Eh?

#libday 4 = A Day in the Life of a Librarian, Round 4.

Ah ha!

I remember when Bobbi Newman first wrote about her day in the life of a librarian, just over a year and a half ago. It has grown exponentially since then. All it took was one blog post about her day… then it quickly grew into a wiki where others shared their stories… and today I noticed a Day-in-the-Life netvibes page filled with all sorts of social-sharing goodness from twitter, delicious, flickr, friendfeed, etc.

I recommend all MLIS/MLS programs incorporate it into their introduction to the information professions classes. Information/Library science students can learn about real people straight from their own writings rather than from static handouts filled with random charts or book chapters dryly explaining librarian-related tasks.

[Think of this vs. this].

I wanted to write more about how grateful I am to everyone who shared information about their day, allowing others to take a peek into their daily professional lives. I had many thoughts in my head about why this project was a brilliant idea, but I can’t say it any better than Erin Dorney (see blog: Library Scenester).

I especially like her idea of some sort of day-in-the-life spinoff of library school students sharing what they’re learning. Just as professional librarians have a lot to share about the practical things that happen daily, MLIS students have a lot to share from what they are learning in the classroom. I’m not saying this because I am one, but MLIS students are great resources of information about new trends, theories, and so on (for a great example, follow the #lis768 tweets from Michael Stephens’s students at Dominican U).

So as a side note for all graduate and doctorate students – I call on you to share what your day is like in the life of being a librarian/information professional-to-be, what-have-you.  A few folks have posted already:

• Rachel Slough, MLS Candidate, Indiana University SLIS: Lib and Learn
• Karen Cawley, MLS Candidate, Syracuse University—School Media: karenthelibrarian
• Alison Miller, Doctorate of Professional Studies in Information Management, Syracuse University School of Information Studies: infolibnow.net
• Laura Williams, Graduate Trainee, Oxford University Library Service: Theatre Grad Blog
• Sarah Hogg, Graduate Trainee, Oxford University: Library Trainee in Oxford

I am very thankful for this opportunity and look forward to starting soon. The IPL has an interesting history and is supported by students and administrators from all over the United States. Participating schools include, but are not limited to, Florida State University, Drexel University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Syracuse University, Rutgers, University of Washington, University of Pittsburgh and the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Want to know more about the IPL? Check out their about page.

Students from San Jose State University’s SLIS library and information science program have created a wonderful collection of LIS publications. Using a wiki, they have it organized by:

LIS scholarly journals

LIS professional and trade publications

LIS online forums

Civilian publications

Book publishers

Unclaimed titles

Professor Laurie Putnam noted that her students have created profiles on over 200 publications! All LIS professionals can contribute to the wiki, meaning this resource can only get better!

As someone who is working on her MLIS, I am always interested in reading about the future of the profession, no matter how wonderful – or bleak – some may predict it to be. It’s important to critically analyze where the profession is, where it’s going, and where it can go.

Three posts – and the comments generated by them – have my head spinning (in a good way):

First, Karin Dalziel (Nirak.net – the Musings of a LIS student): Why every library science student should learn programming

Then Matt Hamilton (Brewin’ Librarian): What I’m Finding as an Information Professional

And a response by Bobbi Newman (Librarian by Day) with her post, What’s the Matter with our Profession?

I don’t claim to have answers – I’m only a rookie in the world of librarianship – but it is clearly obvious that librarianship/libraries/librarians are changing as information changes and the way people want/need information. As for the solution, well, what’s the right thing to do today may likely be out of date tomorrow, but it is good we’re discussing this… Either way, the profession needs people who can adapt and are willing to adjust to professional, societal, and economic changes (just to name a few variables). I don’t think this is just a librarianship issue, however; I believe, actually, that any profession needs adaptable professionals or problems with relevancy will exist (and persist!) For example, in my day job as an academic adviser on a college campus, the very field of advising — which is about sharing information and educating students regarding university policies, academic programs, appropriate resources and so on – also demands adaptation. We cannot solely depend on traditional ways of advising (i.e., make an appointment and wait a week to see an adviser)… Over the past several years, I’ve seen academic advisers and departments incorporate new ways of advising via email advising, instant messaging, text and even through social networking sites as Facebook and Twitter.

I believe a big part – which has never changed – is that it’s all about the constituents we serve. As such, we should tailor our delivery and programs the way that best works with our constituents in a way that they want and need.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, of course… there is so much more to this discussion, which is why I have enjoyed reading what others have to share.

Other thoughts:

• The People Factor in LIS from the zeds

• Technology Education and the Real World from Information Needs to be Free

From yesterday’s Library Journal:

Rutgers Faculty Agrees to Drop “Library” from SCILS Name.

Why is “Library” such a dreaded word?

update 3/23/08

The Library Journal posted two responses today regarding Rutgers’s decision to drop “Library” from SCILS:

Jorge Reina Schement: Why Rutgers Faculty Agreed to Drop the “Library” Name

Mary K. Shelton: It’s Wrong for Rutgers to Drop the “Library” Name

update 3/27/09

And now Andrew Albanese: What’s in a name? Readers Sound off on Rutgers Proposed Name Change to SCILS

update 4/3/09

And yes, it really did happen: Rutgers Board of Governers Approves Name Change Dropping Word “Library