Skating with Donovan: Thoughts on Librarianship as a Profession

Abstract:     
James M. Donovan’s article: 'Skating on Thin Intermediation: Can Libraries Survive?' argues that librarians place more emphasis than they might on providing service to library users at a time when information seekers are relying less on intermediaries, and that over-emphasizing service to the detriment of other values diminishes the status of librarianship as a profession. The article presents two contrasting models of librarianship. This article discusses Donovan’s models and comments on the continuing importance of the service model to librarianship.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 20

Keywords: professions, librarianship, law librarianship

Accepted Paper Series