[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Article in Chronicle of Higher Ed
Agreed, Eric, that we are a service industry and exist for the needs of the
researchers, but that doesn't mean I have to hunch over like Igor in Young
Frankenstein and say "Yeehhhhss Maaaster", groveling before the demigods of
academia. (P'raps I lay it on a wee bit thick, ey laddie?)
I have no problem being of service to the academics that make up the key
function of Higher Ed (other than, naturally, collegiate athletics) but they
owe us a heck of a lot, too, and there should be a level of respect reserved
for those of us that make their research possible. Half of 'em can't find a
dictionary, much less decide the best place to look for obscure archival
information, and they need to accept our role in their work. I would
suggest there's a partnership between researcher and librarian/archivist -
they have the questions, we bring them to the answers. Maybe it's 60-40 or
70-30 in their favor, but see if any academic can get his/her job done
without our help.
Oh, and to make you all feel better about the occasional stupidities of our
jobs, I'll remind y'all of a website with laughs for us library weirdos:
http://www.librarianavengers.com/
I was reminded of it off Cynthia Van Ness' website, so thanks for the link.
Check out Stupid Librarian Tricks for Dopey Reference Questions 101.
DS
> Look, let's call a spade a shovel, shall we? The archival and academic
> librarian professions really
> ARE "[relatively] unimportant second class desk job[s] for faculty
> wanna-be's." We exist for them
> and the students; they don't exist for us. That's the way it should be.
>
> And THIS faculty wanna-be is not going to look for another job. I love
> mine too much -- even though
> I fully recognize its subordinate nature, status, and function.
>
>
______________________________________
Daniel Sokolow, Archives Coordinator
David Taylor Archives
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
155 Community Drive
Great Neck, NY 11021
mailto:dsokolow@nshs.edu
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
*or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>