“Is librarianship a profession?” This was a hot question during my library school days in the early 1970s. Positive responses pointed to the diffi culties of library work, the wide-ranging skills and knowledge required. Negative responses centered around our working in structures perceived as bureaucratic, and in groups rather than as independent practitioners. We just weren’t enough like doctors! If we would regularly use calculus in our work, opined one of my professors, we could be real professionals.
Times have changed. The independent Web entrepreneur is now our society’s professional icon (though most people—including many physicians, these days—work for organizations). There’s been some democratization of the concept of “profession,” and perhaps there’s more cynicism about the traditionally recognized professions. Rather than referring to specifi c types of work, the word professional has shifted in meaning to refer to quality of work, and attitude toward work. This is all to the good in libraries, where people at many levels—librarians, library technicians, trustees—are doing a professional job for their communities.
Alki Editor: Carolynne Myall
Alki Editorial Committee: Sue Anderson; Kathleen Ardrey; Nancy Huling; Cameron Johnson; Eva-Maria Lusk; Carla McLean; Lisa Oldoski, intern; V. Louise Saylor, chair; Ginny Rabago, LINK editor
