Oh, good lord. Where to begin? As some of you may know, I’m a librarian — not an official Librarian because I’m still working on MLS, but I’ve worked for a library for twelve years as a local historian, IT dude, and general answerer-of-all-questions. The easy and obvious answer is that “Gosh, computers have just changed everything” — because pretty much all of our reference work is conducted online now, as is some of the content we offer. For instance, although I have both an analog and a digital microfilm reader, the only time I ever touch those machines is to demonstrate to kids how we did things back in the stone ages. All of my newspaper queries are done online, and one of the reasons I’m pursuing an MLS is because I want training in creating and maintaining digital library collections so that our holdings are more accessible to the general public, not just people who can come inside.
At my library, though, I would say technology has most transformed our work by allowing corporations, organizations, and government agencies to outsource service access to the client/customers, or more indirectly, to us, since most people aren’t tech-savvv. You want to book a flight? Go to the library and get them to help you. You need proof of your benefits from one government agency to apply for benefits from another government agency? Go to the library, they’ll help you register at our website. And they’ll have to call us for a PIN code, because that’s part of the registration process. You want a marriage certificate from the courthouse? Hah-hah, you silly goose, here’s your blank form: take it to the library and and have them fill it out for you, then come back. You want a job? Go to our website and apply, the process of which will involve a 30-minute personality test with an interface so badly designed that the librarian will have to sit there and read the questions out to you and patiently explain that no, I can’t tell you the right answer, and — oh, would you excuse me? There are people needing to scan and fax and then there’s someone else who was told by her church she’s responsible for creating the Easter program, but her ‘computer skills’ are limited to basic typing, not formatting and setting up Word for brochures, let alone finding usable images online to decorate the thing with, and this other lady wants a wallet-sized picture from 1983 blown up to an 8×10, and what do you mean, it’s going to be blurry because of the ‘resolution’?
….get the idea? This is how I manage to be both a techie and a luddite. (And don’t get me started on how many Android & iOs issues we help with every day…)
Reading Freely 
Back when I used to visit libraries they mostly let you borrow books. Just as I stopped going they did start to let you borrow CDs and DVDs…. I don’t think many people used them as a substitute for Social Services but maybe ours have better websites??
Part of the problem is that agencies at various levels don’t collaborate, even when they’re all county level or should be within the same hierarchy (i.e. counties within the state agency) . I have no idea why they don’t have a shared database: our local NGOs have managed this. The various organizations that give food, clothing, etc to those in need all use a common vetter to make sure no one is gaming the system. The level of service offered by librarians also varies widely on the community they serve: I didn’t see anything at all like this in Santa Fe when I visited its main branch, but I did see it in Natchez, which has comparable demographics to Selma. Most of our community is poor, and “computer illiterate”, as many proudly proclaim. This means not only do people not feel comfortable using those websites that ARE well designed (MyAlabama.gov is fairly easy) , but they don’t have the digitial habits like remembering usernames/passwords/etc,, so when they do their yearly certifications they’ve forgotten everything, Worst case scenario: the user doesn’t know the username and password, they have no idea what email address they registered with, and they no longer have the phone number they registered with. Tonight in class we’re discussing prison libraries and public libraries that have strong prison-support systems, offering services to train ex-prisoners for re-entry into ‘normal’ life.
I bet you hardly ever get a ‘dull’ day….! Although it must be rewarding @ times, I’m grateful that I never had to deal with the public on a regular basis.
Oh, sure. People come in to thank us for getting them a job, for helping them get disaster assistance. There’s one lady whose son I helped eight years ago — poor kid was about to print pictures from the Battle of Gettysburg for a Revolutionary War project, and my history-major self had to intervene — and she STILL remembers and thanks me for that. There are a lot of people who are remarkably petty (I have way too many arguments over “Yes, you have to pay $0.10 for that extra piece of paper because you did in fact print it” scenarios), but people are often generous. One widow who comes into the library pretty much every day – in part for company, I think — sometimes makes us treats, and she’s from Guam so our palates get broadened. :)
And yes, days are rarely dull. Friday we had to call the cops on two drunk people brawling outside. Half the computer lab was at the windows watching, like it was a high-res episode of COPS or LivePD.
The only ‘fight’ we had at our place was when a bunch of crows and seagulls got into an argument. We learnt 2 things – firstly crows can’t swim (our building overlooked the lake), and that seagulls are surprisingly acrobatic for their size. The crows didn’t stand a chance!
Not surprised given gulls’ reputation for aggression, stealing hot dogs from people’s hands and the like.
Libraries are the last free refuge for the American citizenry. Librarians at a public library do everything.
Yep! Babysitters, teachers, tech gurus, travel agents, social workers — there are some librarians in larger cities who keep NARCAN for people who are ODing. I think I’d move cities if that became part of my daily routine..