What is it about?
Unclear or equivocal definitions and perceptions regarding the work in an academic library – namely librarianship or information science – affect the choice of profession, its status, the roles of ALWs within the library and the relationships between ALWs and faculty members.
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Why is it important?
A main claim that has been raised both in the literature and current study is that, due to the abundant information that can be found today on the internet, it is difficult for faculty members to understand the importance of the library and its workers. Although ALWs often seem to believe that faculty members are familiar with the services and resources the library can provide, they must acknowledge that this is not always the case and understand there are perception gaps on both sides.
Perspectives
As a librarian, I think it is important to define the profession and its related activities more clearly, starting from the academic studies of the profession. It is necessary to develop the roles of ALWs and provide training in various aspects of information technologies, such that the ALWs can better define themselves and their work in a manner more suitable to the twenty-first century. The more the profession develops in that direction, the more ALWs will be able to integrate within the work with faculty members and offer their services, while the clearer and more unequivocal will their image and role perception be also.
information scientist Liat Klain Gabbay
Alon High School of Arts & Sciences
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: How is the Role of Academic Library Workers Perceived by both Faculty Members and Library Workers?, Libri, December 2017, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/libri-2017-0021.
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