An Unrespected Profession

As I went to visit some family this Thanksgiving I realized how unrespected (if that is a word) the library profession is. My wife is a social worker, and people know what she does. However, when people ask me what I do and I tell them I work at a library the reaction is not very flattering. The questions that usually follow are so you check out and shelve books? I find it somewhat difficult to fully explain what the field of library science encompasses. I had person tell me that when she thinks of librarians she thinks of dorky people. Not wanting to cause a seen I did not say much, but I was (and still am) deeply offended. That really made me realize that we are not widely respected as librarians or librarians to be. Even among the rank and file in academia we are not really respected. My supervisor at KSU told me that the administration thought that tenure was too easy for librarians to get because they are not teaching faculty. I disagree. We are expected to teach on the spot, especially at the reference desk. Just because we do not have a defined class schedule does not mean that we are not teaching faculty. I have been at the reference desk when professors have come over with questions on how to use certain features of the library. So we teach both students and faculty. In addition, we are expected to keep up with the latest technological advances that will enhance the experience of the people we serve. Those may be Web 2.0 applications, website development, the ins and outs of the various databases, and these are just a few things that we deal with in a technological sense. Some librarians deal with digital initiatives and digital preservation. So aside from the other services we provide, we are expected to be a highly technical bunch (which is good). However, people are unaware of how highly technical our field is. I know that it is difficult to change the perception that people have, but I know that we provide a wide array of valuable services (be it at a public, academic, or other library). I also take solace in the fact that I love what I do, and that makes it worth while.

My Dewey

Someone sent me this link, and I thought I would post my results. It is a pretty cool tool to use, and see how accurate it can be.


296 Judaism
402 Miscellany
014 Of anonymous & pseudonymous works

Benjamin Rawlins's Dewey Decimal Section:
296 Judaism
Benjamin Rawlins = 254013948132949 = 254+013+948+132+949 = 2296

Class:
200 Religion

Contains:
The Bible and other religious texts, books about the general philosophy and theory of religion.

What it says about you:
You don't mind thinking about the unknown or other very big ideas. You will never feel like your work is finished. The 200-series is dominated by Christian topics, so you may feel like you're constantly surrounded by Christians.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

Benjamin Rawlins's Dewey Decimal Section:
402 Miscellany
Benjamin Rawlins's birthday: 4/20/1982 = 420+1982 = 2402

Class:
400 Language

Contains:
Linguistics and language books.

What it says about you:
You value communication, even with people who are different from you. You like trying new things don't mind being exposed to unfamiliar territory. You get bored with routines that never change.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

Benjamin Rawlins's Dewey Decimal Section:
014 Of anonymous & pseudonymous works

Class:
000 Computer Science, Information & General Works

Contains:
Encyclopedias, magazines, journals and books with quotations.

What it says about you:
You are very informative and up to date. You're working on living in the here and now, not the past. You go through a lot of changes. When you make a decision you can be very sure of yourself, maybe even stubborn, but your friends appreciate your honesty and resolve.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

Content Management Systems

Have you ever felt that you knew a little bit about something only to have that obliterated. You then come to the realization that you know next to nothing. Well that is what this class has been like for me. I thought that I knew a little something about computers, but it turns out that I know very little.

Ok now to the point of talking technology. I came across this article American Libraries about CMS (content management systems). I was interested to find out what CMS was and how it applied to libraries because I had never heard of it. This article was on the CMS Drupal. Apparently (and correct me if I am wrong), content management systems are very complex (or so it seems to me) that allows organizations to control a vast array of things from publishing, workflow, certain roles for users, etc. It seemed very interesting, and I have decided to do my paper on the topic. I have also been informed by Professor Paul that U of L is migrating to a CMS. If anyone is interested in playing around with Drupal you can go to their website drupal.org. CMS are also community maintained sites, and an administrator can determine who has the ability to edit information on the website. Drupal is a site that is maintained by a community of individuals that provide the updates and information. The best part, though, is that it is FREE!!

Jaybrarian

We have all head of a jay walker (someone who crosses the street outside the crosswalk). Well I was reading my September issue of American Libraries and came across an article titled "Consider the Jaybrarian." This article referred to newly minted library professionals straight out of their master's programs (that will soon be us). When I saw the article and read the opening paragraph about the comparison to jay walkers I was worried that this might be an article on how new LIS graduates are unaware of the rules and 'ways' in which libraries that get hired at work. I was thinking this might be more of a negative article about how we may not be as knowledgable as the other staff who have been working there for years. I was wrong!! This is an article about how, as new LIS graduates, we bring a vast amount of new optimism and enthusiam to our field, because we are eager to take our place in our profession. The author states that in ways the Jaybrarians will always walk outside the defined lines of an organization, but that this is not bad because it can lead to more creative innovation. The author says that the profession should accept these new professionals with open arms, because we may have solutions even if we are the fresh new faces of the profession.

Sarah Palin and Libraries

I would normally stay away from posting anything that has to deal with politics, but I came across this article on Yahoo and decided to post the link here (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080912/ap_on_el_pr/palin_librarian). It is about VP candidate Sarah Palin's inquiry into banning books when she was mayor of Wasilla, and the firing of the head librarian after Palin felt she did not have the full support of the librarian (the librarian was reinstated the next day due to public outcry). I know that this is not directly related to library technology, but I thought I would share this with everyone.

Here it is!

Well I must confess that this is my first time posting to a blog. I am looking forward to posting more throughout the semester.