The digital age is reinventing libraries and librarians. No longer tied to the circulation desk, librarians can now influence the world via the Internet. Marilyn Johnson, author of “This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All,” (Harper, 2010), chronicles the profession’s transformation. Johnson became interested in librarians while researching her first book on obituaries, discovering their impressive legacies. Banned Book Week, the Library of Congress’s Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) and other industry traditions originated because of dedicated leaders. “I began to get the idea that libraries were where it was happening-wide open territory for innovators, activists and pioneers,” says Johnson.
Stateside university libraries incorporating distance learning in countries like Italy; can promote social justice activism. International students, many of whom are mid-lifers, and nuns, priests, and human rights workers by profession; enroll in their two-year masters program. They’re educated partly in Rome. There they learn how to use the Internet, enabling them to advance their activist community across language barriers, and time zones. They return home to complete their degree online. They write their thesis, graduate, and prepare to “save the world.” Johnson honors librarians’ commitment to protecting our right to privacy and free information access. The 2001 USA Patriot Act challenged Connecticut librarians to hand over their system’s computer records. They refused and ultimately won their court battle.
Humorless, sexually neutral librarian images dissolve amongst today’s professionals. Young librarians, both male and female, redefine the vocation; as they throw retro parties with literary themes; collect books for Hurricane Katrina victims, and upkeep Facebook pages. Veterans too are reinventing themselves. They playfully engage in image self-mockery at conferences, which is rarely publicized. Teams adorn costumes and perform precision book cart drills choreographed to music. Each group risks ridicule in their creative garb and gadgets to win the grand prize of -a book cart.
The iconic New York Public Library (NYPL) represents today’s global institution. They, like many other systems strive to balance preserving the past while accelerating technology expansion. This is all being accomplished on a shrinking budget. Fresh talent, including the director of digital strategy and scholarship enhance NYPL patrons’ experience. Today’s professionals keep the Library 2.0 vision pure and simple. They spread the gold as bloggers and avatars (individualized 3-D web representation); and trust the reader to shape the message. Twenty-first century archivists include not only professionals, but also amateurs and enthusiasts who contribute their expertise. The growth of digital archiving demands easy applications like those used for blogging.
Simplistic challenges of libraries yesteryear, like eliminating odor from donated, old reads for book sales (place a dryer sheet between the pages); herald new herculean tasks of migrating entire computer systems within a library consortium. Libraries represent serendipity’s finest, allowing you to enter their confines and discover new experiences each visit. They still represent one of the few places where information isn’t a commodity.
In January 2009 Johnson attended a highly anticipated Connecticut library Grand Opening. Its pristine edifice houses the inner workings, including automatic checkout machines, a cafe and computer center. It was there among the facility’s nooks and crannies, crowd abuzz; that Johnson sat on a bench by a big window lit by winter light. She pulled a book from the nearest shelf, began reading, and was cast under its spell. She reaffirmed her passion for libraries, and the librarians who are crucial to a community’s livelihood. And it’s here throughout the pages of “This Book Is Overdue! ” that you, the reader, reap the rewards of Johnson’s endearment.
Learn more about National Library Week: April 10-16, 2011:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/pio/mediarelationsa/factsheets/nationallibraryweek.cfm
Book Review "This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All" by Marilyn Johnson
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