Reference is dead. All hail the IT staff!
At a recent librarian symposium, Ann Arbor District Library associate director Eli Neiburger delivered the news that the way of the future for libraries across the nation involves data storage and distribution - which means big servers and the geeks who service them. Needless to say the message made some ripples.
Excerpt:"We need big servers and the geeks to take care of them," Neiburger said. "What are we going to cut to be able to hire a geek? We are going to cut reference staff. Reference is dead," he said.
Despite the fact that a trained librarian can bring value to a reference interaction, the patron today, acclimated to Google searches, does not feel that way, and librarians cannot change their mind, Neiburger said.
"Travel agents were outmoded because people felt they had better access to the information than they could get from the travel agents. We're in a similar sort of spot," he said."
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