tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post800519660450156009..comments2023-09-09T02:15:33.772+10:00Comments on Miss Sophie Mac: Response to the future of libraries and librarians debateMissSophieMachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07317004045367921135noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post-3413770145604331792010-06-16T03:29:12.694+10:002010-06-16T03:29:12.694+10:00I think both sides are making good points.
For me...I think both sides are making good points.<br /><br />For me, I see that the library will be more of a community centre; even at the university I work at group study rooms are still in high demand (along with other study spaces), and if you look, studies still show that face-to-face or blended learning do better than all distance/online learning so I don't expect campuses to totally disappear.<br /><br />I also agree with the comments the other day by the Virtual Librarian that mentioned that we should be getting our resources out "there" to the students (sorry, I'm an academic librarian, so thinking in terms of university works for me). My library already offers workshops on how to use Google Scholar and I know in the InfoLit course we teach we also talk (and use) the various Google tools and show students how to change the scholar preferences so they can connect to our databases.<br /><br />I do agree though that more and more librarians' work is behind the scenes. There are already lots of librarians working behind the scenes as is. As a reference and instruction librarian, I certainly spend less than half my time doing reference at the desk - even when I didn't do instruction my ref time was still around 30%. I think this is actually one source of our problem (of not being valued) - librarians work hard to make things go easy for their patrons and they do it quietly, so patrons don't know the efforts made on their behalf.<br /><br />Bah. I feel my thoughts are currently scattered and I'm not making sense. In any case, I do wish we'd stop talking about the end of libraries and just start doing something about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post-16657384200526908412010-06-10T18:24:37.460+10:002010-06-10T18:24:37.460+10:00Wow, you go offline for a day and full-fledged deb...Wow, you go offline for a day and full-fledged debate occurs! This is all great stuff – interesting and thought-provoking. I think the fact we’re all arguing with such gusto is one sign reports of the library’s imminent death have been greatly exaggerated. <br /><br />Of course libraries have, are, and will continue to evolve and change in response to social, cultural and technological shifts but I can’t see how that will mean the end of physical libraries or of librarians. We seem to have been predicting the end of print books/libraries/the-world-as-we-know-it forever. Google, Amazon, eReaders – these have all been hailed as competitors, and probable executioners, of libraries. Yet we’re all still here, still (more or less) happily co-existing, still (to use a terrible piece of jargon) leveraging off each other. Virtual Librarian spoke much more eloquently than I can in her comments on your last post, about the need to move outside the walled garden and expose our services in (to use another terrible piece of jargon – I’m feeling lazy alright??) “the user’s space”. <br /><br />I think very similar arguments hold true in terms of the physical library and that ‘user’s space’. The use of the space is definitely changing in both academic and public libraries. We’re no longer just silent study halls, and places of venerable learning, but why is that a bad thing? And why does it mean we are no longer relevant as places of information, knowledge, ideas and learning? Everyday when I come to work I see ideas being shared, learning occurring, new knowledge being created in the library. Yeah, OK, I also see a lot of people checking out their photos on Facebook, but so what? The fact they choose to do it in the Library, I don’t think is just about the free wifi. You can get that at any Starbucks. It’s about the combination of social spaces, learning spaces, physical and online resources, human and disintermediated assistance (Ok, now I’m just playing ‘library jargon bingo’ with myself) which provide an opportunity to multi-task and shift between different learning and social modes and activities easily – that’s assuming of course that you can make a clear distinction between learning and social activities. I think libraries are unique in providing that combination of spaces and services, both physically and online.<br /><br />Since this is now becoming a very long-arse stream-of-consciousness monologue I will stop there and go order my “Team Optimism” T-shirt (which I’ll find via Google of course). Can I be both a cynic and an optimist?Bella1609https://www.blogger.com/profile/05578769758689429609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post-53703844756719109532010-06-10T16:09:06.168+10:002010-06-10T16:09:06.168+10:00I'm loving this discussion. I can honestly say...I'm loving this discussion. I can honestly say I am more engaged in librarianship today than I have been for a long time!<br /><br />I don't know that this is pessimisim v optimism. Could it perhaps be realists v visionaries? I'm sure we need both in the library world.<br /><br />Cause I'm with Sean for his points so far. I also believe that the physical library is going to change beyond belief, and what we're doing now is engaging in what is effectively a last ditch marketing campaign to draw people in. At some point in the future will our physical academic libraries be any different to a 24/7 computer lab or student union? Will out public libraries be any different to a neighbourhood house or community centre?<br /><br />I like Sean's questions about What is our new role? I think that is really more interesting and open a question than how can we make an old model relevant through new media. We could indeed be building the information behind the scenes, but the sci fi reader in me insists that soon they will invent computers to do meaningful indexing for us. Freeing up humans to learn and absorb and take over the stars rather than catalogue ....restructuregirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05508924008921911527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post-29329505902826728822010-06-10T14:54:15.721+10:002010-06-10T14:54:15.721+10:00Well said Sophie. I'm an optimist too. Thanks ...Well said Sophie. I'm an optimist too. Thanks for these posts. I will also blog about them, but not from an IL perspective. I want to talk about the importance of having staff like you with original ideas who are not afraid to share them.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04571161252530964470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post-85258964551309934572010-06-10T13:27:35.539+10:002010-06-10T13:27:35.539+10:00I'm an optimist too.
Or maybe it's because...I'm an optimist too.<br />Or maybe it's because I'm hopeless at debating.Pennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08822323208525809653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post-47905418234114706822010-06-10T13:15:08.700+10:002010-06-10T13:15:08.700+10:00In turn, I've moved my response to a shiny new...In turn, I've moved my response to a shiny new blog!<br /><br />http://pessibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/opening-post-in-reply-to-the-optimists/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post-69195422843691673442010-06-10T11:54:27.145+10:002010-06-10T11:54:27.145+10:00Me too - can't say more at present, but thanks...Me too - can't say more at present, but thanks for your great posts over the last few days Sophie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post-29865193957455509332010-06-10T11:50:38.880+10:002010-06-10T11:50:38.880+10:00*agrees with liberrydwarf*
My comments are too lo...*agrees with liberrydwarf*<br /><br />My comments are too long to be posted here - perhaps this has given me tomorrow's #blogeverydayofjune topic!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2849175602632205752.post-33630618455925149382010-06-10T11:39:15.759+10:002010-06-10T11:39:15.759+10:00*applauds wildly* Well said Sophie! Woohoo!!*applauds wildly* Well said Sophie! Woohoo!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com