Whether public, school, special, or an academic library, patrons go to the library to learn something new and use resources they either don’t have access to or knowledge to successfully utilize. Information Literacy (IL) is important for all – not just students and academic types. Information is presented every day – more than one can feasibly process. The librarian is in a unique position to help patrons, without bias, learn how to sort through and process the information they see every day.
Patrons are what drive librarians to do well. Patrons decide what is important in the library – through usage and the types of questions they ask. However, it takes a high quality librarian to recognize a patron’s needs before he/she does. That way, when inquiry is made, resources are available. In an academic library, it is necessary to recognize that patrons include students, librarians, faculty and other college/university employees, and to some extent, the community surrounding the college.
As a librarian, my job isn’t to know everything. It is to understand how to access the resources that will provide the best information to the patron. In an academic librarian role, I work with departments with which I have little to no prior training or knowledge. But, that doesn’t prevent me from doing high quality work.
Elizabeth Measell Portfolio 