Not to ingore them...

I decided to focus one blog on special libraries, although I do not have a lot of interest in special libraries and do not plan on working in one. I had to do a little research and I ended up on the Special Libraries Association's webpage. I found it interesting that, "Eighty-five percent of the companies ranked in the top 100 on the Fortune 500 list employed information professionals, compared to less than fifty percent of the companies ranked in the bottom 100" (www.sla.org) Apparently to be a really successful company you need to have a special library and "information professionals" to provide you with knowledge that keeps the company competitive. I never thought of special libraries being so important to a company's success. It makes sense to have employees completely devoted to finding and supplying information to your company. It takes a lot of time and knowledge in order to do this, so who better to have working for you than a librarian in your company's own library? "In today's fast-paced world of business, the need for information is an international commodity. Information, both internally and externally produced, is the lifeblood of an organization and essential for innovation and continuous learning" (www.sla.org). Even some of the most intelligent businesspeople in the industry are not adequate information seekers, so companies choose to have experts on the job. "Information professionals play a unique role in gathering, organizing, and coordinating access to the best available information sources for the organization, understanding the critical need of turning that information into usable knowledge" (www.sla.org). I do not think many people think about getting into a career in a special library, but I could actually see how it could be an interesting job for some people, especially if the library you are working for is focused on something that you are interested in. That would be a definite advantage to working in a special library over any other type of library. I can also see how there would not be a lot of people that are qualified to work in most of the special libraries, so they would be great jobs for people graduating with LIS degrees to consider.
Special Libraries Association. (2007) Value of the Information Professional. Retrieved April 10, 2008 from www.sla.org.

Media Centers are Changing Too

It seems like all of my blogs are taking on a common theme: Library institutions are changing with the times, and these times involve technology. Some of the changes are negative (see previous blog) and some can be positive. Media centers are slowly keeping up with the changes too, and I think in a positive way. They are starting to change from all books and maybe a few computers to become true places where different kinds of media can be found. Alan November writes in his article, "Space: The Final Frontier" that as media centers are being created or redesigned, people need to take into account that, "the massive shift from paper as the dominant media to digital content will continue. So will the move toward online learning, student collaboration on a local and global scale, and self-produced content, all of which demand reconfiguration of the learning landscape" (November, 2007). He states cases in which some schools are now offering on-line curriculum and Michigan even has, "plans to require all graduating high school students to complete a certain amount of coursework via the Web (November, 2007). Even now I am completing this blog for an online class, so I can see the value for students to be exposed to this kind of experience before college. November's ideas for media centers suggest that they provide work areas that accommodate the new types of ways in which students will be learning. These could be private workstations, separate rooms for students to create multimedia presentations and videos, areas for students to collaborate on projects, etc. I like the ideas for a new media center. Yes, I still want to keep the books and make them central, especially the fiction. But I also agree that we can change with the times and offer other ways of learning. In today's workplace, students are going to need a lot of technology skills, and the media center can help with promoting that. Also a lot of learning is done on the internet now, so providing students with a place where they can participate in remote learning seems valuable. I feel like these changes will happen fairly slowly, however, due to budget issues and unwillingness by some to change.
November, A. (2007). Space: The final frontier; A leading tech advocate imagines a media center fit for 21st century learning. School Library Journal, Features, 44.

The Changing Academic Libraries

This last article I read was an interview with academic librarians under the age of 40 in which they discussed different issues that academic libraries are facing. This made me think of my last trip to an academic library, which was interesting and certainly different from my experiences in my undergraduate years. I went to college from 1996-2000. For the most part, this was before widespread cell phone use, affordable laptops and IPods. When you walked into the library, it still felt like a library. People were usually huddled over piles of books and papers. Some might be socializing, but it was nothing like my last trip into USF's library. Books and studying felt like the last priority. I saw almost every student with a laptop, cell phone, MP3 player and various other pieces of technology. I felt like I was in Best Buy. It was a very strange experience, so different from the ones in my memory. I am not saying that it is wrong for students to have all of this technology; I am just wondering why it all has to be at the library at the same time. Can they not leave some of these things at home? Is it impossible for today's college students to part with their IPOD's for even an hour? How do they get any work or studying in with all the interruptions technology offers?
I always like to think of myself as a technology literate person who uses it to her advantage. I am only 29 years old. But the more I am exposed to how huge technology has become in the younger generations, the more I find myself pulling away. In the article, it says that, "The academic library in the future is going to be a continuation of what we see now, with more multimedia integration. It won't be limited to just providing access to materials but also providing access to the creation of different types of materials...maybe providing access to video cameras or DVD burners in order to make digital storytelling, or maybe going so far as to provide games or immersive environments in virtual worlds" (Carlson, 2007). I know that is supposed to sound like a really great future for the library, but that sounds horrible to me! I guess it is old-fashioned of me to want my library to feel like a library and not like a Best Buy. I feel like maybe there is another place for all of that technology to be used. Academic libraries have changed a lot in the last 10 years..it is up to you to decide if it is for the better.
Carlson, S. (2007). Young librarians, talkin' 'bout their generation. Chronicle of Higher Education, 54 (8).

Customer Service in the Public Library

I think people often forget that while a library may be a free public service, it is still the job of the library to provide good customer service. Just because people are not going to walk into the library and make a sale does not mean that the library workers do not have to treat the patrons respectfully.
I read an article about good service in the public library. One quote that was particularly interesting to me said, "A really nasty encounter with a library staff member can undo the goodwill of ten years of outstanding service" (Schlipf, 2008). This is so true about the library and any other place where someone receives customer service. I was just telling a story at dinner with friends the other night about going to a restaurant for the first time, being treated rudely by the waitress, and never going back because of it. Just think, one rude encounter with someone in a library could make a patron do the same. Sadly, unlike a restaurant, there are not as many other options out there for someone who chooses to not return to a library. A library is paid for by taxpayers, and it is up to the people who work in the library to treat all patrons with respect and courtesy. After all, they may be the very taxpayers who pay their salaries. I think this is also very important with young people, because a bad library experience early in life can turn them away from libraries forever. My own students come back from the media center at my school with stories about being yelled at for no reason, and then they just want to borrow books from me instead of going back.

The other interesting idea in the article was about the way libraries are set up. It discussed how most people want the "Barnes & Noble" feel to the library when they walk in: good lighting, comfortable seats, plenty of interesting books, and friendly workers. However, most libraries are not like this. Often when you walk into a library, the first thing you see are the computers. At my local public library, I never notice attractive book displays or areas that seem like good places to read in. It is not a comfortable, welcoming environment, and usually I do not linger. I think it is a good idea for libraries to rethink the ways they are arranged and try to keep up with what people are looking for.
The article also discussed getting rid of the card catalog quickly as being a bad idea....this part of the article I cannot agree with. As someone who grew up with the card catalog, but also grew up alongside computers, I remember the frustration of searching in those drawers and the relief when I started being able to search on the computer. I guess I can see that other patrons might have had an issue with this, especially those not familiar with computers, but for me it was a great sight to see those shelves emptied.
Schlipf, F. (2008) Grumpy observations on good public service. Illinois Library Association Reporter, 26 (1), 39.

"You Don't Have to be a VIP to Use the LOC"

"The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections.
The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations." www.loc.gov

I read an interesting article in the Tampa Tribune about the Library of Congress. I never would have known that just anyone can get a library card for this library and go in and use the books there. They even have popular fiction (although you are not allowed to take the books out of the library). You are allowed to go into the Main Reading Room and use your computer (they have the internet) or read the books available. They have more than 130 million items there...a big step up from the local library.
While it may not be an everyday experience, it would be neat to go and see one of the "big guns" in the library world. This seems like a trip every future librarian should make.

Orndorff, Amy. (2008, March 30). You Don't Have to be a VIP to Use the LOC. Tampa Tribune p. 6