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Media Librarianship: Some Thoughts
by Mike Boedicker, Audiovisual Director, Danville Public Library
(written in 2003)

Media (or Audiovisual/Nonprint) Librarianship is the Rodney Dangerfield of the library world, fighting for respect in a profession that remains stubbornly partial to print.  Decades after being embraced by patrons, media resources still Don’t Get No Respect by countless librarians, administrators, and boards.  “Print-centric” attitudes deem AV materials substandard and unworthy of a serious place in the library.  They’re good for getting people in the door, so the thinking goes, but only to the extent they encourage reading.  Media collections are frequently considered supplemental to print and unable to stand independently as valuable sources of information and entertainment.  At the same time, there is general recognition that AV can drive library circulation, so it’s grudgingly tolerated.  In general, the focus of library professionals continues to be print literacy rather than all-encompassing media literacy.

While the heavy use of computers in the profession would seem to bolster media acceptance, this is rarely the case.  In most libraries, computers are primarily an extension of print resources and thus should not be considered nonprint; “nonbook” would be a better term. Though this situation could change with the growth of multimedia content delivered via the Internet, at present library computers are primarily text machines.  

While librarians, administrators, and boards regularly harbor anti-media feelings, patrons rarely do.  Anyone who has worked in a public library knows patrons love AV materials and can’t get enough of them.  In many public libraries, AV circulation accounts for 40-60% of total circulation (no wonder print librarians are upset).  AV departments, however, are almost never given proportionally large budgets or space (no wonder AV librarians are upset).  The problem comes down to more than space and materials budgets, however; there is also a dearth of specialists trained to handle media.  One of the maddening realities of modern media librarianship is that, at a time when there are more formats and greater patron interest in nonprint, there are conversely fewer media librarians.

This is especially evident in public libraries, where the full-time audiovisual librarian has all but disappeared.  Look at any library job website and note the tiny number of openings for media librarians – if indeed there are any listed.  Today the norm is for print librarians to pile AV selection on top of their regular duties, while the actual running of the AV department is left to clerical staff.  AV is an afterthought, a mere circulation booster.  Such attitudes are a disservice to patrons and to the media collection.  AV is markedly different from print and often requires special methods of selection, acquisition, cataloging, display, and marketing, hence the need for specialists.

The current situation is exacerbated by the dwindling of media coursework in most LIS programs.  The University at Buffalo library school, for example, used to offer a specialization in media librarianship with six courses; now it offers one.  The University of Illinois’ highly-rated library school recently dropped its single audiovisual services course from the curriculum [this has since been restored; MB 5/09].  Potential media librarians must now use every outside opportunity to gain AV experience (internships, practicums, etc.) because the traditional routes are vanishing.

AV’s heyday was in the 1970’s and early 80’s, when media librarians -- then often considered film librarians -- were a highly specialized bunch who truly knew their field because the financial stakes were so high.  A single 16mm film print could cost thousands of dollars, and purchases were not made lightly.  But the popularity of inexpensive formats like DVD and CD has caused many administrators to treat AV materials as expendable and ephemeral.  After all, the argument goes, who needs a specialist to select $20 videos?

For those who have remained media librarians, the job title doesn’t stop there.  Media librarians usually wear several hats – webmaster, network administrator, electronic resources librarian, digital librarian, etc.  Librarians of all types have become hyphenates, of course, but media librarians tend to get pigeonholed as techies.   Perhaps it’s because 25 years ago they repaired projectors, and computer proficiency is somehow considered a natural extension of that.

The AV world is small, and it’s easy for media librarians to feel alone.  That’s why professional organizations are important for keeping one connected.  Surprisingly, within the huge ALA hierarchy, there is only one group that deals with video: Video Roundtable.  The VRT website has information on subscribing to Videolib, an indispensable discussion group.  The PLA Audiovisual Committee, while much smaller than VRT, isn’t limited to video and deals with all nonprint media.  Its website includes results from two recent surveys on the state of AV in public libraries -- one taken by the committee, one reported in Library Journal.  Finally, media librarian John Ellison’s essay What are Media Librarians? is good reading.
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Last Update May 22, 2009  |  Feedback: mboedicker@hotmail.com