Library Essays; Papers Related to the Work of Public LibrariesBostwick, Arthur E. (Arthur Elmore)
Science
Library Essays; Papers Related to the Work of Public Libraries
Bostwick, Arthur E. (Arthur Elmore)
Library science; Public libraries
Assuming the truth of all this--and it is something of an assumption, I
grant you--what then, is our library of 1950 to be? An institution not
very much larger or more expensively operated than our present maximum,
although with a higher minimum, carried on with a more careful eye to
economy and watching more jealously the quality of its output. It will
have two units of service, as at present, the book and the citizen, but
it will tend to regard the latter as primary, rather than the former and
will shrink from no form of service that it can render him. The higher
quality of its work will be reflected in the greater pride of the
worker--in a spirit of professionalism that will insist on adequate
training and proper compensation and possibly will use organization to
enforce these ideals. It will reach out somewhat further among the
people than it does now, although not so much that the difference will
be notable. Finally the teamwork between different libraries will be
more frequent and effective, assistants will be exchanged freely,
readers’ cards used interchangeably and inter-library loans will take
place easily and often.
What effect will these changes have on the desirability of library work
as a profession? The only conclusion can be that it will be greatly
increased. By this I mean that it will be more interesting, more likely
to give pleasure to the worker as a by-product. I do not mean that it
will necessarily pay very much better. The most interesting and
pleasurable occupations are generally, I think, those that do not pay
well in money. One should not expect full payment in both cash and
pleasure. The exception is where the acquisition of money is itself the
feature of the occupation that gives the pleasure. I do not quarrel with
those who pursue this form of pleasure, but they certainly have no
business to be librarians or teachers, or artists or authors, or to
engage in any occupation which in itself constitutes to the worker the
fullness of life and its illumination. The library profession will make
its appeal in 1950, as it does today, to men and women who like to work
with and among and through books; who also like to work with and among
and through people; who enjoy watching the interplay of relations
between the man and the book and using them for the advancement of
civilization. This is an intellectual and spiritual appeal, and it is
not likely to be replaced by that which glitters on the metallic face of
the dollar.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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