The class I am taking this semester is all about libraries and project management, with a hefty dose of Second Life (yes, Second Life, I died a little when I had to sign up for that) and Web 2.0. For next week, we were asked to respond to an article on the rise of the knowledge librarian.
I found one quote to be most enlightening: "Knowledge is not static."
It should never be static - and neither should we librarians. I don't think librarians have been "jettisoned" as the author states, but we have morphed into something else. I have a romantic love with books and libraries but I do not have a romantic love with the word (and stereotype of) "librarian." When people ask me what I do I say I am a "librarian" and then spend the next 15 minutes expanding their view of what that title means in today's information world.
"The librarian of the future must get out from behind the reference desk and become involved with everybody and everything."
YES! Agree. Librarians are no longer those minions of the stacks - we do more but we need to communicate that fact better. If we are to survive in the changing information age, we have to change our job description with it. We need to be proud of our work and our skills... and we need to advertise that fact. It takes us talking up our skills usefulness that will ensure we stick around in the future.
Librarians will still be here, but the title may change. Information Professional, Knowledge Manager, Information Manager, Knowledge Organizer... I could go on. These are all titles librarians now hold. It reflects the change in our society and how we view the role we play. A name change is just something to get used to, not something we should fear.