I’m not a gamer, or a parent or roommate of a gamer, so I’ve been only lightly scanning the gaming in libraries discussions that have been going around. However, reading Jenny’s recent [and popular] post about a gaming conference she went to, made me think more about games. Her phrase “embedded librarian” — though maybe a bit too reminiscent of wartime endeavors — definitely piqued my interest. It’s a concept that is applicable to many sorts of “outside the box” librarianship, from Radical Reference to freelance information brokers to simple “outside the building” outreach initiatives. My assertion has always been that everyone has a use for their own librarian from time to time. I have even been known, after solving particularly vexing information problems in my day to day life, to say “Who’s your librarian? I am right? A librarian solved that problem for you” I’m sure it makes me somewhat insufferable, but to keep the profession alive, we’ve all got to be poster children for the things we do, at work or elsewhere.
Month: July 2005
the librarian shortage in the US and abroad
More on the librarian shortage. Remember, just because librarians are retiring doesn’t mean new ones will get jobs. A great article and post by one of my favorite Australian library bloggers whose Exploded Library blog is now going to be archived by the PANDORA project of the National Library of Australia.