atmosphere. Isn’t this what we strive for in the librarian/patron relationship?

Sue H.

By: John Schu

John Schu — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 05:38:49 +0000

Maggie’s comments made me think about whether or not changing the Code of Ethics would make the librarian who has been resistant to change wake up and say, “By golly, it’s time for me to get on the Web 2.0!!!” I think not. Just because we change the wording does not necessarily mean there will be change. As a member of my school’s technology committee, we constantly put new ideas on the table and modify mission statements/values, etc, albeit this does not mean that everyone makes those changes. I think we’ll see huge changes in the Nextgen Librarians…yet let’s not forget how resistant so many people were in class to the thought of dropping DDS.