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The Future

In the past librarians had different duties, and different types of opportunities. It seems that technology has actually worked to give librarians more options after finishing a degree in Information Science from an accredited university. For example, someone who graduates from a university with a degree in (MLS) Master's degree in library science may find themselves organizing information for the government or a big corporation. Today, however those librarians without much computer experience may end up playing catch up while still having the traditional responsibilities.

In my experience at the library it was evident that the librarians at this particular branch had to cope with the computer labs as best as possible while still maintaining the traditional climate of the library. It was hard to see the immediete benefits of cross training librarians especially when they may soon be in charge of something that resembles more of a computer lab than a library. Perhaps until we are technologically settled, the librarians will have to learn the technology just as fast as they are responsible for answering questions and providing public access which is a very big responsiblility.

ABOUT INFORMATION

Libraries are for information and because digitization has come upon us it is important to explore the life and death of libraries as we know them, as well as the ways organizing information will have to evolve.

Dr. Phil Agre wrote the article, "The end of Information and the future of libraries" which addressed his theories of information. This article is very relevant because in it he splits up the different scenerios that may evolve. His favorite theory #3 called Information Professionalism seems pertinent:

Information Professionalism

Designers: professionals

Users : individuals with information needs

Information: homogenous stuff to be stored and received

According to this theory it seems that information may be an end in itself, to be consumed, but not definitely accessed or seen by the end user. This makes sense except for the fact that each bit of information may have different sets of standards in order to be accessed. More importantly though, the information "professional" is actually a type of generic gatekeeper of random information which may be crucial to only one person and runs the risk of being very overpriced.

As some have suggested, books themselves may not disappear because they have that portable nature. However, librarians like Frank Schmitzer believes e-books may be the wave of the future. It seems though that more than likely the organization of information and consumption of information will take on some sort of database system like Lexus Nexus which one may have to pay or be a member of the organization.

As this was brought up in class once, hooking up all the public libraries while still keeping up access to the internet is a big challenge, especially with filtering standards. However, the library is a place for information and should be at the forefront of remaining an important player in the digital age especially when children, minorities, poor, and the elderly depend on locations and free access.