So here I was, faced with this man telling me libraries were on the way out and I didn't have a clue how to respond. I think I probably mumbled something about "ugh, lots of other things to do with a MLIS" and then feigned sea sickness.
Libraries are not, and really, should never be on the way out. Libraries have been around since way way back in the B.C days and they should continue to be with us until whatever comes next. We are the keepers, finders, and sharers of information and people do now and always will need that information.
With the recent doom and gloom news about libraries and funding, particularly in Indianapolis, its been rough. The prospects of actually getting a job in a library are looking less and less likely and it seems more and more likely that for the near future I will have to continue being mindless, bored drone in the silent law office where I work. But still, it could be worse I suppose.
Bad economy, falling property values, property tax caps, cut funding--we've arrived at the perfect storm of factors working against the success of the public library system. But we've also arrived at record usage of the library system (here in Indianapolis at least). In tough times people turn more and more frequently to the library to fulfill their information (and entertainment) needs. Heck, my roommate has library books in the living room right now (this alarms me a bit as she once had me check her out a book, then proceeded to lose it. The next thing I know the library has stuck a debt collector on me looking for payment for the lost book) and she has even managed to check out audio books from IMCPL's website! I'm amazed at both her technical ingenuity and the library for having audio books available to download!
Anyway, times are changing. The needs of the library patron are changing. The budget available to the library is changing. Library/web/internet/life 2.0 is upon us (I do not really know what this means) and we need to change, become librarian 2.0's. It is up to us to meet these changes in innovative and inventive ways, and I think we will. Its fun to think that we all are the future of libraries, because I think everyone is sort of fabulous. Listening to everyone's thoughts and ideas each week make me think that the future of libraries is a good one.
Its amazing how often the library seems to come up on a daily basis. I don't know if its because people know that I am a library student or because people use and like the library a lot, but whenever it does come up I get a little tinge of pride about what I get to be a part of both now and in the future evolution libraries are sure to undertake.
If I return to Montana this summer and have another run in with the "libraries are on their way out" man, I will have a better response to him this time.
Yeah, I get that one a lot. I usually reply something to the effect that librarians are here to help people navigate information overload and help them figure out what is real information. We're organizers, catalogers, and, yeah, babysitters. I've helped people find information they didn't know was available. I've put the perfect book in a patron's hands. I've helped people apply for unemployment. I've taught someone how to use some features in word processing. Where else are people going to get all that in one place?
ReplyDeleteLove it - thanks for sharing. :)
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