1st Edition

The Image and Role of the Librarian

By Linda S Katz Copyright 2002
    196 Pages
    by Routledge

    194 Pages
    by Routledge

    Get a unique insight into the image problems librarians face!

    The Image and Role of the Librarian addresses all aspects of professional identity for librarians, including professional roles, cultural images, popular perceptions, and future trends. The book examines historical representations, stereotypes, and popular culture icons and the role each plays in the relationship between librarian and patron. The book also looks at the profound impact the Internet has had on the services librarians provide and how electronic resources have transformed the roles and responsibilities of librarians.

    From the Editors: “There seems to be no profession as preoccupied with self-examination as that of librarianship. While some of it may stem from an identity crisis, the refrain heard over and over is startlingly similar to Rodney Dangerfield's 'I don’t get no respect.' This seems to be true of all types of librarians—from public librarians who (often rightly) complain of being treated like servants by the patrons they serve, to the academic librarians who are always trying to establish their 'faculty-ness' to the teaching professors.”

    Topics addressed in The Image and Role of the Librarian include:

    • public, student, and faculty perceptions of librarians
    • cinematic portrayals of librarians
    • images of librarians in comic books
    • librarians in children's literature
    • male librarian stereotypes
    • “know-it-all” librarians
    • changing roles for specialty librarians
    • Generation X and the future of librarianship
    • and much more!
    A unique examination of professional roles and responsibilities, patron expectations and perceptions, The Image and Role of the Librarian brings clarity and recognition to the services and functions librarians provide in their day-to-day work.

    Introduction PROFESSIONAL ROLES In the Eye of the Beholder: How Librarians Have Been Viewed Over Time Looking Back to the Future: Turn of the Last Century Librarians Look Ahead to the Twentieth Century CULTURAL IMAGES Jungian/Myers-Briggs Personality Types of Librarians in Films The Long, Strange Trip of Barbara Gordon: Images of Librarians in Comic Books Librarians in Children’s Literature, 1909-2000 POPULAR PERCEPTIONS Looking at the Male Librarians Stereotype Know-It-All Librarians Students’ Perceptions of Academic Librarians FUTURE TRENDS The Enhanced and Changing Role of the Specialist Librarian: Survey of Education Librarians Shedding the Stereotypes: Librarians in the 21st Century Index Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    Linda S Katz