Page 239 - DLIS007_LIBRARY AUTOMATION

Library Automation

Notes The Librarian’s Identity Crisis
As stated previously, the students, faculty, curriculum and training methodology at the
library schools have to be visibly improved to meet the challenges posed by electronic
information and impatient, highly demanding users. There are also problems of
infrastructure and a directionless attitude in the teaching and research sector often forgetting
the interdisciplinary aspect of the subject. Working librarians have good exposure to new
databases, their acquisition and use, pragmatic implementation of various routines etc.,
which are not accessible to library schools. Thus apart from teaching faculty, expert
practitioners in the discipline would also be involved in education programs to bridge the
gap between preaching and practice. The existing courses must always look at the sweeping
changes in the library workplace and adapt well to enable the students to face the challenges
with confidence, giving ample opportunities for improving reasoning, communication
skills, general awareness, and other characteristics identified for a multi-tasking service
organization. The age-old teacher-centric teaching has to be circumvented by student
oriented and professional (job)-centric teaching.

Cultures and Conflicts Faced by Librarians
Gone are the days of close-minded librarians and the quality of candidates entering the
profession is continuously improving. As technology-intensive librarianship is gaining
ground in the country, working librarians are getting much exposure to new technology
tools for providing better information products and improved information services.
Working librarians in at least the major academic and research institutions have better
computer infrastructure and possess better expertise on the latest information products
and services. It is quite natural in the emerging print plus electronic hybrid library scenario
that a library professional right from first job is expected to be conversant with the electronic
apart from the manual means of information collection, processing, management and
servicing. But there are also apprehensions about the level of technology appropriate to
conducting well in the challenging and demanding academic and research setup.
A library professional must be distinct from a computer professional due to the very
nature of their profession and the expected deliverables. But the acute emphasis on
technology has created a situation that a professional can hide many of his/her professional
ignorance by a little computer knowledge which is not going to be good either for the
profession or for the libraries. Google cannot and will not be replacing libraries because
both can co-exist with their diverse functionalities catching the attention of users at different
occasions. The professional nature of the librarian’s job always motivates him or her to
help the users unlike administrative staff in the institution who are always rule-based;
sometimes this may lead to not so proper upkeep of administrative procedures and records,
and in some cases cause unnecessary rivalry with the administrative staff.
There are also personnel problems as the librarians fail to command a leadership role in
many institutions thereby eclipsing their role in strategic planning. Institutions attach
prime importance to libraries but are they doing the same towards the personnel in their
libraries? It is a strange case of all the virtues are of the system and the problems are due
to the staff. Largely a service wing in many institutions, not enjoying the power, visibility,
service conditions, and career prospects of the research and teaching staff, the status of
library professionals in many of these institutions is not a morale booster, leaving many
of them underperforming. It is not uncommon to see non-professionals heading many
libraries, maybe just because they are senior teachers or good administrators or researchers
and not because they are good as librarians. There are also problems of the lack of a peer
group in the profession resisting such attacks on the profession as many senior professionals
have become self-centred, and professional associations compete for minor issues.
Contd...

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