> I mean no offense to the original poster, but I find it highly
> ironic that the link provided did not work. In order to find this
> article we had to seach on Lexis.
> To me this illustrates why we "search pros" will never be out of
> work.
I agree with Joyce. The excellent "Internet Librarian '97"
conference last month in Monterey, CA was practically dominated by
discussion and exploration of search engines and the problems
inherent in finding and providing users with relevant information on
the net. The underlying message was quite clear: The web is
analogous to an infinite warehouse full of books in random order and
without a catalog. Not only will users of the Internet need
information professionals (i.e. librarians), but they will need them
more rather than less.
I have read several "librarianship is dead" articles like the one
metioned in this thread. In my opinion the people who write them do
not understand what librarians really do, and mistake superficial
behaviors (like labelling books or saying "SHHHH!") with the
underlying professional librarian skills of organizing useful
information and helping users find and interact with the information
they need.
Just my thoughts....
Paul D. Healey, M.A.(LIS), J.D.
Reference/Electronic Services Librarian
William Mitchell College of Law
871 Summit Ave. St. Paul, MN 55105
Phone: 612.290.6306 Fax: 612.290.6318
e-mail: phealey@wmitchell.edu
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