What Was, Is, and Shall Be an Academic Library—and Who Will Work There?

Presiding: Amanda L. Watson, New York University
Session Description: A discussion on the changing role of academic libraries, their workforce future, and professionalization of humanities graduate students. As demand for STEM expertise grows, what is the library’s purpose in twenty-first-century language and literature research and teaching? How are libraries addressing their constituencies’ dynamic, often digitally infused needs?

Milly Jackson, University of Alabama                                       

Ms. Jackson feels that people and relationships and wonder matter to libraries and librarians.  A million people come through her campus library each year, which proves that libraries are here to stay.  Good libraries have good librarians who build relationships, which is how librarians are vital and continue to exist. Librarians talk to people who are in reach rather than email.  Finally, the sense of wonder, the curiosity, the questions librarians had when they entered the profession are ideas that librarians need to remember; collaboration, in person, is crucial. 

Rebecca Kennison, Columbia University

Admits to not having a librarian degree; she has been at a large research university for eight years.  Her background is in publishing and production.  She says, you know you did your job right when no one notices you, which is why we have to be activists to show what we do.  The transformation that comes with a more automated world, where purchases are taken out of librarians control, along with the increasing need for discoverability of information, a content friendly repository, open meta data set (SHARE) requires a need for librarians to work as peers with administrators. She believes in openness of all kinds, not just talking about it.  She believes in a need for the entire infrastructure to work together for scholarly open access communication.  Digital humanities projects are not cheap; she worked on Digital Dante.  Librarians need to be working with deans and administrators to get information available.  Librarians need to know what the campus issues are and advocate solutions, not from the idea that we are support staff, but peers, as equal partners. Librarians are no longer seen as serving.   

Paige Morgan, University of Miami

Newly minted librarian; also doesn’t have a library degree.  Librarians are valuable in academic institutions because they are neutral; they are not making decisions.  They are safe places for department members to come.  Projects have a lot of moving parts and libraries are a good place for mentorship for department personal.  Emotional labor (EL) has come to the forefront of the debate recently--especially around digital humanities in scholarship.  EL is not going to go away.  Libraries are better equipped than departments to provide EL in DH scholarship.   

After these three panelists spoke, the room of college librarians and some professors spoke to some of the issues current in the profession.  The tenor of the discussion revolved around cutbacks in budgets and library staffing and how to advocate for libraries.