Technology and Library Schools: Are we doing enough?

In the Library world, a Librarian’s knowledge (of use and the organization of resources) is based on the past xx years of experience, a relatively homogeneous experience until advent of the internet and web. We, both Librarians and our users, all knew what we meant when we spoke of books, newspaper clippings, etc. because we experienced the use of these resources together.

With the advent of the web and internet access, our past experience as Librarians using resources has become a subset of the experience now available to us, with respect to data and information. We had a well-defined field with respect to format - format was defined before it showed up on our doorstep and everyone knew how to use it. Now, organizationally, we deal with multiple content formats (such as print, various forms of electronic and digital) AND we have to cope with the delivery mechanisms for content (pre-packaged, repackaged, repurposed) and the intellectual organization (and storage) of that content AND we must deal with our users’ preferences for this content (timeliness, capacity to manipulate, reorganize, recreate, etc). If we are to continue to remain relevant to our users, we have no choice but to grapple with all of this and thus we have no choice but to grapple with user technology.

When are we going to rejoin our users in experiencing the world of information together? Librarians perhaps know (to varying degrees) about the fact that wikis, blogs, RSS and other social networking tools exist and that these can be used to facilitate the needs of our users BUT have we experienced it for ourselves? There is a difference between knowing of the need with potential solutions and experiencing them to bring better understanding regarding potential new barriers to information access and better methods of delivery. Knowing is one thing, experiencing it is another.

My suggestion, I guess, is that Library Schools need to make their students experience user-based technology as much as humanly possible in order to give them the greatest flexibility to respond to the user experience. The pertinent question is: as Librarians are we mediators, brokers and facilitators for information and our users? If yes, we’d better start using the tools.

I did not present at this OLA Superconference 2006 session. Michael Stephens of Tame the Web, Jenny Levine of the Shifted Librarian and Mary Cavanaugh spoke. My comments for this topic on Jenny's blog (Feb. 3, 2006) are signed JenS.