Coming Out in 2014: A Vision for the Library Profession
Librarians are letting the world know about who they are as professionals. We are coming out. Out of the library building, our from behind the desk, out of our silos, and out of retirement.
Coming Out of the Library
Librarians are part of daily life. Every member of the community has their own personal librarian, someone they regularly consult, wherever and however they need, for assistance with their information needs. By stepping out of our buildings, and taking our skills and expertise to our communities, we have made ourselves an integral part of our cities, schools, and organizations.
Librarians are building communities by bringing people and information together. We are designing information literacy curriculum. We are taking ownership of the information technology tools we use. We are working with architects to develop collaborative learning spaces and consulting with local politicians to ensure that constituents’ information needs are being met.
We are constantly engaged in refining the services that we provide, ensuring that our services match information needs, user lifestyles, and user preferences for how they access information.
Coming Out From Behind the Desk
You won’t find librarians sitting behind their desks. We’re in virtual classrooms, teaching information literacy. We’re sitting at the bedsides of hospital patients, helping them make informed treatment decisions. We’re bringing families to the library for multilingual story times and contributing to the cultural life of our communities. Information literacy is the “new math,” a core subject in the curriculum at all levels, and is recognized as a necessary skill for daily life.
Coming Out of Our Silos
We are working across units within our libraries and collaborating on collections and services with librarians in other settings. Diversity and teamwork are key, and through cross-functional and interdisciplinary teams we have begun to recognize our complementary roles and strengths. Together we are working to solve the complex problems we face as information professionals. We rely on a growing body of quality research, and librarians in all settings are empowered to carry out research and share it via open source online publishing tools.
Coming Out of Retirement
Recently retired librarians have formed a movement. These librarians emeriti continue to contribute to the profession by lobbying on behalf of librarians and libraries. By exploiting their political connections and experience, they are influencing public policy on libraries and access to information. Some have even sought political office.
Whether out in our communities or inside the walls of our libraries, we continue to be committed to the success of others on their own terms.
Drafted at the 7th Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute, January 22-27, 2004 by the Visioning Committee:
- Deborah Hutchison (Vancouver Public Library)
- Daniel Lee (Navigator Ltd., Toronto)
- Gwendolyn MacNairn (Dalhousie University)
- Joanne Oud (Wilfred Laurier University)
