Internet outfitters: librarians in the twenty-first century
| Published date | 15 August 2017 |
| Date | 15 August 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-02-2017-0012 |
| Pages | 369-379 |
| Author | Robert Hallis |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion |
Internet outfitters: librarians in
the twenty-first century
Robert Hallis
Library, University of Central Missouri,
Warrensburg, Missouri, USA
Abstract
Purpose –In the future, librarians need to prepare users to navigate a profoundly different informational
landscape. Addressing issues of information overload and informed selection of both search tools and results,
the purpose of this paper is to cast the collaborative relationship between librarian and student in the mode of
an outfitter: a guide preparing a client for a journey. Within this context, the authors emerging role involves
guiding students through the task at hand using critical thinking skills to access a wider range of
publications to meet a broader range of needs.
Design/methodology/approach –Metaphors created by Raymond and Friedman reflect the current state
of information, the relationship users have with these sources, and the role librarians play in a
disintermediated environment. In The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Raymond portrays a decentralized
environment as a bazaar. In The World is Flat 3.0, Friedman describes how technology flattens organizations
through empowering end users. The informational landscape in the twenty-first century is decentralized, and
more powerful search tools provide unparalleled access to these sources. Users, however, continue to
experience problems finding their information. A librarian/outfitter can prepare users to effectively track
information in the new environment.
Findings –In the twenty-first century,a broader rangeof sources are available,and search enginesare turning
to dashboards to prioritize the growing list of results. Users need to adapt to the new environment through
viewingthe search as anactivity rather thana destination.Librarians canhelp this process throughsharing their
expertise in uncovering likely places relevant information may be found, in evaluating sources, and locating
informationin a larger context.Through developingthe meta-skill ofinformation management,librarians guide
users through the process offinding information forpersonal, professional, and academicneeds.
Practical implications –The author’s goal is what it has always been: empowering end users
to successfully access needed information in a disintermediated environment. Today librarians need to
emphasize a fundamentally different set of skills in the interactions they have with students and faculty.
People can use dashboards and satisficing to find sources they need, but librarian/outfitters can introduce a
broader range of sources and tools suitable for completing specific tasks. This paper illustrates the different
skills needed to effectively find information for personal, professional, and academic tasks.
Originality/value –This paper provides a new context for the process used for locating and validating
information in an increasingly broad and diffuse informational landscape. Librarians become advisors in
navigating a more complex informational landscape that is used to meet a broader range of informational
needs. While focusing on navigating the broader range of resources through decoding dashboards and
satisficing techniques, the author can assist users in overcoming information overload and advocate a
broader sense of satisficing through using more sophisticated critical thinking skills.
Keywords Student-centered teaching, Satisficing, Information literacy, Library instruction, Dashboards,
Disintermediated access
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
Over the past few decades, librarians have witnessed a fundamental change in the way
people interact with information: the way they look for it, the convenience they expect, and
the way they evaluate it. We have also seen a remarkable transformation in the scope
and breadth of available information. Not only was there a shift from paper to electronic
“publications,”but a change in quantity and quality of sources as well. Today the data set is
so large that even the most carefully constructed searches will return dozens if not hundreds
of results in discipline-specific databases. Sources librarians traditionally considered
ephemera are now easily accessible in a world that is digitally recorded and used to credibly
answer needs in a variety of settings. In short, almost every form of human expression is
Library Management
Vol. 38 No. 6/7, 2017
pp. 369-379
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-02-2017-0012
Received 1 February 2017
Revised 4 May 2017
9 May 2017
Accepted 29 May 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
369
Librarians in
the twenty-
first century
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