Libraries – Page 11 – Glorious Generalist

This opinion piece in the Christian Science Monitor urges us to humanize libraries, and thereby make them more humane. The author did so by creating a day for free coffee in the library, which allows him to converse with students in a salon like atmosphere. “Young people are drawn to these imaginative approaches…we are trying to win back hearts and young minds to the library.” He is not a fan of computers in the library, likening them to noisy computer labs without the soul of older libraries and librarians as glorified paper tray refillers without the gravitas of the Librarian of old.

Some days I would agree with this. These are the days when people have an attitude about the printer not working, even though between 8-5 Monday-Friday when the appropriate office is open that’s really Not My Job. I help them, but grumble mentally about it. Some days the liberal computer use policy irks me, when I feel that people are taking advantage of the library. As someone who cares about saving our planet’s limited resources, people printing out an entire ream of paper per library visit makes me seethe inside.

But realistically, if we are going to provide resources that are accessed via a computer, we had better provide computers, and expect that sometimes those resources will need to be printed out. (This is, of course, why I don’t think canceling print subscriptions is the money saving plan it’s often held up to be.) And it’s entirely possible the print-outs and the computer time end up being just as humane as research done among leather bound volumes in quiet rooms. I don’t have as dire a view of humanity, perhaps, in thinking that no one wants to find the truth through the pursuit of knowledge anymore. I do agree, however, that contemplation is an important part of learning and and that information, to be truly useful, should be acquired in a context of larger understanding. Otherwise it’s just trivia. But I feel like his conclusion is that information online is all useless and that librarians should have no part of it. That seems backwards. Librarians should be even more important in guiding the information superhighway.

The internet has made most gatekeepers of knowledge irrelevant, but made guides even more important. You can find medical information without a doctor, but you better consult a doctor before doing anything important. You can find boilerplate legal documents easily online, but a lawyer would be helpful as well. You can read books, visit archives, and look up facts online, but consulting a librarian will help you to find and use the information more effectively.

The last point I would make is that many people are disturbed by skimming, looking for keywords, and other behaviors that they see as intellectual shortcuts. Again, I do think that contemplation and quiet are important parts of assimilating and creating knowledge, and those are often in short supply these days (but let’s not forget that Jane Austen was able to write surround by people and with constant interruptions). On the other hand, with such vast quantities of data available and constantly being produced, we need systems and filters for our human brains to comprehend it all. RSS feeds and blogs allow researchers to stay on top of what’s new in their fields and communicate with their colleagues more quickly than was ever available before. New ideas spreading between people is what aids innovation, after all. Is that to say one could become an expert in a field by skimming all the books and websites in that field? Clearly not. Careful concentration, contemplation, and review are all required. But skimming can lower the barrier of understanding and comprehension.

But in any event, I would love some humane conversations, or even human conversations during some of my quieter reference desk shifts. So come on over.