“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – President Barack Obama
I began studying library science in 2007. We were told that jobs were going to be in high demand due to retirements and that job satisfaction was among the highest of all careers in education. I learned as much as I could about librarianship and instructional technology. Fortunately, the university I attended had the Instructional Technology and Library Science departments combined, so I was able to immerse myself in emerging technologies as well. I had fun. I was excited to begin my career as a “21st Century Librarian”.
Then came 2008. Librarian positions began getting slashed. Library support positions were slashed. Funding was slashed. Some libraries closed altogether. It was heartbreaking. Yet, despite this devastation, it brought about a great deal of good.
For the few years following the economy crash, students and teachers found ways to survive without us – without the “traditional” us. And now that we’re back, we can’t be the librarians we used to be.
We need to transform.
I can’t wait to see what this group comes up with. I’m so excited and honored to be an advocate of TYSL. Stay tuned for more to come!