In our Module 4 lecture, I was struck by Dr. Roland's statement concerning how we traditionally viewed the role and the function of the library. "The
role and function of the library is simple – collect the books with the
answers, catalog the books correctly, create the card catalog file, sit back
and wait for the library patrons to match their information need with the
library collection." When stated this way, it sounds a bit backwards when viewed through the lens of our current Information Age. Today's library cannot sit back and wait for its users to come to them. Nor can it possibly collect all of the world's information. How are we to choose what knowledge will be valuable to our users without an interactive dialogue with them?
We now have better tools to proactively discover the needs of our users and better predict what their needs will be. We can order our materials based on user input in the form of demand driven acquisitions. We can search out system logs to determine which subject headings are searched most often. We can run reports from our integrated library systems to tell us which collections circulate or are used in-house most often. Today's role of the library could be stated as the reverse of our traditional view: discovering the information needs of library patrons and then providing access to the information that fulfills their needs.
How do these new tools help us to better serve our users? They free us up from processes to allow us to spend more time on the personal and societal aspects that we can influence as librarians. In the late 1990s, the staff of the library in which I worked at the time made the decision to change the library's mission statement to reflect this changing role of libraries: "To be the hub where people of the Perrysburg area can gather to
experience community, gain access to information and discover boundless
opportunities for enrichment of their daily lives." (Way Public Library) To me, that perfectly sums up the best of what we can be.
Definitely! What you said is much more eloquent than simply saying, librarians are used to being not only the keepers of the data, but also the ones hand-choosing the materials they thought were the best for their patrons. This society is definitely all about "choose your own adventure." I had completely forgotten about the ways in which we have the ability to review materials and follow the paths the patrons are choosing. It is definitely important to meet the needs of the public, and not just in the types of programming or educational experiences, but in the materials themselves. Good call!
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