On Hybrid Librarianship

A discussion with a team member and related discussions on Second Life have brought me to this topic today. The discussion in Second Life focused on teachers treating librarians as second-class citizens, and subsequently whether or not a librarian is considered a teacher. The team discussion focused on the role of the teacher-librarian or librarian-teacher and how to prioritize the elements of the role.

I believe that the successful librarian is a teacher - regardless of whether or not that librarian works in a public, academic, corporate, or special library. To be a librarian, our job is not simply to point a patron to a resource, but to help them understand how to locate that resource on their own, and then use it to solve problems, answer questions, meet a goal (even if that goal is simply to read that book), and so on. Consider a geography teacher: that person's job is not just to point to the globe and say "here you go", but to teach a student how to use it to discover, interpret, and communicate information and ideas.

The means by which we teach may be different, but the means exist all the same. We use multimedia, discussion, and sometimes even lecture to convey meaning. We plan, and prepare, and use best practices to discover better ways (although not necessarily newer, easier, or cheaper) to convey meaning. We assess understanding of that meaning, as well, because without understanding the library and its tools would be unused.

A librarian is only second-class when that librarian allows himself/herself to be treated and disrespected as such or act or perform in such a way that indicates that you are not at the same level. Your work ethic, your customer service skills, and your desire to improve your understanding of the resources of the craft and how best to communicate those resource to your customer (patron, student) are indicators of your success as an instructor. Planning, preparation, assessment.

Of course, there are elements of our role that are not instruction, although they are related. Part of our world is prioritizing duties, which largely falls to the needs of the day and the greater commitment of the institution. If you are in tune with your mission, and your surrounding team is in tune with your mission, then even a hectic day may fall into place with ease because you order your roles according to the needs of your patron (student). At the end of the day, your ability to balance the philosophy of instruction and service within your role as librarian is what defines you as Hybrid.

-E