"The Case of the Missing Librarian"
May 18, 2014
Speaker: Esther Grassian (Alexandria Knight)
Information Literacy Consultant & Distinguished Librarian (UCLA)
At this month's ACRL-VWIG meeting Esther Grassian presented her keynote address which she gave at the Alabama Library Association Conference in April this year. Her program examined how librarians are often left out of the process when new policies and programs in education are being developed. The focus of her presentation was on things librarians can do to get policy makers to think about librarians and our expertise and encourage them to include us when developing new programs. In short, to make librarians more visible.
She highlighted several reasons that librarians are often left out of the equation.
The generally held perception that everything is on Google.
The perception of librarians as old fashioned and keepers of collections has long been a roadblock.
The vanishing librarian, librarians being replaced by non-librarians or positions being eliminated entirely. This disturbing trend will effect higher education for decades.
She offered some suggestions for making librarians more visible:
She offered some suggestions for making librarians more visible:
Librarians should reach out to those who don't realize librarians are vital to the educational process. Point out that librarians are involved in teaching digital & Information literacy and in teaching good digital citizenship.
Librarians should be quick to take advantage of opportunities to show their value and skills. They should also create those opportunities themselves.
Librarians should develop a systematic marketing plan to publicize their skills, tools and willingness to help.
