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Librarians, professionalism and image: stereotype and reality
Abigail Luthmann, (2007) "Librarians, professionalism and image: stereotype and reality", Library Review,
Vol. 56 Iss: 9, pp.773 - 780.

….Continue from last issue..
This example is clear evidence from within the profession of a paranoia about external perceptions of the job.
The Media-watching page of Update charts this on a monthly basis, where eager librarians send in examples
from around the world of good or bad portrayals of the profession in the mass media. This serves to reinforce
the perceptions of the negative stereotype and even a sense of victimization, although an occasional positive
mention of the profession does sometimes appear.
A more useful approach to sensitivity over self-image may be to actively counter the negative portrayals with
positive behaviour, a tactic advocated in a lengthy discussion on the LIS-PROFESSION discussion list:
The “image” of a profession is created by people's personal experience of it. It is down to librarians and information professionals at
the grass roots level offering excellent service to their users/customers (Ayre, 2003, online).
Such discussion lists often attract heated debate over issues of image, again illustrating the level of feeling
within the profession. The belief that the mass media works to persecute the profession has been shown to be
unfounded (Robinson, 2006, p. 13), and promotion of the positive aspects of libraries needs to be improved,
particularly as it appears within the professional press.
Whose job is it anyway? Changing job titles and changing roles
Although cries of a crisis in the library world are certainly nothing new (Buschman, 2003, p. 3), the recent re-
structuring within many public library authorities has led to renewed anxiety over the professional role. Many
authorities have changed job titles, removing the word librarian, and responsibilities have shifted in many
cases from enquiry desk-based work to focusing on engaging new audiences. In addition, some authorities are
recruiting those without a library qualification or background to librarian-equivalent posts. Changes of this sort
can be perceived as very threatening by some and at the least, unsettling.
The motivations behind such deep cultural change are many, focusing around the need to account for the ser-
vices impact and local government expenditure. The new opportunities offered in many cases by changing
roles can allow for an exciting new breadth to professional practice; however reports from the field suggest
that in reality reactions are mixed:
Some SDOs (Service Development Officers) have blossomed and grasped the opportunities to go out and work with communities
and develop new audiences for our services. Other colleagues are finding it more difficult to work in a totally new way, freed from
the constraints of enquiry desk timetabling and a set pattern of late-nights and Saturdays (Jones, 2005, p. 38).
That some colleagues are unwilling to change and embrace a new “freedom” is the explicit criticism here, and
illustrates a negatively traditional notion of the library profession as tethered to the enquiry desk and fearful of
change.
There are many examples of positive staff development programmes in the library sector to challenge and en-
gage with new generations of staff from a variety of backgrounds. Some authorities run internal programmes
for example Nottinghamshire Libraries’ “Performance through People” programme aimed to develop the lead-
ership skills of new professionals (Edmonds and Owen, 2006, p. 8). Others have specially created posts to de-
velop new entrants to the profession, including West Sussex Libraries who have several Trainee Librarian
posts based at their major libraries who benefit from a comprehensive development programme and are ex-
pected to achieve chartered membership of CILIP during their time in position. National programmes, such as
the Leading Modern Public Libraries: Future Leaders and the network of events provided by CILIP's special
interest groups across the country provide opportunity for the pro-active professional to continue their devel-
opment.
The challenges of changing roles and work environments can be unsettling, but it is through an informed en-
gagement with the implications and realities of change upon the professional role that we can shape our future
for ourselves.
Take me to your librarian: possible futures
Insecurity over the professional role has existed since the first modern librarians, and the pleas made a century

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