Electronic libraries. and paperless office -Reply -Reply

[Wayne Daniels]

Wayne Owen wrote:

"This depends on whether they are feeling threatened or burned out. 
I remember many attorneys sounding off about the threat to the
"public" from paralegals in California.  In fact they sounded a lot
like librarians commenting about paraprofessionals <grin>."

Well, I expect the lawyers in question would argue they have
something to offer the others don't. What that is and how much it's
worth are questions that need, of course, to be answered. Doing so
would help to define what the added value consists in. But unless you
believe it's all "smoke and mirrors", it's reasonable to expect some
sort of satisfactory response could be offered. Same for
librarianship. 
  
"It seems death and taxes are still the only things we can't avoid
*-)."

How true. But up here in Ontario, just at present, people have got
taxation on the winkle. They pay more for just about everything but a
lot of them seem to have decided their social services should be an
exception to this. As public libraries feel the squeeze more and
more, we need to find other sources of funding and, to that end,  
there is a need vigorously to advocate the utility of library skills
both within library walls and beyond them.

Here endeth the lesson. Hymn 254. 

Best,

Wayne Daniels    

Metro Toronto Reference Library     
wdaniels at gwmail.mtrl.toronto.on.ca