I have a shocking statement to make: Librarians aren’t just people who are in charge of books, and not all of them are interested in working in a library.
From the first librarians who were in charge of the archiving of clay tablets in the temple rooms of Sumer, to those who protected the papyrus records in Egypt, to the workers who stored clay tablets in Nineveh, librarians have always been protectors of knowledge.
The infamous destruction of the library in Alexandria became a symbol of the irretrievable loss of the knowledge of a culture, which equated to a loss of power. When Sir Francis Bacon wrote the expression, “ipsa scientia potestas est”, translated to, “knowledge itself is power” in 1597, he was echoing the Book of Proverbs, 24:5, “The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.”
So where is cultural knowledge stored today? Is it all contained in the neat rows of books that exist in many of our country’s libraries? Is it solely contained conveniently online and searchable by only entering a few words in a Google search box? How do we contain and preserve the knowledge that is constantly traveling back and forth in social media? And what about the knowledge that exists outside of technology and books? Who is in charge of collecting and preserving the history, stories, and knowledge contained within people through the oral tradition?
The role of the librarian is both more important and less valued today than in any other time in history. Information is now found everywhere. Who possesses the passion, skill set, and aptitude to tackle this formidable opponent?
Librarians.
They’re not just shelving books anymore (not that they ever were doing only that).
What fields are librarians well suited for?
- The expected- traditional libraries, such as public, academic, and school libraries
- The slightly less expected- special libraries, such as museums, law firms, corporations, and historical societies (to name a few)
- Specialties within libraries- curator, archivist, cataloger, collection development, information literacy, outreach, etc.
Oh, but there is so much more (this list is in no way exhaustive):
- Database designer
- Social Media expert
- Subject Matter expert
- Instructor
- Data analysis (crime, intelligence, project, financial, report, etc.)
- Technology trainer/futurist
- Project Manager
- Researcher
- Knowledge manager
- Due diligence
- Investigation work (private, skip tracing, background check,etc.)
- Information Architect
- Content strategist
- Big data
- Copywriter/Information Privacy expert
- GIS (geographic information systems)
- Competitive Intelligence
- Publishing
- Chief Information Officer (CEO)
- Instructional design
- Genealogist
- Information Recovery
- Certified Records Manager
- Automation Coordinator
- Information broker
- Usability engineer
- Taxonomist
The challenge for the field of Library and Information Sciences is to change the perception that librarians have a very narrow skill set that can only apply to traditional library settings. I’ve seen a few instances lately that have given me hope. The C.I.A., for instance, actively seeks librarians for both traditional library positions and non-traditional jobs, such as analysts. A new venture by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, is looking to redefine journalism. The project is called First Look, and while it’s still in its early stages, he is actively seeking librarians to fill most major roles.
So there it is- the reality of today’s librarian. Are you surprised? Relieved that someone is there to wrangle all the info? Indifferent? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject!