Enthusiastic, Committed and Articulate
It was great to see so many enthusiastic, committed and articulate new librarians last week, at the New Librarians Symposium 4 in Melbourne. Nearly 300 of them.
NLS4 was upbeat and optimistic, and the major take-home message was that it is a great time for libraries and people who work in them. Especially if we are prepared to learn, adapt and change. New librarians are at the cenre of this.
People talk about the crisis in libraries because of the ageing of the workforce. I always say “It’s not actually a crisis for everyone, for some it is a marvellous opportunity.” An ageing profession is an opportunity for the young. I don’t believe in generational stereotyping - we are all in this together, and everyone has to learn, adapt and change - but the reality is that 34.5% of us won’t be around in ten years time (one of the speakers said), but most of the NLS attendees will.
It is a great time for libraries because the information environment has changed for the better. And, far from having been obsolesced, said Mark Pesce, a keynote speaker, there are new roles for people with library and information skills. “life coaches for the digital lifestyle”, he suggested, as long as we “get out of the libraries and into the streets.”
It is a great time because so many of the things libraries have dreamed of are now actually possible, and the conference had a strong element of new technology and new possibilities. It also had two total enthusiasts from Tilburg, Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Geer, who turned their camera on the audience, the real subjects of their presentation.
It is a great time, but there are dangers too. Mark Pesce said that librarians need to take ownership of the censorship issue, and he’s right - it is central to what libraries do. Open to all is what a library is, and must be, and for that reason copyright is an important issue for us too. On the issues of access to information we are very credible: we have a trusted brand, admired values, and widespread respect.
It is a great time, Dr Sherman Young said, even for the book, which retains its importance for us all, although perhaps not necessarily in its physical form - not dead at all, he suggested, but perhaps sleeping, like Arthur and his knights, ready when we need them.
The conference was a tribute to a very enthusiastic and effective committee, led by Tania Barry, to support from ALIA national office, in particular Kamara Schlegel and Sue Hutley, and to sponsors and supporters. But of course it primarily owed its success to very articulate new librarians, well-chosen keynote speakers, and enthusiastic and committed new (and newish) librarians and library techs.