Comments on: Libraries without Librarians

By: Punch Jackson

Punch Jackson — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 21:24:55 +0000

How many libraries are there in North America?
How many Librarians are there with Masters degrees?
How many libraries are managed by non degree people?
Do we close all the libraries managed by non degree people?
Are there user satisfaction studies between libraries run by degreed librarians and non degreed librarians?
Ah yes how do you measure the quality of the experience?
Bless all those non degreed folks for doing the best they possibly can for the folks they serve!! We live in a world of continuums……get over it.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:43:16 +0000

ElderLibrarian–well, it’s tough to convince professors to schedule library time, they see that as “valuable class time,” and don’t value the library instruction. If they DO schedule it, the kids see it as a good day to cut. Or they’re not paying attention because they have nothing concrete to research yet (I am a proponent of giving the research prompt, developing the thesis, THEN going to the library after they’ve started formulating questions, instead of doing the intro to the library at the beginning of the course, when the students have NO IDEA what any of these resources could possibly be used for, giving them NOTHING concrete to tether this new information to, so it goes in one ear and out the other). When they’re there, they aren’t paying a lick of attention because “everything can be found on google,” including some other student’s paper to pass off as their own. Good times.

By: MrTadakichi

MrTadakichi — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:49:44 +0000

Jeff, all those reference services you provide can, and are, provided by reference “Support Staff,” for about half the price of a librarian. I have never seen a public librarian do anything that I couldn’t do with two weeks training.
And the next time you go to the hospital, remember that those nurses keep you alive with only a two year undergraduate degree. Their job is far more important and difficult than yours will ever be.

By: Midge

Midge — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 02:23:53 +0000

@Kid: they probably have but either the library doesn’t carry the textbook and/or all the copies of whatever book are out. students typically do everything possible to avoid buying a book. most students are aware of the library’s existence just not all of the services they offer, like ILL, ha.

By: KidLib

KidLib — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:00:27 +0000

Antigua, replacing a branch with a lock box is not going to be any less political suicide. Lockboxes don’t do storytimes, or offer computer help, or provide a place where people meet. It’s the choice of the people how to spend their library monies–at least it should be–not the choice of the library administrator deciding what’s best for them from on high. If the people want branches, then it means giving something else up… and if, in knowledge of this, they choose to keep the branches, then that’s what the choice should be.

Elderlibrarian–I have no idea at all why these college students aren’t aware of their school libraries. It took me completely by surprise that *anyone* wouldn’t look first to their college libraries for books assigned in college classes.

By: Skipbear

Skipbear — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:56:37 +0000

It really comes down putting a “red-box” library at the mall to get Sally Suburban a free copy of the latest trash romance and a some books for her child to destroy…well that does save her a few dollars at Macy’s and gets larger happy meals for Sally and Sammy Surban jr.
Better to close the “library”invest in real education social programs and let Sally buy her own damm books.

By: Antigua

Antigua — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:53:53 +0000

Having looked at this from the management perspective for years now, I can tell you that the big reason this makes sense for me: small branches are not economically efficient.

I can build several big branches with lots of staff and services that people will use, or several small branches with perhaps only one or two staff members. Three small branches cost me almost as much as a “mega” branch, yet do 1/5th the circulation, programming and services combined. Since I cannot shut the small branches down (political suicide), this alternative to move to vending machines actually makes a lot of sense. It still, arguably, provides the service to small areas that currently have small branches, but I can consolidate the budget resources I gain from shutting down the traditional small branches into the pool for the larger branches.

I know there are more facets to this debate, but this would be a major deciding factor for me if I had the opportunity to pursue it.

By: Michael Starks

Michael Starks — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:20:51 +0000

It isn’t walls of lockboxes that librarians should worry about. Worry about places like this, where the reading public can find premium information, service and connectivity: http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=450

By: ElderLibrarian

ElderLibrarian — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:19:03 +0000

Kidlib-Whatever happened to Academic Librarians teaching or demostrating their services to the students? Cutbacks in Academia?? I have seen several instances of college students without a clue on using databases or reference services. Some of them for whatever reason preferred us to their school library. Our local community college and 4year college have great resources, so that can’t be it.
I guess a lot of higher ups seem to think that a book vendor or Internet is all a student needs with no guidance or help from a PAID professional.

By: Green Librarian

Green Librarian — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:06:23 +0000

Unfortunately, the people who really need the library and librarians are not the people who have any say in whether they get funding. The people who really need the library and librarians are not the ones writing newspaper articles about the library, either. I’m sure the automated library would be as successful as a starbucks is for the middle class. However, it really would not replace the library and librarians for those members of society who don’t have their own laptops and don’t even know how to double-click.