Comments on: Questioning the Techie Mission

By: A Library 2.0 skeptic’s reading list | See Also…

A Library 2.0 skeptic’s reading list | See Also… — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:24:03 +0000

[...] Questioning the Techie Mission. Rory Litwin, Library Juice [...]

By: See Also… » Is the Medium the Message for Library Blogs?

See Also… » Is the Medium the Message for Library Blogs? — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 09:42:21 +0000

[...] Litwin posted a thought-provoking entry to Library Juice earlier this week entitled Questioning the Techie Mission. I’ll trust that you can read his post yourself, and won’t run it down point-by-point, [...]

By: Am I a techie? | Michael Dunne

Am I a techie? | Michael Dunne — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:45:00 +0000

[...] a pointer over at Librarian.net I read an interesting post by Rory Litwin called Questioning the Techie Mission. It’s quite a long, thoughtful, post about the role played by library bloggers (who are by [...]

By: Tech-Focused Library Blogs (Updated)

Tech-Focused Library Blogs (Updated) — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:05:07 +0000

[...] Juice: Questioning the Techie Missionhttp://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/?p=25While one noteworthy post does not warrant a full spot on the list, this entry from blogging [...]

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 12:26:02 +0000

Oh, I forgot to add…I am in library school. There’s a great deal of emphasis now on taking classes on-line, at least at my school there is. I’ve been using email for nearly 30 years, but I’m still not comfortable with the on-line “teaching” format. But the school is 35 miles away, parking is a bitch, and many of the advanced classes aren’t even taught “on ground” anymore. A little off-topic, I know, but I see it as part of the trend toward a less personal library environment.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 12:20:06 +0000

Rory,

I couldn’t agree with you more. I was a software engineer for nearly 30 years. I started working in a library about a year ago, providing tech support for the public computer users. For a short time this summer, it looked like I might become an “accidental systems librarian.” Thankfully, that did not happen. I entered the library field to get away from that kind of total immersion in technology. I am perfectly willing to make use of technology, but to advance the real purpose of libraries, not to turn them into something else.

By: Rory Litwin

Rory Litwin — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 00:31:50 +0000

Thanks for your comment, John. I think you will find that there is a place for you. The bloggers are increasingly influential, but still outside the mainstream of librarianship, where most communication takes place on specialists’ listservs and “the library literature,” which consists of scholarly and non-scholarly journals published on a biweekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. When you’re in library school, I suggest that you devote a little extra time to exploring the professional literature. It will help you get a sense of the breadth of the profession and where you might fit into it best. Glad you wrote.

By: John

John — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 22:48:17 +0000

Thanks for addressing this. I’m not a librarian (yet), but I’m seriously thinking of getting an MLS. In researching the career, I’ve scanned (but not really read in detail) many of the blogs and found that there is a predominant technophilia. As a “nerd” rather than “geek” personality, I have to admit that this has cooled my enthusiasm for the profession a little bit, so I’m glad to find that the techie ideology isn’t monolithic within the library world. My question is, is there a place in contemporary librarianship for people like me–people with a reasonable respect for and facility with technology–but with a vigorous skepticism towards blogs, web culture, the internet, digitization, etc.? People who value the book as technology? People who are more interested in investigating and advocating for the general public’s real media and information needs than in hopping on the latest tech trend?

By: Sabina

Sabina — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 01:14:09 +0000

Not quite on the topic of blogging, but one person who HAS written about the ideology of technophilia is William F. Birdsall. Two great papers (now dated, but still good for critical thought methinks) are:

The Political Economy of Librarianship
http://pages.globetrotter.net/charro/HERMES6/birdsall.htm

The Internet and the Ideology of Information Technology
http://www.isoc.org/isoc/whatis/conferences/inet/96/proceedings/e3/e3_2.htm

John Buschman also talks about info tech as an ideology a fair amount in Dismantling the Public Sphere.

Cheers!

By: Michael Dunne » Blog Archive » Am I a Techie?

Michael Dunne » Blog Archive » Am I a Techie? — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 17:59:36 +0000

[...] Following a pointer over at Librarian.net I read an interesting post by Rory Litwin called Questioning the Techie Mission. It’s quite a long, thoughtful, post about the role played by library bloggers (who are by definition ‘techie librarians’) in forwarding a technical agenda in libraries, and he says: Most library bloggers, it seems to me, are advocates of technology in libraries, and often practically missionaries. [...]

By: See Also

See Also — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 22:32:33 +0000

Is the Medium the Message for Library Blogs?…

[Note: the post below started out as a comment on Library Juice, but I decided to move it over here as it got a bit too long and wide-ranging for a comment. Besides, I have been doing a lot more……

By: Pat Orr

Pat Orr — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:05:49 +0000

Perhaps our colleagues in the reference, adult, and youth services arenas are more than busy with front line work. Many of them have no spare moment to think about blogging. Six months ago, assisted by our firm IT department, I began a blog for my staff. I waited for comments to postings- even planted hints to comment. Nothing happened. As part of our staff communications goal for this year, all staff are required to post new messages once each quarter. Sometimes you just have to drag them into it. As for age and position, suffice it to say, I’m a boomer with 32 years professional experience. My career is now evenly split between administration and technical services. If a librarian sees a real need and benefit to blog, they will do so; regardless of age or position.

By: What I Learned Today… » Blog Archive » Techie Librarian Bloggers

What I Learned Today… » Blog Archive » Techie Librarian Bloggers — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:58:51 +0000

[...] Okay I have a meeting in 6 minutes, so I have to type fast. Roy at Library Juice has an interesting post about Questioning the Techie Mission. [...]

By: Nicole Engard

Nicole Engard — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:52:02 +0000

Okay that funny word in the beginning is “adopt” – darn quick fingers.

By: Nicole Engard

Nicole Engard — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:51:15 +0000

You got my thinking – maybe the reason the biblioblogsphere is so full of techie librarians – is because we’re the first to adobt new technologies. I can tell you that I am the only librarian at my place of work who is blogging – and that is because I’m probably one of the most tech savvy.

What I’m saying is that this trend toward librarian bloggers writing about technlogy is because the librarians who are blogging are the techie librarians – and the non-techie librarians see no reason to blog.

Soooo – it’s kind of a Catch 22 in my eyes.