Dewey declared librarians should consider themselves professionals (Swigger 314). Librarians, despite this, suffer from status anxiety about the professional state of librarianship. Trait theory, the traditional sociological tool utilized to evaluate the professional status of occupations, has traditionally deemed librarianship to be lacking the attributes that required for professional status, and therefore not a profession, only a semi-profession (Abbot 431). Trait theorists have criticized librarianship for a lack of theoretical knowledge and authoritative service orientation (Nelson 2030). Past librarians have adopted traits of higher professions in the anxious hopes of achieving status (Harris 16). Contemporary librarians have rejected this mimicking of attributes, as it has not advanced the professional value of librarianship, suggesting the style of professionalism advanced by trait theory, is not one that librarians should emulate. Opposed to the core values of librarianship, this style of professionalism has distracted librarians from meaningful work and poses harm to library services, as its authoritative service orientation conflicts with the orientation of libraries (Page 103). Contemporary sociologists and librarians have abandoned trait theory for being outdated in its evaluation of professional status and due to shortcomings inherent in the theory (Birdsall 146). With an anxious focus on status, contemporary librarians argue that librarianship desires public acknowledgment of the value of library work (Page 120). Sociological theory does not determine which occupations enjoy professional status, the public does (Nelson 2031). The path to professional status then, as Birdsall asserts, lies in rejecting tra...
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...ians argue that in its search for professionalism, librarianship desires recognition of the value of the occupation (Page 120). Sociological theory does not determine which occupations enjoy professional status, public perception does (Birdsall 146). Thus the path to increased status lies in building relationships with library users and allowing for greater patron participation in library policy. Contemporary librarians have rejected traditional trait theory approaches to professionalism, eagerly adopted by status anxious librarians in the past, for being opposed to the core values of librarianship and for being outmoded; they suggest instead the path to higher professional status lies in developing stronger relationships with library users and in improving services so librarianship will be valued.
Works Cited
Abbott
Birdsall
Harris
Nelson
Page
Swigger
Librarians are defined as “a person, typically with a degree in library science, who administers or assists in a library.” In truth, they are much more than that. In a recent interview with Traci Glass, the Teen Librarian at the Eugene Public library, we explored her personal story with becoming a librarian, including how it has benefitted and affected her life.
The focus of this paper is research that has been done in a number of articles about the problem patron specifically the homeless patron. One of the questions that this article is trying to answer is what the needs of the homeless patron are and how libraries can fill those needs. Even though this study is primarily focused on the homeless patron it also examines the emotional labor that librarians go through when they deal with problem patrons. Librarians like other employees who work with the public must put on a professional face when at work. This face was created to hide the more negative reactions that librarians experience when being confronted by an aggressive or annoying ...
Wildemuth, B. M. (2009). Applications of social research methods to questions in information and library science. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Darnton, Robert. "The Library in the New Age." NYBooks.com. The New York Review of Books, June 12, 2008. Web. 6 March 2012.
The article “The North West London Blues” argues that public libraries still remain an important part of the society and should be preserved. There is no doubt that she is, in fact, a part of the minority who has the same opinion due to the reason that most people tend to prefer electronics over physical copy of books, especially the younger ones. Therefore, it is important for the author to use persuasive methods to gain more support. The author, Zadie Smith, uses evidence, reasonings, and stylistic elements in order to gain support.
The lectures by Jessica Gillis and Lisa Nowlain showed how a youth services librarian does not fit under one definition and may have very different roles depending on the position. While both obtained their degrees from San Jose State University, their vision and geographical preferences have led them in very different directions.
Public Librarians’ Attitudes Regarding Acquisition and Access. Judaica Librarianship [serial online]. July 2014; 18:54-87. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 4, 2015.
Hudak, Tina. (2008). Are Librarians reading teachers, too? Library Media Connection, 26(5). (Hudak, Tina, 2008)
. This article discusses the stereotypical way of librarians. Most librarians are middle ages. They wear buns. Also talks about how library is seen by many people as a women’s job.
Strangely, this problem is infrequently discussed when assessing the shortcomings of a troubled library system or other similar organization, in favor of a focus on improving “the bottom line” and
The literature review for this study appears to have been thorough. The researcher cites over a dozen studies that confirm the existence of self-censorship. The literature review also revealed that smaller libraries tended to “own fewer potentially controversial works” (Coley, 2002, para. 13), that libraries are more restrictive of fiction titles than non-fiction, and that the typical “pro-censorship librarian worked in a community of less than 35,000, managed their own library, was a female over forty-five years of age, and generally possessed less professional education” (Coley, 2002, para. 13). These findings from the literature review help identify variables that have been shown to potentially correlate with self-censorship. Other information gleaned from the literature review included the concepts previous studies used. For instance, Coley noted, “early studies into self-censorship…wished only to ascertain what effect …[censorship policies] had on circulation statistics and the number of patron complaints” (20...
One of the primary goals behind the creation of public libraries is their expected ability to help minimize the gap between the rich and the poor, or the educated and the illiterate (Jaeger, Gorham, Sarin, & Bertot, 2013). To achieve this, libraries needed to host content that was curated to help provide educational material that also represented the social norms and values (Weigand, 1999). In other words, libraries were expected to serve as the hotspot where the public could educate themselves using resources that were not readily available elsewhere. However, as the history of libraries in the US suggests, the way public libraries provided resource to their users have taken several transformations reflecting the influence not only of those
What do picture when you think of librarians? Librarians are often stereotyped as being conservative, orderly, thorough, and passive (1, 2, 3)? Perhaps the best known librarian stereotype is the "spinsterly and authoritarian naysayer over-concerned with regulations and maintaining a hushed library environment" (4). But where do these stereotypes come from, and are they really true?
Lee, S. (2007). Vroom’s expectancy theory and the public library customer motivation model. Library Review, 56(9), 788 - 796. doi:10.1108/00242530710831239
At this point in time the computer was being integrated into organizations, and viewed by many as a boon to information management. While the major use of computers was reserved for technical and science librarians, reference librarians were adopting the use of computers since the amount of material a reference librarian was required to know was becoming impossible to keep up to without a computer’s aid. Librarians were, and still are, expected to be aware of the newest techniques and have the skills to use new technologies on the