Sounds rather like another step along the path
to the ultimate dream currently being promulgated by local councils throughout the UK of getting rid of those pesky books altogether
Librarians redubbed 'audience development officers'
Edinburgh librarians are apparently "seething" after the powers that be decided they should henceforth be known as “audience development officers” as part of a plan to drag libraries kicking and screaming “into the 21st century”. That's how the Caldeonian edition of the Sun describes the move by "barmy" council bosses, which …
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 12:26 GMT Andus McCoatover
Librarians are assistants here in Oulu, Finland
You ask 'em for help. That's it. There's no "book-stamping" - you *always* checkout your book with a "chip ' n' pin" (God I hate that experession) library card, or Oulu City card, and a barcode reader. Fast, and a doddle. Unless you're old*, in which case the Audience Development Officers.....
...
(Sorry, just went for a quick puke)
.....will take care of it for you.
*or stupid, in which case you must be trying to nick books for the Sally Army. 'cept, they don't pay. Then you get enhanced unemployment benefit, cos that's sufficient evidence that you must be a mush-head.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 12:27 GMT Ron Eve
Twunts
Who elects these twunts into a council anyway? How on earth do they get away with such poo.
“There will always be an appropriate level of staffing in libraries."
One would always hope that there'll be sufficient staff to do the job...
Any staff freed up by self-service will be used across an expanded, more customer-focused library service for Edinburgh.”
One would always hope the customer comes first...
FFS can we not get rid of these troublesome clowns.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 12:27 GMT Richard
Political Correctness my arse!
It's more a case of Confusocracy. Quite what the purpose is here is unclear - one could think of many reasons both good and bad, no, actually all bad:
Someone is getting paid to come up with job titles.
The head librarian thought Head of Audience Development was a cooler job title.
Some overpaid eejit with the title "Equality Officer" or similar thought up the wheeze as the title "Librarian" was demeaning.
Obfuscation of stats - Audience Development Officers will appear at a different point in any list of employees, thus making year-on-year comparison difficult (I'm suspecting this is the REAL reason given that you mention 40 may be in for the chop)
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 12:27 GMT Chris Cooke
the self service machines are crap
I'm a regular user of the Edinburgh libraries, I'm a computer industry professional, and I have trouble using those damn self-service machines :-) so I dread to think how others get on with them. One can manage them with persistence but really it's a lot easier to get the librarian to do it for you. Just as with those self-scanners the supermarkets tried a few years ago - nobody could be bothered with the extra hassle so they died a death. Same here.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 13:30 GMT Anonymous Coward
Oh for heaven's sake...
Yet another example of twits who think that just because a library hasn't changed its name to something stupid or renamed its staff similarly we must be behind the times. Luckily, where I work we have just won the right to still call ourselves librarians who work in a library (hence anon posting), but senior management types seem hell bent on this sort of tripe.
By the way, you have made the common error of confusing librarians with library assistants. The latter are generally para-professionals who do the book stamping, shelving etc. Librarians have training analogous to teachers, ie vocational first degree or general first degree with postgrad diploma (frequently with a masters thrown in). We do management functions, strategic stuff, service development, outreach, user education, reference enquiries etc, you name it. Not that we don't help out with the book stamping etc if need be, but it's not our primary function.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 13:37 GMT Anonymous Coward
So what's new?
Of course this is PC gone mad - but isn't that what most councils are best at these days? Glib jargon to divert attention from the shocking value we get from our council taxes. We should be glad that the councillors and senior officers concerned are where they are and not out here in industry causing even more damage - god knows this country is in enough trouble.
But then Librarians themselves haven't much high ground here. In my experience - despite the influx of IT into public libraries - many of them still need to be dragged into the early part of the 20th century let alone the 21st. Those I've met are often been ludicrously concerned over titles. In my local library, a librarian is someone formally qualified in that field - other staff are 'assistants' - even when working alone. To most rational adults, if a person dispenses books, they're a librarian and that's that - but don't try telling that to a 'qualified librarian' (whatever the hell that actually means when I can access half the world from my desk!)
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 13:37 GMT Anonymous Coward
It's about making redundancies
If you want to make people redundant, you redefine the job role, declare that there are less "new" jobs available than before, and make everyone apply for the new jobs. Then you can select the ones you want to keep and tell the rest that their job no longer exists within the new structure.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 13:37 GMT Anonymous Scotsman
Librarius Omnis...
I personally welcome this development, since (nearly) anything ina apublic library can be trawled on bookchan or it's superiors anyway. I'd see it taken further by actively employing the librarians in scanning books and cataloging CCTV archives ( man bites dog as taken from fifteen different angles)for public perusal, preferably in the face of international outrage. Gives them something to do at least.
The Temple of All Knowledge is only 30,000 years away!
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 13:37 GMT Adam Foxton
@Chris Cook
They didn't die a death up here (bonine scotland)... they're in most supermarkets- and even the local B&Q!
I've never seen what the problem is- could it be that you're too well-trained to follow instructions from the machine rather than carrying them out? Or just don't like change? Don't like Windows XP perhaps?
For the uninitiated in the ways of self-scan, it goes press big-ass start button --> swipe item --> place swiped item into bag (or at least on scales) --> swipe next item -->(repeat until all items swiped) --> hit "Finish & pay", choose appropriate payment method, pay, walk out of shop with bags full of items. It's not exactly difficult.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 14:49 GMT xjy
Who needs books anyway!
Bloody librarians - peddling free books to the unwashed. Only Google and bloody skiving eggheads need books to show off with. Turn libraries into adult video stores and brothels is what I say and give the people what they want. And no bloody development either, bloody toffs thinking we ain't good enough for 'em. Audience gratification is what we want.
(Paris never set foot in a bloody library in her life, and she's what the public wants...)
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 14:49 GMT Dennis
I Love Librarians
A Librarian is a professional qualification. Most Library's only have one or two Librarians and the rest are just book stampers or as we like to call them Library Assistants.
So what is the big problem.......? Change their job title to 'audience development officers' then you can give the job to any clown that thinks all they do is stamp books. Then they will dole out endless copies of Harry Potter or whichever book is most topical this month. We as a society should have access to all available knowledge not just what trash sells
A Librarian is the guardian of knowledge. They decide which books your children should read, not the government, not the schools and certainly not the church. They ensure the publics' right to good/accurate and unbiased information is available and free to all.
When the Taliban took over Afghanistan the first thing they did was close the Library's. Control a society's access to information and you can control their thoughts and aspirations.
How many people read a book when they were young and through I would love to be a racing car driver or solve a mystery or take a golden ring to Mordor? Books are about raising people expectations and teaching them what can be achieved when they try. Librarians' are the guardians of your right to free information (books).
Believe it or not Google does not have all the answers. And when Phorm rolls out your access to information will be watched and reported back to Wacky Jaqui
So this isn't political correctness it's an attack on our society's ability to access information and an attempt to save money. Any fool can publish on the internet. But books are the sum of societies acquired knowledge. I for one would hate to lose Librarians as I believe they are so important to our society………Oh and I'm married to one of them as well
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 14:49 GMT Anonymous Coward
@ Libraries in Finland
Yep, I agree there. Libraries here (Finland) generally have plenty of staff, even in quite small towns like where I live, but they all have (and have had for quite some time) an array of self-service machines - some for taking books out, and others for returning books. It all works quite well, librarians are still called librarians, and I don't think there's any risk of industrial action over the 'rise of the machines'. You just use your card to scan the book in and out, and you can renew it over the internet. Of course, that fits with the Finnish mindset of "let's pretend the other people don't exist, and try not to interact with them"...
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 14:49 GMT Peyton
Went through this already in the US
Apparently they (I really don't know who "they" is tbh, but anyway) decided that librarians deal with a lot more than books these days, and rather than just sort of update the word "librarian" to connotate more than book lender/fine collector, they had to relabel them "library media specialists". Sadly, unlike their Edinburgh counterparts, I know a lot of the librarians here embraced the new terminology with open arms.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 14:49 GMT Richard
@Adam Foxton
I don't know if the self-scan machines are different for you, but the ones in my local Asda were designed by Satan.
I love change, but when I've stretched 4 feet to my left to put the money in it is just plain evil to have the coins come out next to where you've put money in and the notes come out next to the right thigh.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 14:49 GMT Lionel Baden
angry solution
Agreed punching the closest council member may not be the most effective way of changing the current problem of PC and health and safety but it sure would feel satisfactory. (Might be a guy thing) ;)
Its not anger its frustration, your lucky sarah to be able to sate your needs that easily but i would never switch with you although you may have it easier :)
I do try not to post to many negative comments here for fear of becoming a troll.
I just feel strongly about things.
Sainsbury's in horsham use self service machine but its annoying because you need to get your parking card swiped on the way out which is easy to forget till you get to the exit gate !
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 15:24 GMT npupp
@Adam Foxton
pft. Try being green and saving on carrier bags using those bastard self-service machines "unexpected item in packing bay" *skip bagging* "please place item in the bag" *skip bagging* "unexpected item in packing bay" *SKIP BAGGING* "please call for assistance" ARGH!
Also, they should be mutable. And not the only way to pay after 2am in my local 24hr Asda
...er...librarians, yeah. Poor you *hugs*
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 15:59 GMT Chris Cooke
Guilty!
... of not going shopping often enough in Tesco or Asda, obviously; I'd forgotten that they'd resurrected self service scanners in a new form. Thanks to several people for pointing that out. Doesn't change the fact that the Embra library scanners are more hassle and more slow than the Audience Development Officers though.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 16:40 GMT graeme leggett
Self service works in Norfolk
Don't know who made them but they do the job.
Library card under scanner - beep!
Touchscreen - issue books button
Put books in shelf area under screen
list of the books comes up on screen
Print receipt
Leave with books.
they also politely ask for you to pay up for fees before letting you scan the books
And a quick check of our county councils website indicates the staff are still called librarians.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 17:01 GMT The Boffin
@npupp
Yup. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt (eventually). My local Tesco insists that any item to be weighed must be on the scales before selecting the item. That 's counter-intuitive to me. I had the bag thing on the 10 items or less checkouts so I gave up on those. I did persist with the other checkouts for a while, but it's quicker and easier to used the staffed tills as I can pack while they scan. Also I go early on a Friday so I like to chat to other people in the queue or have a joke with the staff. (I think working from home is driving me a little batty.)
Fortunately our libraries are still called libraries and long may it continue. My bugbear is the amount of shelf space dedicated to foreign language books. There's more shelf space dedicated to Chinese language than there is to my favourite genres (fantasy, sci-fi and trains, obviously). Not to mention the various Indian languages, far eastern languages, Polish, etc. Just what is the Vietnamese population of Coventry?
I'll get me anorak.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 20:24 GMT RW
Time to form an Anti-euphemism Society
We'll call developmentally retarded children "retarded", we'll use the verb "to fuck", and (gasp!) we'll call librarians "librarians". The adjectives "good", "bad", and "fucking awful" ("bloody awful" in the UK & colonies) will be deployed with regularity, as well asthe pejorative word "stupid".
This kind of nonsense always amuses me: some brain dead functionary thinks that changing "what we call it" makes "it" better. Or conjures up some imaginary scenario in which someone (just who is never specified) is "offended" or something is "inappropriate" and thereby justifies re-rigging the language.
It's true that libraries have changed, but they've been changing for a long time yet were still always called libraries. From the clay tablets of Babylonia to the papyrus scrolls of Alexandria to the hand written codices chained to the shelves of medieval Europe right through to modern libraries full of cheap editions of bodice rippers and DVDs of practical sex techniques: they were/are all still libraries.
And the professionals who run them are librarians.
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 20:29 GMT Anonymous Coward
Mangling to cope
I swear there's a secret committee for embuggering the Queen's; people who proactively maintain this customer-facing focus farce, in opposition to common sense use of language. Is it a means to justify their HR ends?
Perhaps yon cooncil will take a window of opportunity to deploy infomercials explaining this innovative rebranding. I say a corporate anthem's next !
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Tuesday 13th January 2009 20:29 GMT Anonymous Coward
@Ron Eve
One would always hope the customer comes first...
I should hope..... the more, the better.
@Dennis - "When the Taliban took over Afghanistan the first thing they did was close the Library's. Control a society's access to information and you can control their thoughts and aspirations."
And they're still murdering teachers, doctors, and students. This is the formula for every mindless dicator, power-mad group, nutjob. Kill off the teachers, doctors, intellectuals
who might pass on an "idea" into some innocent.
Paris, because she isn't.
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Wednesday 14th January 2009 10:55 GMT Maboza Richie
A virus
This nonsense will probably spread like a virus (I can't think of a suitable name, at the moment), just like 'community' libraries (who are they for if not the community) 'community' fire stations (!), polic vehicles daubed with 'serving the community' or 'making the community a safer place' and all the other faciley named 'community' facilities and services. Councillors should have to pass a reality exam before taking office, since most of them don't seem to have passed any other kind of exam.
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Wednesday 14th January 2009 10:58 GMT Anonymous Coward
Only in the UK
I would love to meet the person that came up with the idea, and ask him why he really wants to see this implemented?
I have concerns that these people suffer from physchological problems ( as allegedly befits our Prime Minister).
I mean, what IS the point?
A job title is just a job title, the job's still the same, the money's still the same......
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Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:03 GMT Anonymous Coward
@Adam Foxton
For the uninitiated in the ways of self-scan, it goes press big-ass start button --> swipe item --> place swiped item into bag (or at least on scales) --> swipe next item -->(repeat until all items swiped) --> hit "Finish & pay", choose appropriate payment method, pay, walk out of shop with bags full of items. It's not exactly difficult.
You don't have to push the "Finish and Pay" button, it's an uncessary action.
Just insert the notes in to the reader and it recognises that you want to pay for the goods!
Well it does in my Tescos!
Just one helpful little tip brough to you by....The Master
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Wednesday 14th January 2009 12:27 GMT Bruno de Florence
Traces of the French revolution
I believe all this "renaming" has its root in what happened under the French revolution, under the guidance of Robespierre & St Just. The purpose was to eradicate all traces of the hated Ancien Regime, hence the creation of a new vocabulary, which did not smell of the monarchy. The fact is that the first thing each new dictature does once in power is to remould language. This is akin to the infantile belief in the power of thought, that thinking something will actually make it happen.
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
