Thinking about the role of libraries and librarians.

It's the end of the school year, and it's time to do a little thinking and reflecting.  Here are some things I have learned this year:

• Traditional libraries are not going to cut it any more.  This is SO not a new idea, but the reason I put it here, is that I have begun to see some new possibilities.  Many of you may have seen Seth Godin's post about librarians and the future from May 2011.  While I am not sure that paper is exactly dead, I like where he is going.  Librarians are needed as guides for people to help them find information, to teach them things they need to know.  This is a solution, not just another "Oh woe is me" post.  Also read this summation from the Scholarly Kitchen.  A similar theme emerges.  As things change, we have an opportunity to be at the center of learning as never before, but we have to seize the day, so to speak.  Which brings me to my next lesson learned.
• More and more, I believe that the embedded librarian is the way to go.  A huge trend in Academic libraries, this idea shouldn't be limited to the ivy covered halls.  Embedded librarians take services outside the library, to the places and people where they are needed.  Also, NOT a new idea. (Remember book mobiles?)  However, with new technology and a new attitude, we can take library services where no librarian has gone before, wait, I'm channeling Captain Kirk, but you know what I mean.  Read here to get a few more details about what an embedded librarian is and here  (unfortunately not available for free full text) to see about the success of some embedded librarians, and check out this new book from ALA.  I will be ordering it as soon as I save my pennies. 
• Along with the embedded librarian concept, librarians need to rebrand themselves as information experts (see the first bullet), not keepers of books.  People can get book recommendations from their neighbors, their coworkers, their book club friends, Amazon.com, etc., you get the idea.  There is nothing wrong with doing reader's advisory, and doing it well, but let's face it, librarians are not the only game in town offering that service.  What we offer that no one else has is lots of experience wading through a sea of information and knowing what sorts of sources are the best for different sorts of questions and information needs.  Now, people still ask their teachers, family members, etc. for help finding information, but often time the results are less than what they need, certainly for specialized research or detailed questions.  Librarians need to become experts on the invisible web, and share that knowledge with patrons as the need arises. We need to teach people how to better internet users.  What could be more "of the moment" than that?  Of course, first we have to convince them to let us, and that is where marketing and rebranding come in.  Read this article for more about librarians as information experts.

These are the directions I will be taking for the next school year.  I will be looking for ways to embed myself in our school, probably in specific departments, and ways to cast myself as information expert, here to assist.  I plan on developing a series of information literacy "lessons" that can be springboards for more conversations with students and teachers--not one shot lessons, but tidbits that are important at the time, ways to make sure that students and teachers learn what they need for what they are doing now.  The reason I am developing a series is to give myself some structure and to define what it is that I want to include, based on our district and state standards and objectives, as well as the 21st Century skills from AASL.  I am going to work on a plan for taking library services to students and teachers more and more.
That is the plan, anyway...


Reflecting Pool  photo at the Washington Memorial by Hu Totya  
Used via a CC license