Dealing With Reality

One blog post by a guest blogger in this blog got this remarkable response from Laughrarian, a Filipino Blograrian. The blogger critics the feel-good slant of Angelic Bautista's write up on the many roles librarians can portray. Or play. Choose your own word.

I find the critic smart and honest. But I had to give my own piece of mind. Read the quoted text below --

Dear Laughrarian, 

I like your arguments and reaction to the essay/write up of one librarian who graciously and generously shared her opinion and feelings towards her chosen profession in my blog. Indeed, you have a critical eye.

But may I suggest that you read the post again? Should you take a second read, may I request that you step away from your own plate just this once and attempt to see where the librarian who wrote the blog post is coming from.

Sadly, I could not help myself but tell you this — she is not speaking about herself as one librarian, but collectively about the work that librarians do. She was, on her part, likening librarianship to other professions as a statement that librarians are at par with lawyers, doctors, accountants, teachers, guidance counsellors, etc. The whole point of the paragraph is to show other readers, non-librarians especially, that the LIS profession has a lot to offer. Librarians can establish a niche in the LIS profession and by so doing, they develop a highly specialized set of skills and competencies that can change the learning communities the library serves.

That is the reason why her write up ended up in the blog.

Laughrarian says that the the profession has a lot of problems. That he is not running away. That he will deal with reality. I wonder, apart from blogging his objective views on the profession, how he will do it?