librarians

In age of Internet, librarians do
same old job, use different tools

March 16, 2004

DES MOINES, Iowa--One might think that in the age of the Internet, the jobs held by reference librarians would be on their way to becoming obsolete. However, this is far from the truth, according to Laura Walth, a reference librarian at Des Moines Public Library.

Walth said that although people are in some cases more self-reliant now that they have the World Wide Web at their fingertips, library patrons still turn to librarians for help in finding elusive information. "People ask what Web site they can go to, to find information," she said. "So they're coming to us with different kinds of questions."

Walth, who has worked as a librarian in Des Moines for 13 years, said the reference librarians at Des Moines Public Library have become adept at using search engines to locate information. She said Google.com is her favorite site to use while searching the Web.

"Google has advance features that a lot of people don't know about," she said. Citing an example, Walth said the language translation function on Google.com has been used to facilitate communication with a patron who does not speak English.

"He typed his question in Spanish, and the site was able to translate it, so we could get him the information he was looking for," Walth said.

Although the Internet is a valuable resource for librarians and library patrons, the old-fashioned research tools such as encyclopedias have not been abandoned, according to Walth.

"[The Internet] has made it a lot easier to access information really fast, but we don't rely on it all the time," she said. All of the sources found on the Web are "not 100 percent accurate, so we still use the same kinds of reference tools we've always used."

For instance, Walth said she still turns to the World Book Encyclopedia when she needs to quickly verify information.

In addition to making information more accessible, the Internet has made the researching expertise of reference librarians more widely available to patrons. The Des Moines Public Libraries' Web site, www.pldminfo.org, features an "Ask a Librarian" link that patrons can use to submit questions to reference librarians, who look up the information and then send it directly to the patron's e-mail address. Walth said more and more patrons are taking advantage of this service.

However, the online reference feature is not without its drawbacks, according to Walth.

"The disadvantage is the process can be delayed, in comparison to a reference interview when people call or talk to us in person," she said. "We like to talk to them to find out exactly what they're looking for. When they do it online, sometimes we have to e-mail them first to find out more specifically what information they need."

There is a wealth of Internet sites dedicated to librarians and the job they do.

For instance, Library Juice is a " biweekly online magazine for librarians, library and information science students, and other interested people" According to the Web site, www.libr.org/juice, the magazine includes "discussions, commentary, announcements, humor, Web links and news affecting the library world. Much of the material is about librarianship as the servant and protector of the public sphere; intellectual freedom and social responsibility as central to the profession."

Another Web site dedicated to librarian empowerment – but with a tongue-in-cheek twist – is www.librarism.com. It features links to humorous quotations about libraries and librarians as well as an online store, where librarians can buy items such as T-shirts and coffee mugs that display their pride in being part of the "Reference to the Rescue" workforce.

Online resources for librarians may help link Iowa librarians to those in other parts of the country or even the world. Walth, however, said she has not had much experience with the online community of librarians because she sees her job as serving the needs of the public, and this dedication to public service has led her to use the Internet more for research purposes than for being part of a community of librarians.

For patrons who have not made the leap to having Internet access in their homes, this public commitment of librarians is more important than ever before. Walth said elderly patrons, for example, often call the reference department looking for answers to their questions.

Walth said she is confident that although the role of the librarian is changing, not becoming obsolete. "People are turning to us with different kinds of questions than they did before they had the Internet," she said.