Comments on: QandANJ: Further On

By: Kris Johnson

Kris Johnson — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:57:56 +0000

Librarians not stepping forward publicly to express their views on any library related topic, virtual reference or other, does not bode well for librarianship as a whole. It seems as if our profession is splitting into two group: Those that choose to speak out, and those that choose not to. Speaking out is a good thing…it doesn’t mean that you are confrontational or aggressive…it just means that you have an opinion. Like journalists, librarians cannot be truly objective in all things. We have opinions, and expressing those opinions in a constructive way is a good thing. I always find in my work that “group think” (which comes via discussion in which not everyone agrees on everything) always has an end result that is very positive.

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 17 May 2011 05:42:32 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Kris. In not having everyone accounted for, it makes me wonder if the people working to save QandA NJ are doing so to an ungrateful and unreceptive peer group. I don’t think the sixty people in attendance at the meeting were the only ones for it, but it is important to know how such efforts might be received. The fact that people won’t step forward publicly does not bode well for future endeavors either. Glad there are other people watching and I hope there are some lessons for them in all this.

By: Kris Johnson

Kris Johnson — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:35:33 +0000

Andy, I agree with your comment: “I find either position discouraging for it doesn’t bring everyone to the table for an open and honest discussion.” It’s frustrating when people won’t speak out either for or against an issue. If we don’t know what you think, we can’t work with you to make things better. Librarians need to be more proactive about expressing their opinions in constructive ways. Thanks for your update on this meeting. Those of us following this issue from other states appreciate it.