LIS 701 Spring 2008 Discussion Blog

This is something I heard on NPR.

I agree that professions do not stand still because of new discoveries and technology. Also, I think new professions are created every day such as the webmaster. This means that many professionals have to continue to learn new skill sets throughout their careers, which can be both an exciting and an intimidating prospect.
But I think it could also spell the end of repetitive, bland work that doesn’t offer much in the way of creativity. This could mean there’s less burnout on the job. Also, people will feel more fulfilled personally.

The information revolution makes it easier for people to get their hands on information that will be relevant to their lives. They can get past the gatekeepers. For instance, your doctor diagnoses you with a chronic illness. Now, it’s easier to be your best advocate in terms of your health care because you have information, such as research studies on drugs, that is now readily available on the Internet.
The downside to this, of course, is that there’s too much information to decipher and for someone who is trying to research something important to their lives this can cause panic. I believe this is the where the librarian steps in, to show people who is reliable and who isn’t.
Libraries, in my opinion, are trusted institutions in this country. We aspire to the higher ideal of knowledge through reading. However, in being seen as reliable, it’s also easy to be invisible. People know we’re there, but do they really take notice of all the we have to offer?
Per our class discussion, I’m really on the fence about video games in libraries. Yes, they bring people together and libraries are being reenvisioned as these community centers. We want people to use the library. However, are we undermining our origial premise, to be a place of thought and introspection and a champion for the written word? I know that when I read, even if it’s a good book, I have to remove myself from the room that my television and my CD player are in, in order to beat temptation. Sometimes I head to the library to think. Are we defeating reading by bringing something that could so easily distract from it into such close proximity? Food for thought.