Re: the "calling yourself a Librarian" question.
I was at a seminar last week where someone remarked on their job title,
saying that they preferred "librarian" on the grounds that "at least
everyone knows what a librarian is". Which is complete and utter rubbish.
I've met very few 'lay' people who understood what a librarian did until
I told them.
Call yourselves what you like, I don't care, but surely the important
thing is to make your role understandable to others. It's no good stomping
around militantly calling yourself a "librarian" if people just think you
stamp books all day.
If someone asks you what you do for a living, why not try actually telling
them rather than using opaque shorthand?
And who's fault is this but librarians'? Librarians *should* be
ashamed of using the word, since they have completely failed to communicate
to anyone what the function of a librarian is. If librarians are a laughing
stock, I suggest we look at what librarians have done to deserve it.
Tim Turner cited the Police as another supposedly unfairly judged group.
It is true that not all individual policemen are racist. But even senior
officers have admitted that their force as a whole is racist. If the
police have a racist reputation I would suggest it isn't without
foundation. And if librarians are stereotyped, perhaps it is because, as
Tim says, there have been and are a lot of "dreadful people" in libraries.
Only clearer explanations of our role, the provision of decent services,
innovative thinking and, yes, perhaps the use of alternative terms - will
help improve the status of librarians. Insisting dogmatically on
particular words makes the profession look as conservative, inflexible and
grey as we complain the public/media "mistakenly" paint us.
Oh, and my CD collection *is* alphabeticised - but that's because I have so
many that I wouldn't otherwise be able to find any of them. Isn't knowing
the value of organisation a key "librarianship" skill?
Rant over.
Dan J Bye
Information Adviser :-)
Distance Learner Support Service
Sheffield Hallam University
[log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|