Librarians are some of the few true democrats in our society. We deal in the business of information, hence why they call us information specialists. Our job is not to know everything, just to make it look like we do. This means knowing the latest access technology and the best way to retrieve exactly what someone else needs to know. It is NOT our job to pass judgment or to LIMIT access in ANY way.
People ask me, “Don’t you think Librarians are becoming obsolete with the Internet?” When people ask you this – and they will – you proudly shout “NO!” Libraries have NEVER been about books. They have always been about information – access to information – universal access to information – FREE universal access to information – it just so happens that for the past few hundred years or so, information has come by way of the book.
Now is the time when librarians are needed more than ever, even if the public at large doesn’t realize it. Information is the fastest growing commodity on Earth, and someone is going to have to know how to surf through it. That someone is a librarian. That someone will be us.
Be proud, stand tall! Get ready to defend yourself, because you will have to.
UB ALA’s buzzword of the semester is ADVOCACY. Unfortunately there isn’t really a class in our curriculum about “Saving Your Job” or “Defending Your Position.” We hope to make up for this by providing some tools and resources, so that when we graduate, we can start shouting right out of the gate – “I’m a LIBRARIAN! Not a book shelver! You need me and this is why!”
Good luck with classes this semester and please contact us if you have any questions. We officers (Blodine Francois, Sarah Kelly and Kristin Piatko) look forward to hearing from you…
Kelly Kroese
SUNY Buffalo ALA Student Chapter 