There were two interesting articles about librarians in my in-box today. Both are about how technology has changed the profession. One focuses on how technology has attracted a new generation of hip librarians and other other about how it has changed library staffing models.
- A Hipper Crowd of Shushers (New York Times, July 8, 2007)
With so much of the job involving technology and with a focus now on finding and sharing information beyond just what is available in books, a new type of librarian is emerging — the kind that, according to the Web site Librarian Avengers, is “looking to put the ‘hep cat’ in cataloguing.”…
And though many librarians say that they, like nurses or priests, are called to the profession, they also say the job is stable, intellectually stimulating and can have reasonable hours — perfect for creative types who want to pursue their passions outside of work and don’t want to finance their pursuits by waiting tables. - Embracing Intangible Law Libraries (Law Technology News, July 6, 2007, By Alvin Podboy)
Through technology, while our physical libraries are shrinking, the world of information and the virtual library is growing, and in fact, is almost limitless. How does this contraction/expansion affect our most important asset — the human capital that makes up the heart and soul of our libraries? What does this mean for librarians and our staff? Our physical facilities, resources and capital budgets have often been discussed — but how is technology affecting our library staffing? We are all under daily pressure to downsize staff yet increase our productivity.