I've heard it said many times before that becoming a librarian in the 21st century is kind of a bad idea because who needs librarians when you have Google? Certain circles believe that librarianship is a dying art and pretty soon, librarians will be seeking unemployment. Why keep them around when we have the internet? Why have a physical building and physical books when you can get everything on a tablet or e-reader? There is a scene in Futurama, a goofy science fiction cartoon for adults, when the Planet Express crew is touring Mars University and they stop by Wong Library, where the universe's largest collection is held...on two discs -- fiction and nonfiction.
Well, I hate to break the bad news to these people: librarians and libraries are not going anywhere. In a time of constant change and raging misinformation and distrust, libraries are the safe ground on which people continue to depend. Yes, with technological change means the field of library and information science is changing too as librarians are trained to help with tutorials for e-readers, new ways to master finding accurate and trustworthy information off the World Wide Web, and adapting to the change of the types of material. Librarians are the definition of evolution – we adapt to everything to ensure survival. And besides, librarians kick Google butt. Yes, it might take us a few minutes longer to find a result but guess what, we filter out all the garbage that you don’t want to deal with. We also cross reference databases, journals, and much more. We can tell you how to find more resources and how to find answers quickly as well as accurately and through trusted sources. Can Google do all that? And we’re not robots so talking to us is easier and will most likely not result in you banging your head on the keyboard. We are the vessels of information and in a world filled to the brim with data coming in streams, we provide safe passage and the best way to survive in this new world.
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AuthorA public and academic librarian shares her views, thoughts, and tales of being a budding librarian in the 21st century Archives
November 2017
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