Comments on: Seth Godin Misses the Point on Libraries, Again.

By: Talking Points: May 16, 2011 | Library Technician — Blogging

Talking Points: May 16, 2011 | Library Technician — Blogging — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 19:08:51 +0000

[...] Seth Godin Missed the Point on Libraries, Again (from Librarian by Day; Bobbi L. [...]

By: Susana B.

Susana B. — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:45:52 +0000

“A library is for students, the bored elderly, the homeless, the disenfranchised.”
I believe that if library management would take this role at heart instead of running after what is happening in the outside world -and losing the battle-, their role would be so strong that they will never be “unnecessary,” as clearly politicians and other stakeholders like Godin define them. There are millions of people in these categories David mentioned in our country -unfortunately so- that aren’t in the library outreach who need libraries but they don’t even know it. Why? Because outreach is the job nobody wants -it is not paid and recognized as a professional role, the moneys are soft and they run out before you get started, and overall it takes extra effort to the already busy library staff. These days, libraries need to be run as a business, and management is not prepared for it nor is the staff that has to wear many hats. I would dare to say that libraries are still the only organization that runs within one profession: librarians. Even non-profit organizations try to have boards that are as diverse as possible in terms of professions so that they can have a clear improvement in all business areas. And as many of my library clients have said, “We can’t be all for everybody.”

By: cut library funding now

cut library funding now — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:11:59 +0000

seth is right on. But he left some things out.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/01/the-future-of-the-library.html

I worked at a public library for 5 years in Maryland… all we offer is FREE CD and DVD rental and FREE internet access, and Spanish books for illegals… paid for by the taxpayer… library services are used by many people that don’t even pay taxes, and may not even be a legal US citizen..

Seth is right on. Using tax dollars for this is a total waste. And we don’t need librarians for research… we use google and the web now. Hello.

the ONLY people that would say libraries are needed are librarians, who have cushy government jobs and are overpaid for what little real work they do.

By: (lack of) Library rebranding … the same old BS | Marketing Matters for Librarians

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 01:21:23 +0000

[...] and librarians has prompted a number of interesting responses. Bobbi Newman has done another great job of unpacking Seth’s ideas and providing really well-considered responses. One other one that [...]

By: MJ

MJ — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 04:31:03 +0000

Your post made me chuckle… One way to fix a communication gap is to take the time to read other people’s posts. “Talk talk talk” doesn’t work. We need to listen, listen, listen.

By: Libraries: Warehouses for Dead Books? | Stumbling Through the Past

Libraries: Warehouses for Dead Books? | Stumbling Through the Past — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:21:50 +0000

[...] Bobbi L., ‘Seth Godin Misses the Point on Libraries, Again‘, [...]

By: The Point of Librarians « Slow Pendulums

The Point of Librarians « Slow Pendulums — Fri, 27 May 2011 16:51:54 +0000

[...] Newman, at Librarian by Day, also addressed Godin’s post: We ARE fighting for the future of the librarian as a producer, concierge, [...]

By: Experiential Marketing Ideas for Libraries (Guest Post by Andrew Loos from Attack! Marketing) » Text a Librarian – Text Messaging for Libraries

Fri, 27 May 2011 13:34:46 +0000

[...] Seth Godin’s blog post The Future of Libraries, some saying he gets it and others saying he misses the point, again (we’re big Bobbi Newman fans here). An interesting post about the post by PC Sweeney mentions [...]

By: Sheryl Owens

Sheryl Owens — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:46:20 +0000

Thanks Bobbi!!!!!

By: Lisa E

Lisa E — Thu, 26 May 2011 02:35:23 +0000

Well, I AM a librarian, and have been for 20 years. And I agree with you…and with Seth Godin…”We need librarians more than we ever did. What we don’t need are mere clerks who guard dead paper. Librarians are too important to be a dwindling voice in our culture. For the right librarian, this is the chance of a lifetime.”

We cannot, in these days of dwindling budgets possibly market libraries as “the best place to get stuff.” Because we’re not. The 80,000 books in my library’s collection (including about 60,000 ebooks) is a trivial amount of content. We support about 8,000 students and we do that by trying to leverage free resources, government sources, and the meager collection we have to solve the problems our students bring us. That we are so often successful is NOT a testimony to our collection. If we want this (the next twenty years of library work) to be about collecting and providing access (or as I’ve seen far to often, restricting access)to stuff we can’t win. But if we can make it about our expertise and our knowledge, we can add value to the college experience for our students, and send them out into the world a litle better able to cope.

Sign me up for the Sherpa classes….