Perception of the New Librarian

In this course we are shaping the perception of librarian. Why? To compel communities to see the value of the librarian. I think librarians have always been associated with information, education, and books (and dust and mold). This course is re-imaging the librarian to go beyond information and resources.  This course is re-imaging the librarian as facilitator of knowledge, power broker, activist, innovator, leader, conversant, change agent, and library evangelist or advocate.

I found these five tips for how librarians can reinvent themselves by Caroline Fuchs interesting because they are all in sync with the lessons in New Librarianship.This is my summary:

1. Join forces –  Network and connect

2. Respond to the changing needs of the community

3. Use available tools and resources creatively

4. Serve the public outside the library building

5. Share and borrow best practices – publish, present, participate in social media

I found this article on Libraries of the Future via @LibScienceList on Twitter.    First, I don’t think Librarian as Sentry, guarding the gate, would be high on the R. David Lankes list of  roles.  All the roles on the list sound “safe”, not very radical at all.  Despite the non radical titles, I think the following roles of the Librarian are in sync with the lessons in New Librarianship:

1. Certifier (credibility factor as asset and responsibility of the librarian)

2. Facilitator (but of knowledge, conversation & learning)

3. Network Node (connecting members to people, ideas, and resources)

4. Filter (librarian as reliability people, a trusted arbiter)

5. Aggregator/Synthesizer (I interpret this as the Librarian helping learners connect the dots in the learning process)

6. Evaluator (the Librarian helping members with critical thinking skills and also assessing access to services, relevant materials, and to experts, assessing one’s own knowledge to participate in learning process, assessing the safety of virtual and physical environments,  and assessing the extrinsic motivation of members to create knowledge).

I am not sure that the Librarian as Organizer, sorting and aligning, would be high on the list of new librarian’s roles, maybe if the role was more of a Leader who is meeting the needs of the community.