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May 19, 2005
those who thrive on change are king
Paula J. Hayne's Information Today article, "In the Beginning, there was Content," features commentary from several technology notables, including Roy Tennant. Roy says:
Those who can effectively use new modes of communication will be the primary creators of content...and librarians who can make sense of it all on behalf of their clientele will remain treasured assets to society. In such a world, those who thrive on change are king.
Michael and I seem to agree that Roy has really pinpointed something that's been blowing around in the reference librarian ether for some time now. We need to stay ahead of the curve.
<rant>
We need to be the people our communities turn to for technology information (as they do for other information). Our community members should not think: "Oh, the library can't help me with that...it's tech." Librarians need be aware of blogs, RSS, instant messaging, text messaging, gaming, software, hardware, wireless, file sharing, the list goes on...
We don't have to know every last thing about these issues, but we should know the basics, and where to point folks for more information. I've seen too many librarians who, if I asked "Do you allow instant messaging on the computers?", would reply with "umm" and "err" and not have a clue what I'm talking about.
If we are to stay professionally relevant to the communities we serve, we need to stay on top of things. All of us, not just the techies.
</rant>
May 19, 2005 | Permalink
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Comments
I think that Brigitte's situation is very common in libraries, especially school and public libraries. If the administration does not support professional education (in terms of classes, continuing education, time to learn new things), then there is very little you can do. But you can (and should, in my opinion) advocate to your administration the importance of continuing education for library skills--and not just for technology, but for everything new that comes down the pipeline. If you can honestly say that you have advocated your heart out to your administration, and your requests for continuing ed are still ignored, then you're right--there is little else you can do.
As far as suggestions on how to get up to speed, I would suggest reading the professional literature and staying up on current discussions--in print, on listservs, and on blogs. Take classes when you can. California's State Library offers the Infopeople project, a statewide training association that trains library staff in-person, via webcast, and via asynchronous online classes. I think it would be a wonderful thing if more states offered something like this.
I understand Brigitte's feeling that if you don't "do" something, then you don't "learn" it, but for a lot of technology, simply knowing about it is enough. You don't need to know how to administrate a server, but you should know what one is. You don't need to be an active file-sharer, but you need to know what file-sharing is or isn't allowed at your library, and why that's the case. I guess I'm talking more about technical knowledge, instead of skill. That differentiation is a bit grey, but one I think I can make.
Sidenote: I also agree that librarians should absolutely participate in content generation for their library's webpages. The Information Tech folks' jobs are to take the content and make it look nice and be accessible. And maybe to suggest new technologies or things to try on the website. But it should be the librarians creating the content. If this is not the case in your library, you need to make a serious fuss.
As to Meg'n's comments, if you're working in a place where most of the librarians are already more tech savvy than the average user, then you are already ahead of the game.
But I disagree that if someone doesn't want to learn something (e.g. a librarian not wanting to learn about technology), it's a waste of time to try. What you have to do is show them why they should want to learn it, and then teach it. Good example: no one would have been interested in Instant Messaging at all several months ago. No one wanted to try it out as a way to communicate between staff members, no one was interested in it. But, as soon as I showed it as a way to reach out to our teen users (a group that we currently underserve, in my opinion) IM became highly interesting to the staff. And as soon as our IM Reference program took off, more and more staff became interested in it as a means of communication. Why? Because we showed then how it was useful and why they should care.
I think that's the answer...not simply letting people float through their last 10 years to retirement on the claim "Well, I'm retiring soon, I don't need to know this." That's personally & professionally irresponsible, and truthfully, the people who continue to employ those who say this are equally irresponsible.
Posted by: Sarah Houghton (Librarian in Black) | May23, 2005
Most of the librarians where I work are more tech savvy than your average user, and if they get a question they can't answer, we have a computer center staff that usually can. That said, I don't believe forcing librarians to learn about IM and servers is the answer. (I teach computer skills to the public, and the one thing I know is that if someone doesn't want to learn, it's a waste of time to try and force them.)
What librarians know well is often driven by what their patrons need to know. For good librarians, when they get a question about something they don't know, they want to find out the answer so that they can answer it the next time. Maybe what we really need to be doing, instead of using pressure (which is bound to be resented), is giving them an environment where they feel comfortable going to someone in the know and finding out the answer. If the option is there to show up almost any time and ask, "So, I have a question about this. Can you explain it?" and the librarian knows that you'll take the time to explain it in a manner they'll get, they're much more willing to try to learn. Also, learning something that they seldom get asked or never get to practice just isn't going to stick.
I know the staff's interest and willingness to deal with tech issues at my library is heavily impacted by recent tech stresses. If we've just gone through a problematic system conversion, they're very negative. A few months later, they're much more receptive and will actually seek me out with questions. Overall, I've also found that they're more willing to stop in and ask the Computer Center staff for help than to search out the IT staff, and I think that's an intimidation/familiarity issue.
Besides, I'd say that tech skills will come with more new bodies in the profession. I bring tech skills and am working on my reader's advisory. A coworker of mine might be the RA queen but have lesser tech skills. With our patrons' questions, that's a pretty good balance.
Posted by: Meg'n | May22, 2005
Warning Rant Ahead!! LOL. Okay, well guys, while I do agree, I have this huge problem - nada support for the many many many librarians when it comes to taking tech classes, and what's worse, NO ABILITY to USE any skills learned! Where's the money to take classes? The support from top managers? The idea that we SHOULD be competent in these areas? And where's the support for those of my age, who missed out and want to "re-tool" or "upgrade"? Any suggestions on how we can get up to speed in Public libraries when the specializers want to "box" us into limited roles? (Oh, we couldn't possibly let you touch OUR web page! That's DIT's job, not yours...) Personally I can read up on stuff till I drop, but honey, if I don't "do" it - I don't "learn" it, and I'm starting to get really really tired of it being MY SOLE responsiblity to spend my private time and money on career related training that the powers that be SHOULD act to either support or supply. (As giving me paid time to go train for example, not forcing me to use my own leave time to take a job related class...) Or, letting me at least particiate in content generation for our web page... (hey, isn't that what librarians are all about???). Okay, End of Rant. Thanks for letting me vent!
Posted by: Brigitte | May21, 2005
Nice post, Sarah. I'm a techie-by-osmosis and have a lot of techie friends. Technology is a normal part of my life, so I'm usually taken aback when I talk with people my age who are not tech-savvy -- and that includes most of the librarians I know in this area. I feel frustrated when they say they don't know (and don't care) what a server is, or why the analogy between a postcard and email is appropriate. The worst offender I met was a reference librarian who told me that they didn't have computers when she got her MLS and she didn't need one to do her job. Wow.
Posted by: Amy Proni | May20, 2005
You're absolutely right Dave. Right now, though, we really don't have (as a profession) the tech skills to publicize. I want us to tackle that first, then move on to showing the world how great we are--and not just with tech, but with so very many things.
Posted by: Sarah Houghton (Librarian in Black) | May19, 2005
I think there are two things that need addressing. The first is for librarians to be tech-savvy. But that still won't result in the public looking to librarians for tech info, because they won't know that librarians are now tech-savvy. When people think of librarians, they think of rooms of books. When they think of tech-information, they think of the geeks in the IT dept., or the go-to guy in the family who knows computers, or they go to a tech forum online.
You need to start telling a new story so that when people think of information technology, they think of librarians. Get the librarians up to speed, sure, but then that needs to be publicised.
You want Veronica Mars asking a librarian for reference help, instead of her tech friends. You want Joan of Arcadia IMing the librarian instead of her friends.
Posted by: Dave Goodman | May19, 2005
