Insight_2nd Edition

Second Edition | Marquis Who ’ s Who Insight 9 is on reference librarianship and they have the notion – as does a lot of the general public – that information is all on the internet. These managers and deans want to micromanage things that they don’t know anything about. This has happened to me many times over the years. I always try to encourage people like this to recognize my expertise and not stand over my shoulder. What are two key behaviors/ personality traits that allow you to be effective in your role? I really care about the job that I’m doing. I think caring is critical when you’re providing a service to patrons. Especially in cataloging, patrons need to be able to find something, so they need proper access points. As such, you have to take care to pay attention to what you’re doing. If you care, you enjoy what you’re doing and you know that you’re providing a valuable service. I think that self- motivation is important to doing an effective job on a daily basis. You can work independently if you have the right skills and are self-motivated. What is the most important issue/challenge you are dealing with in your industry right now? I started in this field over 40 years ago, so we didn’t have the technology that we have now. It’s important to keep up with technology and the changes that are happening so fast. Also, formats and materials have changed drastically over time. Forty years ago there were only books and periodicals — no digital resources. You have to embrace these changes and adapt as technology changes and is introduced to the library. You have to keep up. It’s sort of like continuing education. You have to remain abreast of the changes, learn on the job, and read manuals regarding changes. It’s a daily growing experience. How do you feel your industry has changed/evolved over time? I think that the perception of libraries has changed a little bit becausepeoplethinkeverything is on the internet and they don’t have to physically go to a library. This is not necessarily true. People need strategies to utilize the internet because a basic search can render a million hits. You can’t possibly look through a million hits, so people need to narrow down their searches to a number of hits that are reasonable to look through. The principle is that you need to start with a narrow search and broaden it until you find what you want. This is why we need libraries and librarians. What excites you the most about your industry? I get enjoyment out of what I do every day. I don’t know if that’s excitement, but I love what I do. “ I think that the per- ception of libraries has changed a little bit because people think everything is on the internet and they don’t have to physically go to a library. This is not necessarily true. ”