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.

Keywords: professions, librarianship, law librarianship