Who are we? What do we do?

As librarians, we find ourselves pondering what our role is and will be in the academy. We want to be embedded into classrooms, included in campus meetings of faculty, and seen as the heart of campus. Reading Char Booth's "Librarians as __________: Shapeshifting at the periphery" entry on the "In the library with a lead pipe" blog, I was struck by her statement that "Existing on the edge of the academy – a widely acknowledged and consistent complaint of the research librarian – is actually one of our most valuable strengths." She goes on to explain that by being on the periphery, "Like psychologists, consultants, or social workers, librarians have the value structure and information resources that position us to provide informed counsel to a host of information scenarios, no matter our specialization, without imposing a particular bent." And I find myself totally agreeing with her statement that "When I am at my most successful in consultations and classes I am in part librarian as research therapist, someone to whom students, colleagues, and even faculty can let down their guard in order to expose the vulnerabilities in technology, methodology, or knowledge that can be addressed without judgment." As we reconsider and redefine our roles as subject liaisons and instructors, we should remember that we are librarians - "Under shifting shapes, librarians remain the singularly knowledgeable, radically neutral, and openly accessible mavens of the information world." Hear hear!