By
El-Ramady,Amany Zakaria (Ph.D.)
Associate Professor,at
Library&Information Science Department,
Alexandria University(Egypt)
Published
in :Library Work Life , July 2011 issue.http://ala-apa.org/newsletter/2011/07/01/why-i-love-the-library-profession/
As a matter of fact , I am a faculty member at Library&Information Science department ,but I have been working ,on my own, as a
volunteer librarian ,since my graduation in 1986!
I love helping people(friends, neighbors, colleagues, students, and
others) solve their information problems ,or find information for doing
assignments, research papers ,or theses. Sometimes I would help them to help
themselves finding information, either in the library ,or on the World Wide
Web.
Why
I love doing so? It is for the following main reasons:
·
The
library profession is rewarding ,i.e.
when I see users happy after solving their problems , I feel happy too, and when
I, later on , see them successful and
prosperous, I feel proud of myself , because I was one of the reasons for their success and prosperity!
·
Becoming
more and more knowledgeable: Every time I help someone to find information, I happen to find some
information that I need myself , either for teaching ,doing research ,or for my personal life; which reminds me of the Arabic saying:” the more you give knowledge ,the more
you get ”!
·
The
helpful librarian is a master: as
the librarian keeps serving users all the time, helping them find what they are
looking for, or make right decisions depending on accurate and updated information,
or even solve their problems through bibliotherapy ; Thus, the helpful
librarian must be a great master ,according to the Arabic proverb:"
He who serves people is their master
"!
·
Being a
lifelong educator: The librarian can help library users to be independent
learners ,through organizing Information
Literacy Programs, thus making them able to solve their own information
problems (which is a survival skill in the information age)and guarantee that
they stay educated for their lifelong,
which contributes to the development of the whole nation!.
·
Being an owner
of the knowledge treasury keys: By mastering
the techniques of searching into various information sources in different
specialties, and knowing where and how to find them; the librarian becomes one of the owners of the knowledge treasury keys.
·
An
increasingly important profession: In
this information age, where information is the everlasting economic Resource,
and the Distinct Source of Power; the
librarians' status will get more and more valuable!
Concerning the replacement of librarians by technological devices;
I
think that ,for many reasons, no machine can replace a skilled
and evolving librarian!
Elbert
Hubbard has reflected this fact by his saying:
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary
men.
No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man"!
All
in all, it feels great to work in the library profession, simply
because the
library ,in my views, is like a candle that is able to
lighten the darkness of
the whole world !
============
Elbert
Hubbard, The Roycroft Dictionary and Book of Epigrams, 1923, Quotations
about Technology,{cited:4/3/2011},available from: http://www.quotegarden.com/technology.html
