Verlieren wir Bibliothekare unseren Job wegen Internet & Co.? 1

[Oliver Obst <obsto _at__ uni-muenster.de>]

Also, ich poste hier mal einfach was zum Nachdenken fuer das Fachreferenten-
treffen in Harburg.
Gruesse, O. Obst
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Date:    Thu, 9 Mar 1995 08:48:01 CST
From:    Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS _at__ UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
Subject: Kiss Your Job Goodbye

2 Messages, 69 Lines
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From: BWYMAN _at__ bham.lib.al.us
Subject:  Kiss your job goodbye -Reply

I have not heard the particular program you referred to,
however, I am a librarian and previously worked in Project
Management for over 20 years for a major company, so my
point of view is based on experience in both arenas. I feel
Librarians will be more and more important since the
important questions will be not how much information is
available but how can I get what I want quickly. We have
always had more information than we could ever use - and
the average person does not have the searching background
necessary for accessing and defining their needs. The value
added by Librarians has been, and will continue to be, as a
guide, a leader, and a researcher regardless of the format of
the material. Yes, we are changing and adapting how we
index, abstract, assemble and disseminate information, so
specialists are needed even more. Some of us are also
committed to the idea that all information should be available
to anyone and not just to whoever can pay for it. Well, I think
I'll get off my soapbox and give someone else a chance -
Thanks for listening - and I look forward to other responses.
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From: Alex <A.J.Birchall _at__ csc.liv.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Kiss your job goodbye

Information technology, and particularly the PC, has shifted much of
what used to be typical tasks of librarians, onto "end-users".  So in
addition to doing their own job, they also have to perform tasks that
were once the responsibility of others.  This is part of the general
trend towards intensification of labour that information technology is
bound up with.

Another thought:  It seems to me that librarianship as a profession
could only come about where there was money put aside - either by an
organization or a nation - for the management of knowledge as a public
good.  Knowledge was thus removed from the price mechanisms of the
market.  The current trend towards privatization and the emphasis on
profit challenges the notion of knowledge as a public good, and thus
undermines the legitimacy of the profession of librarianship.

(However, it can be argued that knowledge is inherently a public good,
since it has to be collectively developed somehow by some group.)

While the functions of the librarian have become more relevant and
necessary than ever before, these functions are performed by other
professions, usually as a necessary adjunct to their main purpose.

If librarianship is to disappear as a profession, so too will the
belief in knowledge as a public good available to all.  We will end up
with a multitude of completely incompatible classifications of
particular areas of knowledge, and thus interdisciplinary
communication will be impossible, as will independent study.

The demise of librarianship would be the end of the idea of a civic society.

                       *Alexander John Birchall            *
                       *Department of Computer Science     *
                       *Liverpool University               *
                       *Liverpool L69 3BX                  *
                       *England                            *
                       *                                   *
                       *Tel: +44 151 726 0221              *
                       *Email: alex _at__ csc.liv.ac.uk          *
                       *                                   *