Are Librarians in search of a model
which recognises them as professioanals and a profession : a review of a
classic paper by Hanks and Schmidt
November
15, 2013
Many Librarians land up as
Librarians for various reasons. Most of
the times it it would not have been their first choice to become a Librarian.
Let me narrate an anecdote. Right since
his intermediate education Shiva had developed a special liking for Sociology. He completed his BA with Sociology as a Major
Subject. His love Sociology and other
social sciences mean while had doubled up.
Surprisingly and incidentally his father he felt was unable to support
his higher education. Things moved in
such a fashion that he happened to
complete his BLIS, and a PG in
Sociology. Spent one year in learning
Urban and Regional Planning. He could
not move any further in Urban and Regional Planning due to unbearable
expenses. He thought job as Librarian
was more handy, remunerative, feasible, easier and possible than that of
becominga Teacher in Sociology or
becoming a Planner. May be entering into
the job of teaching Sociology needed more patience and also, a coping up with
less salary and so on. And there it was,
he landed up as a Librarian in a School .... and career as Librarian got
initiated..... A Central Government Job, structured, regular and what not. He was still not sure whether that was his
dream job, or a cream career. His LIS Education and initiaal experience as a
school librarian .... made him realise that the job of librarian not that
fascinating. A steady and higher salary
compared to that of a beginner in Teching Sociology made him continue as a
Librarian. Librarianship was an easy
option? He tried to be happy otherwise
to read the Literature of
Sociology and Psychology for his quest in Reading and Scholarship. This is a typical example of an individual
who emerged and worked long as a Librarian.
There could be many aspirants of
being an engineer, Teacher, Doctor etc., but landed as a Librarian. Why Shiva failed to find a Science in
Library and Informatuion Science, Why he did not like what he was doing as a
Librarian., Why every Librarian oround him seemed to be low self
esteeme3d, why he continued to think
that he is only a facilitator, why he did not suggest his children to opt for
Librarianship. Inspite of scholarship
and publications why he seemed to be struggingl to convince his colleagues and
Non Librarian bosses that he too had a Science and Art behind his
practice? Why he continued to wonder on
people liking books and libraries but not librarians who spend their life time
in developing them?
And now let me come to the topic
in hand i.e. REVIEW OF THE SO CALLED CLASSIC by Hanks and Schmidt who were alll
out to find out / pursue a Research / Theoretical model which
makes Librarians feel secure. Why the
authors after being so critical about ‘professional model’ end their paper
abruptly and without answering the very question of Librarianship being or not
being a full fledged profession? Status
of Librarianship cannot be enhanced by negating professional model. Simply gegating social science and sociological
research does not yild any good result to Librarians. Functionalism, Power, Conflict and System
Theory are theoretical models based on which social nd development research is
being conducted globally. Change of
model does not bring esteem or status to Librarian profession. Libraries being part and parcel of social
life, Librarian cannot and should not object objective and research studies on
Librarianship. Professional model based
on functionlism has all accommodation and adaptation for all kinds of
environments and changes that impact and effect practice of occupation and
profession. Why do librarians of late
think they have an option either to go in for or not to go in for professional
model. Library is one of several social
organizations which are bound by studies and research by sociologists, economicsts and Planners. The argument of authors that the General
Systems Theory is more user oriented and pro – change is questionable and too
hasty a conclusion. Let research by
other Social Scientists and Librarians prove this. Current authors and Librarians in general seem
to be very much offended by the assertions of W.J.Goode, “Librarianship was not
a Profession and not likely to become one (1961)”. Much time has passed since Goode said this
in 1961. Let us not be self assertive,
let us introspect and do the needful in scaling high on the scale of
professionalism. It is possible, may not
be very soon probably.
Authors make a classic statement,
“Librarianship is in the process of becoming something other than it has been
(1980)”. Wonderful, it is true, there
are tremendous changes in the environments which have impacted and will
continue to impact our professional practice.
We have seen our graduation from book to micro documents to information
to knowledge .... the wonderful graduation towards ‘wisdom management’ is yet
to be achieved. Inspite of tremendous
changes in the form and format of the infomration ... librarians can still
continue to be librarians .... can still prove their metal in emerging as
Wisdom Managers .... no end at all
towards the path of excellence. Let us
not stumble so early and so soon, let us not accept defeat so soon ... this is
nothing but our short sightedness. Since
time immemorial librarians had a solid role, they have a role and will continue
to have a role. Librarians will never be
jobless. Society wants them. They have to change as per changing
times. They should continue to refine
their science, techniques and tools to
handle ever changing medium of human thought and history (book, information,
knowledge, wisdom). Librarians should
continue to be relevant and indispensible.
We have an indespensible science, research and theory revolving around
organization, classification, cataloguing indexing and dissemination. Every thing else may change in our
environment but our basic involvement in these fundamental pre-occupations will
not and should not change. Yes, as
authors say, Librarianship is in the
process of becoming some thing other than it has been. Librarians becoming smething other than it has been – is only in terms of
form and format of information and contents and containers – not with regard to
our Philosophy, Theory and Methodology.
Let us have a firm belief in our Foundations , Theories and Paradigms. Let us not forget Ranganathan and theoretical
foundations cherished by him. Once we
stand firm on our Foundations we can cope up with all internal and external
environmental changes about which we knowingly get scared. There is nothing wrong in Librarians getting
involved in thoughts about Status and Reputation of Librarianship. Theoretical Models dont build our
profession. They assist us in building
our Science and Theory and Practice. We
need to have appreciation for all models and approaches. If we dont do so we will be known as
escapists for sure.
Conclusions drawn by authors
(Hanks and Schmidt) to a large extent
are lopsided, erroneous, misleading and incomplete :
1.
Professions are not higher or separate parts of
society as understood by authors.
2.
Authors say, ‘professional judgements cannot be
questioned by layman’. On the contrary
professions are the results and manifestations of larger social organizations /
Society. They societal sanctions for
self regulation for the welfare of the members of society.
3.
Authors say, ‘Professional model is elitist, but
the fact is it is not. Professiohnalism
is pro – society, pro-honesty, pro-ethics, pro-dedication and pro-welfare.
4.
Professional Model gets well with democratic
traditions of self governance at different levels of Social Organization.
5.
Authors close their paper by saying that
‘Librarianship is one of those Occupational Groups whose primary concern is to
serve the society which has spawned them’. Who denies this? We are in the business of providing service
to Society.
All said and done the ideas
presented by authors in this seminal paper continue to spark debates,
iscussions and deliberations for many more years and decades. Right or wrong they have presented their
ideas before researchers and practicing librarians. The best response could be to face the truth about
the show pace of professionalisation of our practice, honestly and
patiently. Professional Model based on
Functionalism is going to be our torch bearer whether we like or not. Sooner we realise better it is .
The paper by authors is highly
commendable as it will continue to sensitise Sociologists and Librarians for
further groping and research. Hope
Librarians will continue to read such life changing papers. Society has given us a Special Social Space
to serve its members as Knowledge Organizers and Disseminators. As long as we continue to do this honestly to
our own full satisfaction, society continues to pay back to us – probably in
quantities much beyond our imagination.
We should continue to be indispensible for services, things and
ideologies in which we have been trained and tuned. Under any circumstance, let us not be less
than the best in whatever we do and say and stand for. Best is never a stop but a mirage to follow
and glide .... let us proceed further and further.
ASLIP Readers Services
Librarianship is a noble profession.
