If librarians realize that they have to advocate for their patrons, then they are well on their way to understand what it means to be a librarian in the 21st century. This is not a question that only public librarians must deal with but this is also an issue that often catches academic librarians unsuspecting. Consider the average library patron that the librarian might not notice. Whether they be college student, mother of three kids, jobless Italian immigrant, or any other member of society, they have information needs that are not necessarily being met.
To advocate for these unnoticed people, the librarian of the 21st century must constantly stay in contact with them to understand their information deficiencies and other needs. The most common deficiency is a lack of adequate library materials to respond to the stated need of the patron.
The key to advocacy is the traditional reference interview. This almost archaic-sounding part of librarianship is often not well taught in library schools and sometimes ignored in favor of technological solutions to questions and problems. The American Library Association has even published guidelines on how to conduct reference interviews. This is not to say that 21st century librarianship is reverting from technology to old methods. The argument here is that librarians must master both technology and traditional skills and use both to reach out to users.
Every library school student knows the principles of searching. But do they learn how to ask the right type of questions? Do we have a positive attitude towards patrons? Or do librarians give off a sterile computer feeling? One complaint is that librarians often do not take the initiative in giving answers. A true reference interview is a long question and answer session that may take more than a few minutes, if not hours or days. A user must be made to feel valued and that the librarian genuinely cares. Although true "emotional caring" is unquantifiable in a professional setting, the 21st century librarian has to make genuine efforts to truly nail down the user's questions and follow up to the inquiry properly.
But the general citizenry must be convinced of the value of library... read on...