Now more than ever school librarians need to be advocates. COVID brought to light so many things that are wrong with the education system around the country. According to the author, they learned that, although they talk about equity and access for their students, they are not even close to equity and access being a reality for all. As the…

At the time of writing the original paper my viewpoint was a personal one, one that focussed on the status within the profession of equally qualified librarians based purely on the perceived status conferred by the type of libraries in which they worked. However, it must now be observed that the world in which public librarians operated then was…

Proposes that the library profession will, in the near future, divide into two tracks--the traditional librarian and the information manager. Recommendations for adapting to this change are included: (1) technological literacy; (2) career planning; (3) changes in library education; (4) accountability for information; and (5) a more positive public…

The first of two articles on the current state of relations between librarianship and new technologies describes recent events that signal an apparent drift toward a traditional vision of librarianship, and away from any emphasis on information technologies. (CLB)

This final column by Herbert White addresses his concerns with the professional objectives of librarians and how librarians are perceived and treated. Highlights include the users' need for librarians; the role of the American Library Association in supporting libraries more often than librarians; and stressing institutions rather than people.…

This paper traces a brief history of the development of American librarianship as a profession and examines the social climate from which it emerged. Several traditional and modern models of professionalism are discussed and applied to librarianship. Shortcomings of the profession, e.g., its scholarship and the non-prescriptive nature of its…

Discussion of way in which books have functioned within framework of American librarianship highlights acquisition of books (libraries attempting to fill needs of everyone in geographical area, libraries devoted to filling needs of self-selected part of society, libraries devoted to collecting particular subject), and role of private collector of…

Discussion of librarianship as practiced in rural areas of United States highlights advantages of rural environment which affect role of the library, i.e., interpersonal relationships, need for creative modes of information service, potential to provide insulation against personal anonymity, potential for impacting community, opportunity to…

This essay characterizes role of the librarian as using a variety of skills (intellectual, human and communication, technical) to deal with recorded information by evaluating, acquiring, preserving, sorting and ordering, and making it available. Library management, training, and preservation of library materials are highlighted. Six references are…

Advocates pursuit of service to the public rather than autonomy of practice as the proper professional goal of librarians. This article explores the tensions between professional attributes and the bureaucratic demands of the organizational environment. (Author/RAA)

Discusses the future of the library profession and suggests that librarianship could become marginalized (i.e., its significance could be diminished) as a result of automation if librarians do not broaden their vision and keep pace with technology. The roles of libraries, librarians, and library automation in an infrastructure for information…

Abraham Kaplan has produced the clearest philosophical insights in all of library literature into the real nature of library education by providing an outsider's view of librarianship that (1) explains the "mess" librarians are in; (2) identifies humanism as the firm foundation of their profession; and (3) correlates librarianship with…

Discusses a paradigm for academic librarianship that requires greater sensitivity to and identification with needs of library users. Centrality of library academic community is questioned, noting insistence of librarians on independent status of library and failure of bibliographic instruction programs to make issue of critical thinking top…

Discusses the role of libraries and the profession of librarianship in terms of national societal changes. Three main influences and their effects on the public's access to information are addressed: (1) the increasing dominance of corporate wealth and power; (2) the deregulation of the economy; and (3) pervasive commercialization. (LRW)

Reviews literature on the counselor librarian and discusses problem areas accounting for resistance to concept--trend toward return to basic library services, advice and advocacy, resistance to accepting behavioral sciences, learning and teaching "helping" concepts, public acceptance, work environment, management support, staff development, and…