Today I submitted the final documents for my e-Portfolio, which were approved by my advisor. I am so relieved to have finished this very long, but very rewarding journey to fulfill my dreams of becoming an educated person. Ultimately, this degree will enable me to work professionally as a librarian. Despite the economy and the budget cuts libraries are facing, I am thrilled to be a member the library profession. I have met so many wonderful people along the way.
The role of the librarian has not changed much, and that is to connect people with information. People will always need information and it is up to libraries to provide access to it, so I don’t see libraries going away. They just might look a little different than what we are used to seeing. But this is no surprise, as libraries have been changing and responding to new technology for hundreds of years. The only difference for today’s libraries is that technological change has a much faster turnover than before.
Often referred to as disruptive technologies, these changes are disrupting what librarians like to call traditional library services, forcing them take a hard look at their business models. Words like reimagine, repurpose, and reinvent, are words I keep hearing repeated over and over in meetings and at conferences. This is a good thing. Every organization must periodically examine and prove its value to its customers. It needs to provide a service that people need or want. Libraries that anticipate the needs and wants of its customer base and respond with creative solutions will survive. Librarians who do the same will be the ones who take libraries into the future.
