Why we won't be here in 20 years

[Sheryl Dwinell]

We really do have an image problem don't we.  I know from experience that a
lot of people really have no clue who the librarians are in the library.
One of my friends informed me once that her brother worked as a librarian
in the summers between semesters of college.  He shelved books part time,
so he was a librarian. Mm hmm. Then there are the encounters with a
reference librarian who may be stressed out or just plain bad at dealing
with the public. All it takes is a really bad experience to turn you off.
Our popular, media image is something along the lines of being bookish,
prim, behind the times, fuddy-duddies, etc.  So how do we combat this?  How
to get our voices heard?

In our library we work to reach out to our community of users and build
relationships with students, professors & researchers.  Another librarian
and myself teach classes in searching the Web where we also talk about what
the library is doing with the Web.  We want to help build that connection
between the library and the Net in the minds of our users.   We want to
highlight the skills of our personnel and how we can help people make sense
of the Web.  Sometimes I think those of us who are really Net savvy think
that it's pretty easy to search the Web, but I know many casual users who
are stymied and frustrated by search engines. We want them to know that
librarians can help them. At Marquette, I think we have built some good
connections with grad students & professors, but I'm not so sure about
undergrads. I do know that our entire staff works hard to make our library
a place where users know they will find people eager to help them. We're
undertaking a major survey of users now to determine if we're fulfilling
our obligation to them.  It will interesting to see if our perceptions bear
any resemblance to reality.

So, what about the profession as a whole?  I hear a lot of ranting on the
lists by librarians, but what are each of us doing to toot our horns? If we
do want to be around in 10 years or 20 years, what are each of us doing NOW
to ensure that the skills and talents we have to offer will be valued?  I
think it's incumbent upon each of us at our institutions to make our
communities aware of the what the library has to offer.  We don't need a
nationwide ad campaign. It begins in our libraries. It begins by changing
some of our attitudes and perceptions and refocusing our energies on
discovering what our users think about us and asking them what they want
from us and finding ways to serve their needs.











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Sheryl Dwinell
Cataloger/Database Management Librarian
Memorial Library, Marquette University
P.O. Box 3141
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3141
dwinells at vms.csd.mu.edu
414-288-3542
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