At the start of the semester we had to introduce ourselves and give some of our assumptions/beliefs on librarianship. I love my job, and if you look at my assertions from earlier in the semester you can see that. Something I've struggled with, and didn't mention earlier though is the fear that my beloved profession might not be relevant in the next 5-10 years (or even sooner). You hear a lot about the downfall of the library, and how libraries are no longer needed in today's technological world, but over this semester I've learned that that isn't true.
Libraries aren't only "the place where the books live" (as describe on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), they are the placed where learning is fascilitated. Yes, children and teens go to school to learn, and teachers are there to teach them and give them information, but librarians continue that job and we expand upon it. There will always be people that need help learning. People who need help with resumes, choosing books to read, and having a place to socialize. Libraries aren't going to die, they are going to evolve. The libraries we have today aren't very similar to the original libraries, aside from being places where information is stored. So, who are we to think that just because libraries are changing now means that they won't exist anymore?
I still feel the same way about my job as I did before, except that after this semester I am more confident that my job will be around when I am older. That the library will survive, it may look different than it did when I started (almost a decade ago?!), but it will still be standing.
No comments:
Post a Comment