The Liberated Librarian in the 21st Century
Judy PalmerKeeper of Scientific BooksRadcliffe Science LibraryOxford [email protected]
Changes for librarians
storage to access and print to electronic
free to fee and new competitorsnew user expectationsnew curricular requirements distance learningnew and more information sourcesmore to do with less money
…….and readers?
What do they think?
“..library user expects information to appear on a screen as a result of a search that involves no more that half a dozen clicks on the mouse, with a final click to produce a print copy.”
Fred Friend Journal of Electronic Publishing, 5 (3), March 2000
…Librarians should be "people who are confident, personable, able to work collaboratively, imaginative, lively, good at presenting, good at meetings. On top of that I want them to have an understanding of the major issues in information transfer in the late 20th/early 21st century"
“Libraries function as rear view mirrors, producing a deep and concentrated perspective on what lies behind..remember there will be a blind spot. Libraries not only have a blind spot, but lack the horse power to keep abreast of developments…”Blaise Cronin, 1988
“ Not all library users wish to change their route into information. In every revolution there are those who wish to continue in the old ways.”
Fred Friend Journal of Electronic Publishing, 5 (3), March 2000
“Too many librarians adopt the A B C approach to library management”
How do we make sure that readers don’t resort to this?
Who Needs
Libraries??
…I think we have to
Change librarians Change library users Change libraries, systems
and structures
Changing practice and behaviour
awarenessskillsresourcesmotivationreinforcementchampions
..so that librarians can move into new roles
Move out of the library Talk to users in their language Plan and market Negotiate and influence (wheel and
deal) Teach and facilitate learning Understand and exploit IT Critically appraise practice and
service
..and become
designers and managers of knowledge systems
educators problem solvers and
synthesisers e-navigators and publishers
..and the library becomes The first resort a library without walls the preferred gateway a centre of instruction in which
to learn skills as well as access knowledge
a quality filter
With the user, NOT the collection, the focus of our attention
And how do we do this?
Invest in a grounded approach to strategic planning
Invest in new solutions and lateral thinking
Invest in developing librariansCooperate, collaborate and
coordinate across libraries, disciplines and sectors
Librarian of the 21st Century
Change, change and more changeCritical AppraisalTeaching and learningFacilitationInformation retrieval and storageThe market place
Librarian of the 21st Century
Shown them how to do it betterLongitudinal cohort learningGiven them a new set of transferable
skills
Librarian of the 21st Century - Benefits
confidenceraised profilelibrarians as partnerslibrarians as instructorslibrarians in multiprofessional teams
C A S P
FIND APPRAISE ACT
CASP FEW
ObjectivesTo be aware of the range and quality
of available sources of evidenceTo be aware of how searching
techniques and search strategies may affect outcome
To share experiencehttp://wwwlib.jr2.ox.ac.uk/caspfew
We need to ask ourselves
Do we want to beGolden retrievers or Bloodhounds?
Final Exhortation
Take the high ground. Stay in touch and keep on moving!Advice to US Marines
Carpe diem!