Librarian News Digest

Vol. 2, No. 97

We, as librarians, often talk about how we are best suited to doing the work of information management. In fact, the term, information professional, means librarian for most of us. That may not be so much longer if John Mancini, President at AIIM International, has his way. One of the most significant steps he’s in leading his association is the creation of a certification program for information professionals. The frightening thing isn’t the certification, but the fact that the likes of Gartner seem to be supporting it.

Should we be worried? Probably. Will our associations do something to counter-act the fall-out from this? Maybe – I have my fingers crossed but don’t hold out too much hope. Will we quit being arrogant about our stature as information managers based on a master degree from library schools that have been slooooow to change? Probably not. Is it too late to recover our place as information professionals? I hope not. Will we be part of the 50%? I hope so. Read more at Gartner — The number of Information Professionals needed will grow by 50% per year.

Note: We can probably pick out information vendors whose arrogance regarding their place in the industry as well as their products, may be a sign that they aren’t responding to the market in the way they should. I can think of one in particular. Can we see this trait in our own actions?