a disposition toward technological innovation
14 Jan 09
I’ve thought now and again about the idea of a post-modern library, in which we recognize that there may be multiple right answers to the same question, grey areas, various ways of doing things all of which rely on context for value and meaning.
In a rapidly changing technological environment, it is never enough to teach people to use these tools; the education process must enable students to adapt to new tools on an ongoing basis, and even to create their own tools. This certainly requires basic technological knowledge, but since much of what you can teach in a two-year master’s degree program will be out of date by the time a graduate has joined the workforce, the post important educational function is the inculcation of a disposition toward technological innovation and a critical sense of how technology can serve and advance an organization’s mission.
For all these changes, we must avoid the simple view of technological innovation and diffusion as one-directional. Technological shifts can operate in a refining manner, one that is not only revolutionary but that also returns us to the essentials of our craft. Librarianship is intellectual work, and the best practitioner’s role is never determined solely by the technology (though generations of workers might have acted otherwise). Consequently, though media and forms of information might shift, the professional’s role may thus be enhanced, especially where the shifts enable a new focus on the mission of the larger organization. Again, if our goal is to enable discovery, the emerging information infrastructure can place information professionals who fulfill this role at the center of activity. (55)
Dillon, Andrew. “Accelerating Learning and Discovery: Refining the Role of Academic Librarians.” No Brief Candle: Reconceiving Research Libraries for the 21st Century (PDF), 51-57.
Posted by pzed on January 14, 2009 at 12.20pm
