What a UCLA Student Thinks of Librarians

[S. J. Peterson]

In light of what's been said, and in the same noble spirit of satiric and malicious humor from
whence came the original, I posted this to the folks at The Daily Bruin.  Hope he can take it
as well as dish it.  (And it's true--I apparently have way too much time on my hands.)  Please
note that the opinions expressed are MINE alone, and are not reflective of my employer,
neighbors, pets, or progeny.

In spite of MY attempts at wit, most of what I say is heartfelt, at least as far as my
profession is concerned.  (Of course SOMEONE will take it ALL seriously and will hammer me, but
just because the door is open, you don't have to walk through :-)  Please--commentary, flaming
or otherwise, to the HOME address.  Cheers.

sjp
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

First, please forgive my inability to determine whether you are male or
female.  (The tone of this piece suggests "male," yet the name itself
suggests only "electronics.")  For ease of reading, allow me to assume,
"male.”

Regardless, while I greatly appreciate satire, having earned
undergraduate and graduate degrees in English, 19th Century American
literature, and Rhetoric and Composition, I can't help but sense a bit
of "child-who-went-to-the-library-only-to-look-at-the-pictures" in this
piece.  Sadly, your attitude reflects that of people who lack the
ability to see the world as it is and who, as a consequence, fail to
realize that we fine folks in the I.S. (that's Information Services, for
those who don't get out of the lab very often) field are doing a lot
more than "put[ting] books on shelves" and spending years learning the
Dewey Decimal system.

In actuality, we librarians are the metaphorical glue that connects the
past to the present and ultimately helps create the future.  We work for
Yahoo!, for movie companies, for the IRS (Yes, even we can be subverted
to the "dark side."), and we are connected with every business, group,
or agency that needs to manage the storage, retrieval, and organization
of visual, audio, data, print, or other information. Without us and our
efforts, information would still be handed down from generation to
generation without order or structure, existing only as haphazard bits
of data,analogous to oils before being used by Rembrandt--or if it's
easier for you, Mr. Barari, like when you try to paint without using the
numbers.

I find it odd that you fail to comprehend that your field benefits as
much, if not more, than most; the meticulous record-keeping over long
periods of time that is necessary to help turn hypotheses into
established facts could not happen without Information Specialists, Data
Managers, and Systems Analysts creating databases and the interfaces
with which you access them, archiving and cataloguing manuscripts, and
generally tidying up your messes.  As you should know, scientists must
compare and analyze data gathered over time by many individuals; what
you appear NOT to know is that WE make doing that possible.  If, in a
bizarre twist or irony (and arguably a monumental waste of media), your
work, satiric or otherwise, remains accessible for longer than it takes
the astute reader to either burn the paper upon which it was printed (or
in this specific case to simply hit the ‘Delete’ key), you will have
only US to thank.  We are the keepers of the lore, and its darn lucky
for you that we don't make judgments regarding informational worth.

Sadly, your shallow understanding of the Information Service field and
its immense societal value says much more about your lack of education
than it does about the Information Specialist's place and value in the
overall scheme of things; and while it is distressing that the
uneducated reader may, having read your inane diatribe, continue to
believe that your "Op-ed" piece somehow validates the long-held societal
opinion that our profession contributes so little, it is gratifying to
know that the educated among us work to eradicate such antiquated and
misogynistic views, secure in the knowledge that they will ultimately
prove irrelevant.

Finally, we would like you to know that our ongoing contact with books
and information has led to our gaining a clear understanding of the
law-especially those laws that allow you to speak out for or against
whomever you wish.  We fully support this concept, and wish to thank the
editors of The Daily Bruin for helping to protect your Constitutional
right to prove yourself the larger fool.

sjp



--
S. J. Peterson
Library/Media/Technology Support Coordinator
libczar at earthlink.net (Home) or steve_peterson at redlands.k12.ca.us (Work)

E. M. Cope Middle School
1000 W. Cypress Avenue
Redlands, CA 92373
909 307 5420 x 6344