WAYS TO PROVE OURSELF BEST IN THE FIELD "LIS"

[MALA.A]

Dear professionals,

Though we are enjoying the status equal to that of teaching staff but we do not receive the respect from students as we compare it to  the Teaching staff..How many of you agree with this?Tell me the ways to prove ourself best in the field.

[vasumathi]

Dear Ma'am,

     This I will not agree.  Why should we degrade ourselves?  In no ways we are least. It depends on how we conduct ourselves. If we are friendly to the user of library, and when we assist according to their interest related to their resource search, sure no user will disrespect. 

[Dr. N K Pachauri]

Vasumathi you are correct

[vasumathi]

so u mean u r doing a Contemptible  job..

[Veeresh Hiremath]

I certainly agree with what Vasumathi says.  It is incorrect to say "we do not receive respect from users". It is just an overstatement and gross generalisation. Respect is something which has to be earned by the dint of hard work and not simply demanded.  You will simply not gain acceptability and respectability amongst your users without true ability, commitment, passion, zeal and professionalism.

You have to constantly keep on assessing and reassessing the needs of your users and aim at fulfilling them in the best possible way.  To do this, you  yourself need to keep on updating and improving upon your abilities with each passing day.

Also, there are several people in teaching profession too who dont command the respect of their students.  Why? They lack the virtues which a teaching profession calls for. The same hold true for our profession as well !!

So let us not harbour the oft qutoed rhetoric "we are not respected anymore".  Come lets together prove 'Librarian is a changing Organism' - we know how to command our respect amongst our users by the virtue of our true professionalism.

 

[MALA.A]

Dear professionals

 I am talking about the respect from students outside the library not inside the library.

regards,

A.Mala

[Veeresh Hiremath]

What???

A person who is respected inside the library is respected outside the library as well.  If not, it is sheer hypocrisy!!!!!!!!!!

[Siddhartha Shankar Ray]

Dear Ms. Mala A.

Thanks for your post. Yes, it is true that though many of us enjoy official status equal to teaching staff, it is a bare truth that socially, we, the library fraternity are not regarded equally with teachers/academic staff. I have seen several postings regarding this issue. May I with all humility and due respect, just ask all of you a simply question?

If we have a daughter to be married and we have two bridegrooms to choose, one a Lecturer in a college with a Degree of M.A/M.Sc. and the other a Librarian in College with two Masters M.A/M.Sc AND a M.Lib. Sc. and both of them are in the same Pay Scales.

Now tell me honestly, who, between the two, will be our choice?

Never-the-less, (Please don't mind my saying so!!) in case any among the ladies sending replies to this post, is unmarried and get above mentioned two candidates as groom who will be your own choice?

I am confident that in 99% cases, the Lecturer will be the one of choice. So let us face the truth and reality honestly!!

However, there are ways in which,  we, the Library professionals too can command respects (and more importantly become acceptable to) /from our students and colleagues. If we can justify our position as worthy knowledge provider we can make lasting impression among the people we work with. There is no denying however, that to achieve this impression, one has to be

(a) Extremely knowledgeable in his/her fields of activities.

(b) S/he has to be well versed with the requisite resources when s/he is dealing with any particular individual or a group (like students/ researchers or even just an AAM AADMI)!!

(c) S/he should enterprising, friendly and more importantly, approachable so that people can feel the warmth of his/her presence.

(d) S/he should be intelligent enough to not to show his/her personal feelings unnecessarily.

(e) S/he should NEVER utter any assurance which is beyond his/her capacity to comply with !!

(f) AND above all s/he should be honest.

I personally believe that these are the attributes one has to own. And those who posses/own the above attributes will certainly be treated with high respect. If you have these attributes, be certain, you won't have to prove anything, success will follow you.

Siddhartha S. Ray, Calcutta

[MUKUL AGARWAL]

Siddhartha ji is right.......in the public schools librarians get lesser salary in comparision of teaching staff while many times librarians are also used for direct teaching and indirect teaching work.....

[MALA.A]

Respected Siddhartha Shankar Ray sir,

           Thank you very much for your excellent explanation regarding my forum.Really, we follow the important attributes listed by you ,which will lead us to achieve success in our field.

Thanks & regards,

A.Mala

[vasumathi]

 

 Library field is not at all an inferior grade. We are equal to all other profession.

   Not only in the field of Library, all profession expects  “extremely knowledgeable in his/her fields of activities, s/he has to be well versed, friendly…..

    If you are sound enough to prove yourself in all these … you will have a special recognition. If u fail to prove it. Whatever line of work you are,…you will not be respected..

                          It all depends on how we conduct ourselves

 

[S.Prabhu]

yes i agree with vasumathi mam statement....

[Siddhartha Shankar Ray]

I appreciate Ms. Vasumathi's comments.

Yes! this should be the spirits.The attributes I have mentioned are certainly applicable to all professions alike. Even to a Police Officer or (may be) a defense personnel!! But it is more required in our profession as I have witnessed users unnecessarily being harassed by my co-professionals to just get the book s/he has asked for.

In my young days I myself faced such incidents in some of the leading libraries in India and in few cases in libraries abroad. However, admittedly, such unpleasant experience were comparatively quite few and far between in foreign countries. (may be it was because my stint/tenure of service and interaction was more in India than abroad)

Never-the-less, I often come across many of my co-professionals without proper and even pathetically poor knowledge surmounted with monumental egos and uselessly aggressive attitudes denying service to users mainly because of his/her professional incapability! But yes; I admit there are many individuals who are quite graceful and extremely competent in their jobs!

However, what I expressed (with all humility) is about Social Recognition. This is the ultimate thing as I believe. That is why I have (rather bluntly) elicited the matrimonial example! Because as i felt these are the occasions where our actual faces come out. I'd have more appreciated had I received comments on that particular issue so that we could have understood the social reality.

Siddhartha S. Ray, Calcutta.