Don’t Fear the Technology…Completely: A Call to Action for Youth Librarians

Naples, Kim

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/78064 Copy

Description

Title

Don’t Fear the Technology…Completely: A Call to Action for Youth Librarians

Author(s)

Naples, Kim

Issue Date

2015-04-11

Keyword(s)

Library and information science education

Abstract

While pursuing my Master’s in Library and Information Science I have noticed a disconnect between the “book librarians” and the “tech librarians.” Admittedly, when I first got to GSLIS I did not see myself as a tech person. However, my attitude since then has changed. I have realized that all librarians are or have the potential to be “tech people.” In fact, I think anyone at all is a tech person because it is so entrenched in our daily lives. I think the idea that only certain people are tech people is alienating girls, people of color, and other marginalized groups from careers in science and technology. And this trend is creating a highly stratified and unjust social system. Our perception of tech people is usually white, upper middle-class, heterosexual men. This group has historically been in power and will continue to be if they are the only ones designing the technologies that everyone uses. The goal of my presentation is to call librarians to challenge how they view themselves and technology in order to change the gender and minority disparities in the technology field. I want to empower the attendees of the presentation to believe that they do indeed have the skills to approach new technology with confidence. Therefore, they can be role models for their patrons (and spread the word that EVERYONE is a tech expert). I work in the Teen Open Lab at the Urbana Free Library, so I will specifically talk about MakerSpace and Fab Lab tools like 3D printers, digital drawing tablets, and vinyl cutters that are becoming more and more popular in libraries. Therefore, my talk will be targeted at youth librarians, with applications for adult public and academic librarians. I added “Completely” to my title because I will also talk about how librarians should be very thoughtful about the implementation of new technologies.

Series/Report Name or Number

Proceedings of the 2015 Symposium on LIS Education

Type of Resource

other

Language

en

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/78064

Copyright and License Information

Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)

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