Part I of Information Services Today: An Introduction reintroduces the idea of information professionals to me in a way that I had not thought of them before. Librarians are not just librarians anymore, but full-fledged information professionals that helm a ship of possible services to be used at the will of the people. Understanding the people and the services available are essential for an information professional to be successful and this introduction to the profession today provided a compact and easy-to-understand overview of what it truly means to be an information professional, from the political, social, and cultural implications that are attached to every profession and career. Even as a constant user of library services, I often forget the importance of providing technology services, which this summary was clear to indicate was essential to the profession today. Information Services Today is also clear in stating that a librarian is an information professional, but not all information professionals are necessarily librarians (Hirsh, 3-4).
The importance of community, a topic that appeared in last week’s discussion, was also addressed, and the issues that come with it, such as denoting what the nature of the community being served truly is (Hirsch, 20). This may be due to the fact that the information communities being served may differ from other communities surrounding the information organization providing services. The final chapter of Part I continued to highlight these issues with community including: multiculturalism, inclusion, and diversity (Hirsch, 28). In a world that continues to emphasize the need for inclusion, a profession that is meant to address equal access to information for everyone cannot overlook the importance of multiculturalism. To achieve the goal of true cultural competence, there must be a diversity of services and collections that address the intersectionalities of people seeking information. Cultural competence thus makes the information profession more integral and helps information organizations reach their full potential through a mission to serve (Hirsch, 35).
The American Library Association’s (ALA) “Code of Ethics,” “Bill of Rights,” and “Freedom to Read” statement continue to highlight the importance of community and access to information. Speaking to the idea of cultural competence, each of these documents commits the information professional to providing a safe environment to all people to inspire a collaboration of information from all perspectives. These statements go so far to say that intervention to those attempting to prevent the dissemination of information may be needed to assure that all users are capable of remaining able to expand their knowledge regardless of anything deemed controversial. This means information professionals should not advocate censorship and should provide information regardless of their own biases, as the freedom to read and think critically is essential to the maintenance of democracy.
Due to my own academic background, historical issues stuck out to me that are not addressed in the readings, or, at least, not addressed as a historian would discuss them. Though, I suppose that should be expected in a text that is addressing the information profession. Hirsch states that “information organizations that fail to engage diverse communities are likely also to fail to preserve their historical records,” which speaks volumes to emerging focuses in the history profession today (Hirsch, 35). I believe this could have been furthered in the discussion on multiculturalism by discussing how this lack of historical preservation has effected historical research due to lack of access to information. In social histories today, there is an ever growing focus on “silent” histories that have not been addressed before. These histories are often considered unorthodox, but are essential to creating cultural competence historically and in the world’s present political climate. For example, an emerging field of study in history revolves around the LGBTQ community, as this history has been silenced throughout the centuries, and evidence has become increasingly difficult to find. A failure to engage with this community by information professionals could continue the difficulties of securing historical preservation for this community.
The original publications of the ALA’s documents on access to information also bring up interesting historical concerns. The “Code of Ethics” and “Bill of Rights” were both published in 1939 and included terminology to encourage equal access for everyone, yet libraries, paired with the Catholic Church and several school systems, were part of the censorship movement in the 1940s that led to comic book burnings that mimicked the book burnings of Nazi Germany. The “Freedom to Read” statement which furthered this idea of access to all people on information of all perspectives was published in 1953, just one year before another round of censorship rocked the literary world when comic books were officially censored due to the popular book, Seduction of the Innocent, that scared a generation to the effects comic subject-matter was having on children, depleting a rich literary and art genre for decades to come. If these issues were had at the original publications of such documents, is it any wonder that there are still issues surrounding these notions of equal access to all people and all information today?
In a search for postings I may qualify for once I finish my education and one I may qualify for after 3-5 years of experience, I came across two levels of outreach positions that would focus on client relationships. With the experiences I hope to attain while at the University of Michigan, I feel that I would qualify for the Williams College position of Reference and First Year Outreach Librarian. This would highlight my skills with the social sciences, the specialty the reference librarian should have, and my interactions with users at the university level would enhance the skills I want to develop as an information specialist. These skills would also provide me with the experience I would need for the job I found for 3-5 years after entering the workforce: the UCLA Head of Outreach and Community Engagement for Library Special Collections. The importance of user outreach to further encourage information seekers to use information organizations and the focus on specific work, such as reference or special collections, would better prepare me for my ultimate goal to run an information organization that specializes in a specific topic. Such a position would require extensive knowledge and experience with topic focuses and community outreach.
Raven K 