It took me a while to get ‘steamed up’ today, the hearing that some people think that librarians are obsolete made really angry.  The logic applied was that with digital technology progress need for libraries and librarians is in the past.  Problem with this logic is multifold.  What is the main issue with that is that people do not even realize all the things librarians provide as service.  Since librarian’s service often appears transparent in nature it is easy to overlook. 

One thing that was proposed is an idea that with internet, Google and other tools people can get information easily.   That is far from the truth.  Yes people can find information, but often they do not know which information is reliable.  The amount of time it takes people to research topics is also an issue.  Even though some the law clerk or Joe Smith might find the information they need, the amount of time they spend is something to consider.  Professor Lensky provided great example in his story about lawyer rushing to court and needing way to debunk expert witness opposition was providing in court.  If that lawyer had enough time he could have found his answer, but he had to be in court in 20 min and librarian only took minutes to achieve what was needed.  In current society people often equate value to profit.  One of the most valuable resources is time.  Specialized skills that librarians posses in converting data/information into usable knowledge make librarians invaluable in saving time.  After all if time was not an issue we would not need mechanics, technicians, or any other professionals.  Given time anyone can fix their car, diagnose disease and so on.   As you already can see there is major flaw in this type of thinking. 

With all the practical needs that I mentioned for librarians there is many more functional that librarians provide.   More important function of the librarians is their social role in current society.  Professor Lansky used term ‘radical’ in reference to librarians and I very much agree with his assessment.  Librarians often are put in place to empower people through guarding their access to knowledge and teaching them.   One of the key needs for enlightened in democratic society is freedom of information.   Librarians are often in middle of guarding against censorship from outside forces or in collecting resources while education public in general.  If you disagree with this consider totalitarian states in the world.  First step in controlling population is to limit information they can access.  Nazi Germany, communist states of Cold War and even today censorship in China shows how governments can create abusive environment through control of the information.  To say we do not need libraries and librarians is also inviting ignorance and despotism which his always soon to follow.