Recent calls by some councils in the UK to address tight budgets by replacing librarians with self-checkout machines suggest once again that a lot of people don't know what it is librarians even do. Rather than consider the unique value that trained staff can add to an organization, proponents of the proposal seem to be operating under the assumption that the main function of librarians is to scan books, kind of like a cashier at the grocery store. But while I do believe that the core of libraries is still books, I also believe that it is a mistake to assume that librarians simply stand around waiting all day to scan barcodes.
Since so many libraries (at least in the U.S.) have moved to the one-desk model*, it is perhaps understandable that the general public would not have much of an idea of what library staff do--and that they would assume anyone standing behind the desk is the same as any other person standing behind the desk. Scroll through the library job listings in libraries around you, however, and you will discover that libraries actually hire for different roles with different functions--and that these functions include far more than checking out books.
The role of checking out books is actually usually taken on by circulation clerks--a job title that typically seems to pay less than other roles such as associates/assistants or librarians and that typically requires less education than these other roles. People in the circulation department might also be tasked with duties such as pulling holds, renewing library cards, notifying people about charges on their accounts, shelving, etc. These are important functions that keep the library running. But they are not the only functions of libraries.
Libraries have worked hard to train the public to think of libraries as more than books or book repositories--yet it seems like some people maybe have not quite caught on yet if they think that librarians do nothing but check out books. Librarians are also present to do things like: recommend books to patrons, create book displays, curate reading lists, maintain the collection by buying and weeding books, answer reference questions, provide assistance with the computers and printers, help people use their personal devices like tablets and smartphones, refer individuals to the appropriate social services, do outreach, run programs like book clubs and craft night, post on social media, and more. Reducing staffing hours would mean that all patrons could do in the library would literally be to check out books--and that would only work if they had no questions about where to find the books, or what to read, or how to use the self-service technology.
But the reality is that self-service technology tends to fail to live up to its promise. The grocery store and my library have self checkout machines, but half the time they are broken. Or maybe they are working, but the machine refuses to give the sale price, or it says the library book in my hand does not exist and thus cannot be checked out, or it won't scan anything at all no matter how much I wave the barcode around. When it all works, it can be pleasant. But surprisingly often I need a staff member to come over to fix something.
What are patrons supposed to do in a self-service library if the machines are down and there is no one around to override them? What are they supposed to do if they can't check out because they need to pay a fine first? Or renew their card? Or return books because they have reached the checkout limit? For the self-checkout scheme to work semi-flawlessly, the entire library would have to be automated. As it is being proposed, it seems like it would only benefit a small handful of people who are avid library users, only want to check out books and do nothing else, know how the library works and how to find everything they need, and are comfortable with learning new technology on their own.
But anyone who has been in a library recently has surely noticed the number of people who simply cannot seem to figure out how to use any self-service machine on their own. My library has bold instructions printed and taped on all the machines, yet I still see the librarians running out from the desk repeatedly to read the instructions out loud to patrons who stand there bemused and perplexed. It is easy for people who are comfortable with technology to assume that everyone else is, too. But libraries are full of people who are there precisely because they do not know how to use technology and want to ask for help. Removing staff from the building would mean these people would likely be unable to check out.
Libraries do face heartbreaking budget cuts. However, the solution is not to remove the staff who provide the expertise and, quite frankly, the physical labor needed to keep the library operating. (Who is going to be inspecting, checking in, repairing, cataloging, buying, weeding, and shelving all the books? People can't use self-checkout to borrow books that are not available because they are still in the book drop or have not been processed yet.) Maybe I am naïve. But instead of letting budget cuts convince us that librarians are glorified barcode scanners, maybe we should be advocating for increased funding. Libraries are only as good as the people running them, after all.
*Many libraries used to have at least two desks: one for reference questions and computer/printing help and one for circulation (ex. checking out books, renewing one's library card, paying fines, etc.). This was because reference librarians typically had more education (the MLIS) and were specifically trained on how to answer reference questions and do research, whereas circulation staff might not hold advanced degrees and would be given training specifically on circulation duties and maybe customer service. However, many libraries have moved to having only one desk for patron convenience (so patrons don't have to guess which desk to approach). This means that when a patron asks a reference question now, it might be a circulation clerk tasked with answering it. Likewise, a librarian with an MLIS who used to handle difficult research questions might now be assigned to scanning out books.
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