LibraryTechtonics

“You’ve probably heard that, ‘Great things come in small packages.’” Bob Stueart said in his introduction, and noted that we’d know why soon enough. Her library is one of the most landwise libraries in the world (if I heard that right). She received her MLS at Shizuoka University in Thailand, received a Doctor of Arts at Simmons in 1995, and has gone on to chair the University Cooperative Research Newtork in Library and Information Science in Thailand. And that’s just a taste of her background; her CV goes on for two pages solid, front and back.

This is the first time that Simmons has ever awarded a international award of this kind, and it’s been noticed. Her acceptance remarks conveyed her excitment and honor in receiving such an award, and noted that her education here was one of the best and most rewarding experiences of her life. She remembers mugs on the mug board in the GSLIS Library (which is no longer there with the renovation), chatting with Candy Schwartz outside the building because smoking was banned inside the building, and walking through the park with her then very young son.

The years were a wonderful experience for her, studying with great people, and a difficult experience, not knowing the language as well and having to pass qualifying exams.

In her 25-year career, she’s seen so many changes, more than any other profession. She’s seen the advent of technology, changes in how things are done, changes is library school curricula, and even changes in program names (library and *information* science programs and the like). Also, she’s seen the allure of library science decrease due to non-competitive salaries, seeing student pursue information science or information technology degrees instead to see more a return on their investment. In Thailand, you don’t even need a degree to work in a library, so it’s a challenge to convice students to pursue it as a profession.

Library educators of the future need an understanding of what librarians need in the 21st century, including technology as it’s used by our patrons and in greater society, as well as the standard library science skills. But even more important, librarians need the ability to take risks, self-starters who will pursue self-improvement, a sense of humor, the ability and desire to work with people. It’s the responsibility of library schools to take students to task on these necessary skills. The most wonderful take-away quote from her remarks: “We have an opportunity to mold our future. Should we take an active role, or should we let others mold it for us?”

Tags: conference