Librarians need to think creatively to face challenges from time to time. The Internet will certainly not take the role of librarians in the provision of information in the future, if librarians continue to develop themselves to be intellectual actors in the world of information.
Those were several key points presented by Rebecca McDuff (IRO, the United States Embassy, Jakarta) in a discussion entitled "Trends in American Librarianship" on Thursday (15/10) at Gadjah Mada University Library.
She explained that the various books, journals, and magazines are essentially information presented in a particular format. Related to this, the position of librarian is needed, because users also still need information from various sources, even though the format of information has changed into a file or audio and so on. In these circumstances, the librarian is expected to begin thinking about how to download and manage cyberspace information.
Trends in librarianship in the United States today are that librarians develop themselves professionally by attending formal education up to doctorate level. They always follow the developments in the world of information and attend various professional training.
The discussion was also marked with the "trick-or-treat" game(Halloween special game) during which participants were given questions about United States culture. Those who could answer the questions were given a gift of sweets, cakes, or books. In addition, Ms. Kristin Lundberg (Washington, DC) and Ida Fajar Priyanto (Head of UGM Library) came to join the game.