Why?
I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately, in relation to the profession of librarianship. What is the why of what librarians do? What is the underlying value of the profession? Our core values. I’m not sure I know the answer to this myself, although I have some thoughts. What I do think I know is that as a profession we don’t actually have a clear understanding of our collective why.
I was at my better half’s Call to the Bar a few weeks ago. It was held at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto and as these types of ceremonies go it was quite formal with all the soon to be lawyers dressed up in their robes with fancy tie thingys. As can be expected at such an event there were some speeches with a whole lotta name calling in the middle. And at the end of the ceremony, all the newly minted lawyers had to swear an oath to up hold professional integrity throughout their career and to maintain the highest of ethical standards within the profession of law.
Professions are guided by a code of ethical standards as I witnessed first hand in the Call to the Bar ceremony. I know that my mother has taken the Hippocratic Oath as a doctor. But as a librarian I took no oath whatsoever upon graduation. In fact at my convocation there were more than just Master of Information Studies students graduating, there were students from multiple faculties, rather than the “private” graduation of lawyers or other professions. I believe that it would be a welcome addition to the ALA accredited degrees coming out of library schools across North America if all graduates were required to take an oath to uphold intellectual freedom and equitable access to information. These are the two core beliefs I feel to be at the root of the profession. While the Canadian Library Association has a statement on intellectual freedom, which I see as an attempt at a mission statement for Canadian librarians, as a librarian in Canada it is not mandatory that I belong to this association just as it was not mandatory to assert that I will uphold such values throughout my career.
There is a great chapter in This Book is Overdue, How Librarians and Cybrarians Will Save us All, by Marylin Johnson, that explores the USA PATRIOT Act and librarians in the US. Johnson shows us the importance of librarians standing up for the privacy of individuals. I just finished watching The Hollywood Librarian where there are multiple examples of the importance of librarianship in ensuring equitable access to information so that individuals may have an informed opinion and therefore be more able to effectively participate in society. As a current public librarian, I see the public library as a democratizing institution, yet within the library I do not feel as though the staff members, professinal or not have a cohesive view as to “why” the public library is important and the importance of our role within society. Having a set of professional ethics I feel would go far in helping us develop this understanding.
For those librarians out there, why do you do what you do? Why did you become a librarian? What do you see as the professions underlying core values?
It’s a job. One I ethically agree with, but it’s no calling. I don’t serve a higher purpose and I don’t necessarily identify with the ideals of librarianship (although I don’t disagree with them either). I got into librarianship because I had an undergrad in the humanities and an interest in academic with an aversion to starting my career in my mid-thirties. I stayed with my job because it’s mentally challenging, has great hours and job security.
Do library schools even require a course either in professional ethics or in the broader social impacts of librarianship? without that foundation are you doing anymore than paying lip service to these ideals with some form of oath?
Further, is it useful to take an oath you can’t possibly be accused of breaking? Do librarians associated with the Harper government get kicked out of the profession because their government has broken all the rules of freedom to information in some people’s eyes?
There are certainly few (if any) consequences in librarianship, compared to law or medicine. If I mislead a patron at the reference desk, is anyone going to know the difference? We are a service profession, but what distinguishes us from other services? I think it is because libraries are viewed as providing a ‘free’ service (though it is certainly not free) that we are not held to rigid standards. If someone gets ‘good enough’ service at a library they are happy.
And I’m not sure we even have the monoply on ‘intellectual freedom’, copyright, access – these are highly dependent on our law makers anyway. We are dependent on government for funding – and we know how quickly funds (and thus access) can be taken away.
I think the ‘purpose’ of librarianship should be education-focused. Rather than compare ourselves constantly to lawyers and doctors, I think we are more comparable to teachers and social workers – but this is less glamorous, right?
I think you’re right Leigh, we should be focused on education. And the constant comparison to other professions isn’t really helping, in fact it detracts from us actually being able to do our job. It does seem that we spend a lot of time wondering why people don’t understand what we do is valuable, rather than actually doing WHAT is valuable so that we can visibly demonstrate it. I do not think that we have a monopoly on intellectual freedom, copyright etc – however I don’t see why librarians can’t play an important role in lobbying our law makers when they are coming up with such laws. I do believe that we are positioned in such a way that makes our comments and knowledge valuable to these law makers.
Gillian – good point about the professional ethics course. I don’t believe there was one offered at my school and I would be curious if there are any offered at other schools. A foundation is definitely important before swearing an oath would be of any consequence.
Overall I struggle with the “professionalization” of librarianship and am leaning more and more towards forgetting about that side of things and just doing my job
” I believe that it would be a welcome addition to the ALA accredited degrees coming out of library schools across North America if all graduates were required to take an oath to uphold intellectual freedom and equitable access to information.”
I agree. I remember a discussion in library school about librarianship as a profession: what is considered a profession and do we measure up? This is one issue we fail on and I disagree with Gillian’s comment… The majority of librarians I’ve worked with do seem to feel that being a librarian is more than a job. When I go home at night, or if I’m between positions, I’m STILL a librarian.
No, librarianship doesn’t do the things that other professions do. But it could. And it should. Or rather WE should.
If we mislead patrons, no one may notice the difference. Right away. Or directly. But it does have an impact and it could have a huge impact. Reaction time or degree can’t be the measure of worth. It’s the value of the service that counts. Everything everyone does is reliant on information and we play an important role supporting it.
I compare librarians with doctors and lawyers AND teachers and social workers. We’re all professionals. And I think using that label can help if only we actually used it to guide what we do and how we train. At least we need more promotion of what we do and how it is important. I fear that our importance is being drowned out by how “easy” getting information through the Internet is. Sometimes I think that we’re only surviving through social inertia. lol
I became a librarian because I like information, organization and technology. I never thought about the “professional” aspects of being a librarian when I signed up but I certainly do now. Of course, being an academic librarian, it also blends in with my thoughts about our status as faculty: very similar to professions like medicine and law and education where, in academic institutions, professionals are called on to become academics as well.