[11924] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
more golden...
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Thom Gillespie)
Tue Jan 13 20:06:10 1998
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 17:24:27 -0600
From: Thom Gillespie <thom@copper.ucs.indiana.edu>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.3.96.980110094023.921C-100000@yin.interaccess.com>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Reply-To: Thom Gillespie <thom@copper.ucs.indiana.edu>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Librarians should familiarize themselves with PCs, yes; but more
> importantly they should understand the technology. It's the concepts, the
> vision thing, how technology can be appropriately used within an
> organization, that is the real issue. And that can, and should, be taught
> in library school. It is a part of an MLS.
>
> Hire a web head and tell them what to do.
I was sent an interesting response to the response above:
> Ugh. ...'s response echoes the reasoning I've heard many times
> while pursuing my MLS and seeking computer related courses to augment my
> program. That is, that the MLS program is adaquate if it
> teaches "vision". A vision is a fantasy if not grounded in the reality
> of how things work and why. It's a kind of autistic thinking. Folks who
> experience a vision with no basis in reality are labeled schizophrenics.
> Maybe in a way, librarianship is a tad schizophenic because many of its
> members seem unwilling to face the reality of technology while insisting
> that they are above it. I see it as self-distructive. It just doesn't
> cut it.
> It steams me to hear self-agrandizing justifications like the claim of
> librarians having "vision". It brings to mind a picture of people with
> their heads stuck in the sand while patting each other on the back. It
> is this kind of attitude that disarms our profession from having the
> knowledge and skills needed to be proactively involved in designing
> applications and systems that are particularly suited to end-users in a
> library environment, much less have control over future designs of
> information storage and retrieval.
I'd also have to note that in the past Sunday NY Times System-Information
Technology want ads I don't think there was a single request for an MLS or
a MIS to manage anything. But there were many requests for the 'web heads'
to manage everything. These are some of the highest paying information
design and management jobs anywhere and what they are looking for are
skills and experience/portfolio, not a degree. They aren't looking for
concepts and vision, they are looking for practical experience, an ability
to solve constantly changing technology problems. I don't see vision as a
problem with libraries, but practical experience may be.
Thoughts?
--Thom
