The Liberated Librarian in the 21st Century

Judy PalmerKeeper of Scientific BooksRadcliffe Science LibraryOxford Universityjmp@bodley.ox.ac.uk

Changes for librarians

storage to access and print to electronic

free to fee and new competitorsnew user expectationsnew curricular requirements distance learningnew and more information sourcesmore to do with less money

…….and readers?

What do they think?

“..library user expects information to appear on a screen as a result of a search that involves no more that half a dozen clicks on the mouse, with a final click to produce a print copy.”

Fred Friend Journal of Electronic Publishing, 5 (3), March 2000

…Librarians should be "people who are confident, personable, able to work collaboratively, imaginative, lively, good at presenting, good at meetings. On top of that I want them to have an understanding of the major issues in information transfer in the late 20th/early 21st century"

“Libraries function as rear view mirrors, producing a deep and concentrated perspective on what lies behind..remember there will be a blind spot. Libraries not only have a blind spot, but lack the horse power to keep abreast of developments…”Blaise Cronin, 1988

“ Not all library users wish to change their route into information. In every revolution there are those who wish to continue in the old ways.”

Fred Friend Journal of Electronic Publishing, 5 (3), March 2000

“Too many librarians adopt the A B C approach to library management”

How do we make sure that readers don’t resort to this?

Who Needs

Libraries??

…I think we have to

Change librarians Change library users Change libraries, systems

and structures

Changing practice and behaviour

awarenessskillsresourcesmotivationreinforcementchampions

..so that librarians can move into new roles

Move out of the library Talk to users in their language Plan and market Negotiate and influence (wheel and

deal) Teach and facilitate learning Understand and exploit IT Critically appraise practice and

service

..and become

designers and managers of knowledge systems

educators problem solvers and

synthesisers e-navigators and publishers

..and the library becomes The first resort a library without walls the preferred gateway a centre of instruction in which

to learn skills as well as access knowledge

a quality filter

With the user, NOT the collection, the focus of our attention

And how do we do this?

Invest in a grounded approach to strategic planning

Invest in new solutions and lateral thinking

Invest in developing librariansCooperate, collaborate and

coordinate across libraries, disciplines and sectors

Librarian of the 21st Century

Change, change and more changeCritical AppraisalTeaching and learningFacilitationInformation retrieval and storageThe market place

Librarian of the 21st Century

Shown them how to do it betterLongitudinal cohort learningGiven them a new set of transferable

skills

Librarian of the 21st Century - Benefits

confidenceraised profilelibrarians as partnerslibrarians as instructorslibrarians in multiprofessional teams

C A S P

FIND APPRAISE ACT

CASP FEW

ObjectivesTo be aware of the range and quality

of available sources of evidenceTo be aware of how searching

techniques and search strategies may affect outcome

To share experiencehttp://wwwlib.jr2.ox.ac.uk/caspfew

We need to ask ourselves

Do we want to beGolden retrievers or Bloodhounds?

Final Exhortation

Take the high ground. Stay in touch and keep on moving!Advice to US Marines

Carpe diem!