Running head: CONFESSIONS OF A LIBRARY GROUPIE

Confessions of a Library Groupie

A Future Librarians Process Journal Jeanne Kliewer Emporia State University November 30, 2010

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LIB 801 Journal Inroduction The following twenty or so pages contain the thoughts and feelings of a MLS student at Emporia State University in Oregon as she navigates her way through her first semester of library school. The journal also includes pictures to help further depict the topic being discussed and/or the students state of mind at the time of writing. 8/24/10 Re-learning to read more carefully The one article that spoke the loudest to me so far was, The Social Nature of Information (Alfino & Pierce, 2001). At first I was put off by what I thought to be the authors poor word choice. In the thesis statement they basically state that information is used indirectly to help people become morally autonomous. The use of the word morally struck a chord for me because I think it is quite a loaded word due to its being misused by a certain political groups in the last few decades. I believed that the author was saying that librarians should direct the moral choices made by its patrons through the information that they guide them to. What??!! The dictionary definition of morals is as follows, of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong (dictionary.com). Upon further reflection I realized that the authors are conveying their belief that libraries and librarians can help people to become more informed in order to make better moral choices for themselves as opposed to regurgitating the morals of their parents and community. Okthis I can agree with.

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As far as librarians and neutrality I still believe that librarians should provide their patrons with the information they request without judgment but I do agree that we can help patrons to become aware of information that may be more valid or broaden the depth of their search in order to expand their knowledge. This is not always going to be the easiest route. From my own experience as an undergraduate, it was the times that I approached librarians with research questions and received more information than I could imagine, that were the most exciting library experiences for me. Sometimes this can cause a person to change the direction of their search altogether, and yes, this can be a hassle if you have already done some significant work but it leaves you with more questions longing to be answered and a wider breadth of information to choose from. And isnt that the whole purpose of research and education? Maybe not always, there will be times when people are looking for a book by title and they want that book and that book only. As librarians we will need to learn to gauge when this is the case and when it is not. Just as doctors can sometimes diagnose a patient by noticing something in their disposition or eye color, this is a skill that will come with time, practice and patience. 8/25/10 The end of the Lone Ranger I just finished reading the ASCLA guidelines for information literacy, which just so happen to be the topic that I drew for our resource list project. To be honest, I had no idea what was involved and I find it a bit intimidating that many of the expectations for K-12 information literacy are things that I am not so sure I can currently meet.

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My biggest obstacle has been in the past and will be group projects. Much of the information literacy guidelines pertain to be able to work collaboratively and having the ability to share information both formally and informally. In my current job I work with people all day, trying to help them access the information that they need from both internal and external sources to be successful in quitting smoking. I feel that I am work well in this one on one context. I know that group work is a major part of this program and I am aware that this is something that I am going to have to work on not just for the program but for my own personal and professional development. I keep thinking about a comment that you made in class a few weeks ago about how, either you are a teacher, or you are not (D. Reed, personal communication, August 21 2010). I found this statement to be disconcerting. While I agree that some people have an inherent ability when it comes to teaching, I like to believe that one can learn how to teach and I hope that I will gain some experience in this area throughout the program and plan on taking advantage of every opportunity offered to learn how to teach.

8/27/10 How much is this information worth to you? I just scanned (using some newly acquired library information behavior terms from 802) over the Machlup (1993) article, Uses, Value and Benefits of Knowledge, and am finding it very pertinent to the discussion that we had in class last weekend about the cutting of library budgets and the closing of some libraries, especially in Oregon. In regards to the value of information I would say that trying to come up with a monetary value for information and libraries would be

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similar to putting a value on the air we breathe. Without information and libraries we would deteriorate as a society. Librarians need to educate the general public about information literacy in order for them to even begin to understand how crucial the services that the library provides are. How do we do this? Especially if people are not coming to the libraries because they feel they can access all the information that they need by doing a Google keyword search? How can we get the average layperson to complete an exercise like the one described by Bennington in Dissecting the Web (Bennington, 2008)? Whether or not as a nation we come to a consensus as to the value of libraries or information I think it would be great if we, as a profession, could capitalize on the increased usage of libraries due to the recession. As mentioned in Alfino and Pierces article, The Social Nature of Information, this would be a great time to begin to, focus on qualitatively rich interactions with patrons and emphasizing the differences between electronic searching and human inquiry (Alfino & Pierce, 2001, p. 485).

8/28/10 Excuse me for wanting to shush you! I was talking to my friend, Jan, today about going to study after meeting her at the gym. I would go to the library but you cant count it on it being quiet, I said. She agreed with me. It led us to a discussion around this topic and reminded me of something someone said in class last weekend. I think it may have been one of the presenters talking about how libraries are no longer a place where you

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have to be quiet and you see people studying in silence. They are becoming more like gathering places for people to collaborate and this was something that the presenter thought was a general improvement on the stereotype of the shushing librarian. While I think its great that education in general is leaning towards a more of a constructivist model, I also feel strongly against libraries being a place where anything goes. I believe I read in a journal online about how some libraries are saying its Ok for patrons to use cell phones in the library. What happened to the idea of a library being a sanctuary from noise and disruption? I know that we now have designated quiet rooms in most libraries, but I have to say that sometimes I dont want to be stuck in a room that looks like a cell. I want to be near the stacks, perhaps near a window, around other people that can respect the library as a place where others may want to get some work done without the disruption of cell phones and loud conversations. While I agree that in order to remain important to their communities, libraries and librarians are going to have to be open to change and meeting the needs of the patrons, I also feel that libraries should remain a place where one should be conscious of their noise level. What if there were two different sections of libraries altogether, of equal size and design? One could be for quiet, contemplative study and research and another for community meetings and group collaboration where it was encouraged to converse and exchange ideas without concern for noise levels. Some may argue that this exists already or that this is the difference between, say, an academic library and a public library. I have been intrigued as of late with the information I have seen around the Dutch libraries which have led me to want to learn more about the design of libraries as a structure. I am unsure if this is a subject that will be covered in our studies. I agree that libraries need to evolve but hope that they can retain some of the features that led me to fall in love with them in the first place.

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8/30/10 Information transfer I just finished Chatmans article Diffusion Theory and believe that its finding are very important when considering how certain populations obtain their information. Interestingly enough while this article concluded that word of mouth was one of the most trusted sources in this community, it also appears to be the case in some of the articles that we read for our 802 class where the study subjects were college students at MIT and in Malaysia. It also reflected how timeliness is very important when it comes to the diffusion of information. This may be why students turn to less reliable sources such as the internet because they feel that it is the most efficient and up to date method for obtaining information. What I feel were the main takeaways from both all of these articles is how important it is going to be for the librarians of today and tomorrow to be viewed as peers as well as the necessity of making access to current and trusted sources such as journal articles and electronic sources, much easier and more seamless. To be honest I dont think I do ask librarians for help myself very often unless I know what I need or want and just need help in accessing it but the majority of my information needs are for pleasure (at least until very recently). I also am having some issues learning to navigate my way around library and journal databases so I can see why this is an issue. When I was an undergrad, I recall having more than one info literacy session in my classes with academic librarians and being shocked by the amount of students who had never set foot in the library and conducted all of the research online. We need to find a way to reach this generation.

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Another question that deserves further study is, who are the influential people in these communities and how can we as information professionals, connect these people to important info such as community resources and job listings in order to have the information diffuse in a timely manner?

9/3/10 Keeping up with technology I listened to a podcast yesterday as part of an assignment for the 513 class. It was an NPR technology podcast. If you would have told me 3 months ago that I would find a technology podcast interesting or be reading Mashup and Wired on a somewhat regular basis I would have thought you were crazy. My husband has been a long follower of technology trends. Its actually been quite fun to check in with him on emerging technologies. I see how being on top of these trends though is really going to be necessary in todays libraries. On the other hand, I also see that it will be important to not just abandon all of the old ways completely, at least for another few decades because there are a few generations out there that are still technologically illiterate and have no desire to change this. Also, as we had discussed in class a few weeks ago, no matter how great e-reader may be, there will always be instances where an actual book will be preferred. I was pretty excited a few years ago when my husband bought me the Kindle and tried to get into using it. I did think it was great for reading on the bus or while working. (I have lulls in my work where I am able to squeeze some reading in). You can hold the Kindle with one hand and turn the page so easily. I just couldnt get used to the fact that I could not tell what page I

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was on. Maybe I have a bit of OCD but I like knowing how many pages I have read and how many pages I have left to read. Also, I have taken after my mom in the fact that I do not like spending my money on books that I am only going to read once. And while Kindle books are cheaper than paperbacks in most instances, they are not as cheap (free!) as library books. So the Kindle went unused for some while until my husband adopted it or shall I say claimed it, and started to read more. Now I want it back for school purposes. It would be great to hold all of the articles for these classes in. I am looking forward to the day when e-reader files are standardized and ideally will be holding out for this before I buy another one but seeing that this may be a pipe dream I may cave in and buy a wi-fi enabled e-reader for classes. I read somewhere that the Vancouver BC libraries lend out Kindles to their patrons but dont have e-books in their holding that work with the Kindle. This seems like an extreme waste of money. While I can understand wanting to introduce library patrons to emerging technologies, I think it would be best to wait until there is an industry wide format for all readers. P.S. 11/30/10-Re-reading this post, I am amazed that I felt that way about the lending of ereaders and now understand that it is about bridging the digital divide and getting people accustomed to this new technology.

9/4/10 No wonder no one uses the databases I feel like we are getting into the nitty gritty here. Its just hit me that I have about 5 projects that I am working on simultaneously and running into the most problems in doing the research. Not to mention that the one place where I could get some substantial help with (the

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Seattle Public Library) has been closed for the past week due to furloughs. I have to admit that I think it was easier back in the day to some extent. You would go and look up the books you needed maybe get one or two articles. The assignment I am working on for my 513 project is about a relatively new technology, so there probably will not be much relevant info in books. The hardest part is finding the information you are looking for in ESUs databases. You may find the perfect article and then realize it is not available on any of the databases and then have to do an ILL request, which I have done once and was pretty quick but it says that it can take up to fourteen days! I should have the first draft complete by then. Another difficulty is in searching for the correct term. You may be given one concept to do your research on but that concept may be labeled differently by separate fields of study. I am wondering why, as MLS students, we do not have a class that lasts maybe one day when we begin to help us become more comfortable with the databases and online journals etc? I was hoping this would be something that we would do in the 513 class and we had a short lecture on the topic but it was very basic. I think it is assumed that we know our way around them already but I dont think this is the case for all of us. I have done some research in academic databases but this is a bit mind-blowing. I think that I have learned quite a bit in the last few days though just through trial and error. Another aspect of the research that I had not expected was finding a system to store the information. When downloading a PDF file its pretty easy to save it to a folder that you can access later. But, what about websites? Maybe this is where using a tool like delicious would come in handy. I need to see if that may

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work for me. I have just been bookmarking the sites for now. Hopefully this will become second nature in time.

9/7/10 Feelings. nothing more than feelings I love how theories that we read about in our texts for both classes are so incredibly relevant to the work we are doing in our own research and that my peers are also noting this in their 802 blogs. I was reading Khutalau today and realized that the stages of information she describes and completely fit with my own experience so far (Khutalau, 2004). What stands out in my own research is that its not as much about the technicality of the search, but about the feelings that come along with each stage and how these feelings affect my further action or inaction. It seems like for decades emotions were completely ignored in regards to information science. I am happy and proud to see that this discipline is realizing the importance of addressing emotions as well as hard facts. No discipline exists in a vacuum. When you start talking about emotions it becomes more subjective which makes defining theory difficult. Hence the importance, as Perri likes to stress, of becoming comfortable with ambiguity.

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9/10/10 Future-osity I just finished the Kaufman article and have to agree with Patricks post on the discussion board about it being very inspirational. My take away from this article is that to become a successful librarian today, one needs to be future thinking and willing to take different roles than librarians traditionally have in the past. The tools that I am currently utilizing to become aware of current information trends are RSS feeds from multiple library and technology blogs as well as podcasts that I have discovered through my 513 class. In many ways its like learning a new language. As a newbie, I am not sure what to make of all the information I am acquiring but in the coming year I believe it will begin to synthesize and I will begin to see how it all fits into the bigger picture.

9/21/10 Interview with a Seattle Public Librarian I officially submitted my interview last night. It was interesting listening to the interview again and challenging to have to edit it down to 500 words. My subject, Paige was very gracious to share her time with me. A few of the things that I left out, because it was an interview, were some of the observations that came to me while I was interviewing her and then afterwards. We were supposed to have met in a quiet room for a half an hour but because one of the other librarians was called to another library, we ended up conducting the interview at the

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reference desk during lulls. Just as with my classmates, the underlying theme of almost every answer I received seemed to be about budget cuts. Paige is relatively new to SPL so she is right now a bit scared for her job. As a student I think I am able to see this situation objectively because I am not yet involved in the library world. What I learned does, however apply to just about any career in this day and age. One needs to be able to keep up with current trends and anticipate needs. Also finding a niche and filling it is a very important aspect of job security. Paige, while only in her 40s, is still l somewhat of an old fashioned librarian. It appears that she keeps up with technology when has to but does not embrace it. She wants to stay behind the reference desk, which in many ways I understand, but it appears to be that this model of librarianship is dying. If one wants to stay current and valuable in the field they need to be able to adapt. What struck me also was that she is not really involved with any of the professional organizations that could help her in staying current. While I dont feel like this was the most exciting of interviews I think it was a great eye opener for me as to what the current climate is like in public libraries and the professional qualities needed in order to thrive in this environment.

9/27/10 Moving from groupie to band member So here it isthe end of September. I have yet to get a volunteer gig for one main reason. I have been applying to actual jobs in local libraries! Ive done this before with no luck but I feel much more confident in my ability to land a job since I am now an MLS student. I figure if my search does not come to fruition in the coming weeks I will get aggressive about volunteering.

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As much as I want to work in a library, it was a hard decision to start applying for these positions for a number of reasons. First of all, my job, while by no means is lucrative, is pretty decent paying for what it is and its easyits known. I work from home and have gotten accustomed to wearing the same clothes for days at a time and my commute taking about one minute from the living room to the office. For all the reasons I have for not wanting to look for a library job I think my reasons to pursue one are more compelling. The work would be much more interesting and diverse. I currently do the same thing pretty much all day. I have the same conversation 10-15 times a day about the same topic. I sit at a desk all day. I dont see any people all day at work, there is no opportunity for socialization (which is not always a bad thing). Last but not least, I know that it would be next to impossible to get a librarian job upon graduation without having recent experience in a library. I will have to suck it up at some point and take a pay cut. I will have to make a sacrifice now so I can succeed in the future. So, I wait with baited breath to see if there are any new e-mails waiting for me from Highline Community College. Tomorrow, I will be working on my application for a full time job at Lake Washington Technical College. I am still on the fence about applying for an internship at King County Libraries. While it sounds great, they are hiring one person for the whole county and I guess I am for some reason pessimistic about being that one person. P.S. I applied to a few jobs in the start of the semester both with no luck. Things then got a bit hectic with class work and I decided to abandon the job hunt for now. I may apply to a few more jobs over the break (Seattle University appears to still be looking for library technicians) but also realize after listening to the panel we had in the second weekend of 801, that I really

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need to focus on creating effective cover letters for each application I submit.

10/4/10 Movies! Ok, I love to read but I think I love to watch movies just as much. Of the movies that were to choose from for this journal, two of them were already personal faves. I have seen Party Girl more times than I should like to admit and The Name of the Rose was watched repeatedly as an adolescent for less than honorable reasons. (Christian Slater sans monk robe need I say more?) It had been quit a long time since I had seen this movie, however, so I decided to give it another spin to see how it held up to time and applied to our course content. I enjoyed how the beginning of the Rubin book conjured up pictures that must have been inspired by this movie. Monks and priest in stone towers, illuminating text with ornate deigns and calligraphy. While not a focus of this class, I am interested in archival work and historical documents and I think this move may have influence that a bit. While I have read on other sites about Ecos intended message and underlying themes having to do with letting readers devise their own meanings from text, this is not something that occurred to me despite repeated watching. The scene that stood out the most to me is when William and Adso finally find their way into the library. Williams joy at seeing all of these amazing books and his outrage that they have been locked up from the general public still elicits strong emotions from me to this day. He is like a kid in a candy store, which is exactly how I feel when I enter a library. There is something basic and good in this

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message. Information should be free! Without realizing it, I think this movie reinforced this idea within me as an adolescent and reminded me of how important this is today. This is also why I want to become an information professional, to keep this wonderful tradition alive and share in freely disseminating information.

10/13/10 Information Ethics Oh how I wish that there had been something like this article to use as a guideline back when I was a manager. For three years I held managerial positions with Whole Foods Market in both NYC and Seattle. The assumption within the company was, if you are a good employee, you will automatically be a good manager. Not to say that I think I was a poor manager but in hindsight I realize that while we were very focused on the bottom line and mission statement of the company, more often than not there were no guiding principles when it came to ethics. And it was this lack of ethics that led to my disillusionment with the company and with middle management as a career path. Barsh and Liweski (2008) explained many models of business ethics that can be applied to the field of library science. Indeed these models can be applied to any business either for or not for profit. If there was a positive ethical code at my place of previous employment that was followed, it would have made for a more harmonious workplace. I can see how important this issue could be to a not for profit as well. Donald and Davis believe that, The improvements to organizational climate can include better employee morale, teamwork and productivity ( as

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cited in Barsh & Liweski, 2008). I experienced repeatedly hand how unethical behavior from above can deteriorate a teams moral and standards. I also did notice that there is a trickle down affect. If I am not happy with the ethical decisions that my bosses are making it may not directly affect my ethics but it may indirectly affect my morale and therefore have a negative effect on my team. Having a framework or guide lines for this would prove to be extremely beneficial. I cant tell you how many times I found myself struggling with ethical issues, especially when it came to staffing and human resources. I also found it refreshing to see that many of the issues that of library managers struggle with are similar to those that I had as a retail manager. Two of the three most reported issues that managers dealt with were, employee work schedules and loads and abusing sick days (Barsh & Liweski, 2008, p.55). While I dont believe it is possible to have a perfect work place I do think that ethics training across the board could help to develop the morals of employee through virtue ethics trainings to include, a consideration of virtues that are rooted in empathy, responsiveness to the needs of others, and an acknowledgement of mutual interdependence, which is referred to as the ethics of care (Barsh & Lisewski, 2008, p. 31). I am curious to see for myself how libraries incorporate ethics into the workplace and would be interested in learning more about management skills and ethics in my future studies.

10/29/10 Hack Library School So I found this amazing document the other day in one of the library blogs. Its called hacklibschool and I think its brilliant (http:/hacklibschool.pbworks.com/). The best thing about this post is that it

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really inspired me to want to supplement my learning. I have been doing this all semester through reading about 12 different library blogs as well as the ALA publications. However, in the last few weeks I have signed up for two webinars through ALA and found out about the showing of a library themed movie in my area called The Hollywood Librarian. There is also going to be a discussion after the movie about it as well as about the importance of libraries in the community and the recent cuts in funding. I absolutely love when we get together as a class once a month but am feeling that while I am learning tons, in order to feel prepared to become a librarian and make connections in my community, I need to take advantage of any additional learning opportunities that I can. As Micah, the creator of hacklibschool says, Aside from having to actually find a job, the thought of being unprepared for the field is incredibly scary. I do believe that we are getting a great education at Emporia, but when Perri went over the classes for the rest of the program last weekend, I began to realize how few non required classes we will be able to take. Thirty three credits are not really all that much and while I hope that when I graduate, I will have opportunities to continue my education, I cant bet on it. Its amazing that someone thought to put together a tool where students from library schools across the country can collaborate and share ideas as to what skills they think are important to becoming a librarian. I think it speaks widely of the collaborative nature of the field which makes me even more thrilled to be joining its ranks. I am excited to have found out about it in its stages of infancy. I hope to continue to follow the site, as well as add my own ideas in the next few years and plan on sharing this resource with my peers on the 801 discussion
Photo by Micah Vandegrift

board.

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11/8/10 The Hollywood Librarian So, in addition to being a library groupie and of course loving books, I also consider myself to be a bit of a movie snob. I watch a lot of moviesand love talking movies with others and offering suggestions. How excited was I to see that a local community group was playing a documentary last weekend called, The Hollywood Librarian. But, just as with reading a book, I have some criteria for being able to enjoy a movie and they are as follows: 1. Teach me something I dont already know. I guess in library terms, I dont want redundancy. If you have seen one action movie or read one mystery novel, you generally have an idea of what youre in for. This is why I avoid these genres. 2. Have a coherent vision and some narrative structure. 3. Let me to come to my own conclusion. Teach dont preach. 4. Entertain me. Or shall I say, info-tain me. It is very possible to inform and educate simultaneously. Unfortunately, The Hollywood Librarian did not meet any of my criteria. It was very heavy handed and all over the place with what it was trying to say. I had been excited about the premise of a documentary about librarians today being compared to Hollywood renderings of librarians throughout the years. However, the movie consisted of interspersed clips from movies with random clips from librarians today in different fields and functions. It appeared to be trying to take a stand against the cuts to library budgets by following an election in California that dealt

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with closing the public library in Salinas. I know why I believe that libraries should stay open but I feel that the director could have done a better job at putting together an argument for the masses. They were preaching to the choir so to speak. There were however two scenes that I enjoyed tremendously. They went to San Quentin to show a literacy program in the prisons where literate inmates tutor those that are less literate. What amazed me more than anything was that these inmates believed so much in this program and were so grateful to the public library that they joined together and raised $1000 to donate to keeping the libraries open. They did it to shame members of the community into doing the same or at least voting to keep the libraries open. Only when you are in a situation where your freedom of choice and information is restricted can you really know the value of that freedom. This clip reinforced my interest in becoming involved in a prison library at some point. I had volunteered a few times at the local books to prisoners here in Seattle and was humbled by how grateful some of these inmates were to be sent anything new to read. They said that when they received packages from us it really made their day which in turn really made mine.

11/16/10 User experience-lite The semester is coming to a close and I am noticing some changes in my thoughts and behaviors that are quite striking. Five years ago, I was someone who didnt have much use for technology beyond searching the web and maybe creating a schedule on excel. I knew what I had to know and I

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fought the idea of ever having to learn more. Previous to receiving my undergraduate degree three years ago, most of my jobs had been in food service as either a cook or a manager. Degree in hand, I landed my first job in the business world. While be it, the job itself was more of a social services position, I gradually had to learn to adapt to new technologies over the last three years. While doing so, I came to realize that I did not want to pursue a career as a counselor but rather to follow a different path and become a librarian. Here I am, about two years after making that decision and finishing up my first semester. I just created (albeit basic) my first web page and you know what? I had fun doing it! I also enjoy designing power points and documents. So I have been thinking that my interests as a librarian lay in tech services. The other day I had my first experience where I feel that I was able to apply some of my newly acquired skills from the SLIM program in real world situation. I have been thinking more about design and the user experience. At work I am part of a written communications project where I answer live chats as well as monitor and post to discussion boards. We were having a remote logistical meeting and discussing a new tool on our intranet, a calendar with each shift for the month on it. Our supervisors wanted us to go onto the calendar and remove our names if we were unable to work a specific shift we are normally scheduled for. Then we were to go to another web page and post that we were looking for someone to cover our shift. Then we were to e-mail the supervisor that we would be missing the shift and who would be covering. I was exhausted just thinking about how to remember all of these steps. There must be a way to use this new calendar as a tool to achieve all of these steps, I thought out loud to my peers and supervisors. We then, as a team, came up with a new method that would only require one step!

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For the first time in a long time, I felt that I had positively contributed to making a process easier and more streamlined and I also felt confident that it could be done and therefore, that I should speak up. I like the idea of user experience design; its the human face of web design. As Garett stated, user experience design means, taking into account every possibility of every action the user is likely to take and understanding the users expectations at every step of the way throughout the process (Rubin, 2010, p.295). I cant tell you how this one little idea kept me jazzed for almost two days! I know it may sounds smallbut it felt huge. Like I am beginning to think more logically and it feels right. I am excited as to where this may take me and hope to explore the topic of user experience even further in my studies.

11/29/10 Busting Stereotypes For someone who considers herself to be pretty liberal and open-minded I think I definitely hold onto many stereotypes still about those who live in rural communities vs. urban communities. This probably has much to do with the fact that I grew up sixty miles outside of New York City and have lived in urban areas pretty much my entire life. So when I came across Beths resource list about rural libraries I was compelled to check it out. I know that the job market is tough right now and one may have to consider relocating, maybe even to a small rural community in order to find work.

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It was refreshing to see that a blog like Rural Yonder exists. It reminded me how unfair it is to lump everyone who lives in a rural community into a category of uneducated or ignorant. This blog appears to be well written and researched and addresses many issues that concern rural communities. One of those issues being that of rural libraries and lack of funding. While there has been much publicity about the cuts in hours and services to urban libraries, the fact that rural libraries are being closed at an alarming rate is a subject that has been overlooked. Another disconcerting fact mentioned in this blog is that, earning an MLS actually takes you out of contention for many rural library jobs, which are frequently filled by retired teachers or other community members with supplementary sources of income (LaFlamme, 2008, para 4). On one hand I can understand why this may be if the community is small and the funding is tight. I also agree with the author in that just because someone does not have their MLS, it doesnt necessarily predict that they will not be a good librarian. On the other hand I also believe that if more rural libraries were staffed with professional librarians, it would most likely have such a positive impact on the community that it would make up for any monies spent to staff the library. This blog posting led me to think back on the Diamond and Dragich article, Professionalism in Librarianship, and about the importance of their being guidelines and standards for the profession. If librarians were regarded as professionals, it would be unacceptable to fill a librarian position with someone without an MLS. So, it appears that my journaling has led me to ask another question. Have there been any studies conducted as to the

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performance of librarians without professional degrees compared to those with and if so, how the difference can affect the library as a whole? A study that addressed this question could help to settle the debate of whether to consider librarians as professionals along the lines of lawyers and teachers and could assist in highlighting the importance librarians and libraries in todays society.

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References Alfino, M &, and Pierce, L. (2001). The social nature of information. Library Trends. 49(3), 471. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/library_trends/ American Association of School Librarians, Standards for the 21st-century learner. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_ Learning_Standards_2007.pdf Barsh, A. & Lisewski, A. (2008). Library managers and ethical leadership: A survey of current practices from the perspective of business ethics. Journal of Library Administration. 47(3-4), 27-67. Retrieved from http: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t792306901~db=all

Bennington, A. (2008). Dissecting the web through Wikipedia. American Libraries, 39 (7), 4648. Retrieved from Library Literature and Information Science Full Text database

Chatman, E.A. (1985). Diffusion theory: A review of a test of a conceptual model in information diffusion. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 37(6), 377-386. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(198611)37:6<377::AID-ASI2>3.0.CO;2-C

Cristaldi, F. & Mnouchkine, A. (Producers), Annaud, J.J. (Director). (1986). The name of the rose. [Motion Picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.

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Diamond, R. & Dragich, M. (2001). Professionalism in librarianship: Shifting the focus from malpractice to good practice. Library Trends, 49(3), 395-414. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/library_trends/

Gabridge, T., Gaskell, M., & Stout, A. (2008). Information seeking through etudents' Eyes: The MIT photo diary study. College & Research Libraries, 69(6), 510-22. Retrieved from http://crl.acrl.org Kaufman, P. (2007). Its not your parents library anymore. Journal of Library Administration, 46 (1), 5-26. Retrieved from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t792306901~db=all

Kuhlthau, C. C. (2004). Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services (2nd ed.). Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited.

LaFlamme, M. (2008, June 10). The backroad librarian: Generation next. Daily yonder. Retrieved from http://www.dailyyonder.com/

Machlup, F. (1993). Uses, value, and benefits of knowledge. Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization, 14 (4), 448-466. Retrieved from http://scx.sagepub.com/ Rubin, R.E., (2010). 3rd edition. Foundations of Library and Information Science. New York: Neal- Schuman. Saad, M. S. M., & Zainab, A. N. (2009). An investigation of information seeking behaviour of computer science and information technology undergraduates: A qualitative approach.

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Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science, 14(3), 15-34. Retrieved from http://ejum.fsktm.um.edu.my/ Seidl, A. (Producer & Director). (2007). The Hollywood librarian: A look at librarians through film. [Motion Picture]. United States: Overdue Productions.