In late October 2011, I had the great honor - along with my colleague Connie Crosby - of being named Instructor of the Year at the iSchool Institute of the University of Toronto Faculty of Information (http://institute.ischool.utoronto.ca/). It has been my pleasure to teach in the program for years, and I look forward to doing so in the years to come. Nothing is as rewarding as seeing course participants realize how they can apply the course content to their own jobs; I teach each course in the hope of encouraging my professional peers to "go out there and make something happen". In other words, I like to think I make a difference.
Then, I came across a statement in an article by K. Matthew Dames in the November 2011 issue of Information Today (Intellectual Property - Libraries Encounter the Piracy Paradigm - www.infotoday.com/it/nov11/index.shtml). In it, he said "the library community … does not have the political influence to fundamentally change the conversation. The result is the nation's major political, economic, and legal stakeholders virtually ignore the library community."
Matthew Dames' article focused on copyright, but his direct statement about influence hit home. In a time when public libraries are shut down and corporations and government departments look to do without libraries, what influence do we librarians actually have?
In a recent item written for Information Today Europe - http://www.infotoday.eu/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=78092
- I commented on the 'new you' we all need to become. In my question "haven't we been polite about it long enough?" I was referring to the fact that we cannot afford to stay silent about the consequences of inadequate information behaviors. But Matthew Dames' comment shows my questions about information husbandry extend to society in general:
What influence do we have on public policy and funding for education, social and health services? Are the librarians - so very familiar with social and educational challenges - consulted when it comes to designing social programs? How can our knowledge be brought to bear on political will?
In the spirit of "isn't it time we moved from service to influence", I urge reflection … "how can I, as an information professional, make a positive difference in the legislation and practices of my society?".
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