Describe and compare the organizational settings in which library and information professionals practice.

Introduction

Library and information professionals possess knowledge and skills that are useful in a number of different areas.   Perhaps the most obvious place for librarians to work is a library, but even then there are several types of libraries in which they can practice.  Public or academic libraries might be the first that come to mind, but there are many more.  Health sciences, law, museums, textiles, and even wine can have dedicated libraries holding a variety of items.  Moving away from books, there are archives, historical societies, digital libraries, curatorial, and independent consultant options for librarians and information science professionals as well.

In my own experience working as a cataloger in San Jose State University’s Visual Resource Library (VRL), I use my background in art history, research skills, and knowledge of metadata schema to enter information about artists and their works into a database for use by faculty and students.  As an intern at the San Jose Museum of Art (SJMA), I use those same skills to work with the Registrar to prepare records and images for upload and use on the Museum’s collections website.

These two places are different in a number of ways, but I can use my information science tools to be effective in both places.  The VRL is a resource only for the San Jose State community and acquires its material based mainly on what the instructors might need for their classes.  The metadata required for each record is basic and must come from scholarly sources.  At SJMA, the records produced are meant to be seen by the public and the material that I work with is dictated by what the museum has acquired.  The metadata requirements are different as well: users have more search options and the museum keeps track of private information such as insurance value and donor names in these records.  Though these are different jobs and environments, I use my knowledge of librarianship and information science  to adapt to both.

 

Evidence

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My first piece of evidence is an interview with the art, design, and philosophy librarian at a local library.  The library is both academic and public and I spoke with the librarian about how the library deals with two sets of clientele, which includes using two classification systems, two websites, and even two sets of hours.  We also discussed the experience of being a subject specialist at the reference desk, collection development and maintenance, reaction to recent state budget cuts, and how the library tracks reference transactions.  Speaking with this librarian gave me some good insights into how the library transitions between being a public and an academic library.

This document has been removed to protect the privacy of an individual or institution, in compliance with SJSU’s privacy and confidentiality policy.

My second piece of evidence is an interview with an archivist at a local historical society, an organization whose mission is to collect and preserve artifacts related to the local area and celebrating its history.  The archivist spoke to me about the history of society, the organization’s archival practices, project management, preservation, establishment of policies, and the changes in clientele he has seen in the past few years.

The underlying principles of what the librarian and archivist do are very similar but the settings are different and their skills are put to use in different ways.  When the librarian practices collection development, she might be responding to requests from library patrons or making decisions based on her own knowledge of a specific subject.  When the archivist practices it, he is thinking forward to what might be useful to researchers today or of interest to future generations.  Both have to make decisions based on current collections and future needs.

 

Professional Development

I believe that one of the most important skills I will have as a librarian is knowing how to adapt to a multitude of situations and settings.  By remaining active within the larger information community—attending conferences, maintaining memberships in professional organizations, and building relationships with other information professionals—I can stay up to date on the latest information available on advances and changes in the industry.This will ensure that whether I find myself in a traditional library or in a position such as digital assets manager, I will be able to use the basic principles of librarianship to take on any task that comes.