Domsa Károlyné, Fekete Gézáné, Kovács Mária (szerk.): Gondolatok a könyvtárban / Thoughts in the Library (A MTAK közleményei 30. Budapest, 1992)

KÖNYVTÁR ÉS KORSZERŰSÉG – LIBRARY AND MODERNITY

S. Fine The questions at issue, now and in the future, are how, and how much, and in what ways are our interpersonal lives changing. Only then can we consider how libraries can and must define themselves in the future. Managers and planners must take into account that with the coming to technology, many secondary changes also occur. Lines of authority change and often people no longer work with their old friends and colleagues but are moved into new jobs with new associates and new bosses. Status shifts from the senior people who have wisdom and experience to the younger people who understand the way the machine works. In many instances workers, especially middle managers, have fewer decisions to make. Instead they become conduits for information, sifting and shifting it to those above and below. Change in status and control of decisions are two major changes that creep into the workplace along with technological change. It is these issues that library managers must address if our technological future will result in a healthy environment. And so we are left with questions. Who will we be tomorrow? What will we need, want and achieve? How will the quality of our lives be affected by information? Perhaps if we look to human nature and human needs before we plan for our professional future we may be able to take action on our own behalf as individuals, as professionals, as members of our various communities. The important issue is that we must be on guard, that we not get caught up in the myth of technological magic, that we be critics as well as users of technology, that we fight our small and large battles to protect our rights and our relationships, that we never submit to the tyranny of computer logic. The major challenge that we face as the information profession is not just to fight for more, sooner, better technology, nor is it just to provide more information to more people. Our challenge is to help people understand the nature of information and to formulate the right questions. Our larger challenge is to become involved in policy decisions about technology and information, to fight just as hard for moderation and thoughtful progress as to fight for more, better, sooner. There is an old saying that tells us that when you give a child a hammer, everything becomes a nail. We must take care that we not hit everything in sight with our technology, that we use it carefully and guardedly so that it doesn't diminish us but that it enhances the quality of life for all of us. Conclusion: The greatest marvel of technology is that if it breaks down, we can fix it; if it gets a virus, we can debug it; if it doesn't work at all, we can ignore it, and if it works well, we can make it work better. No one has yet figured out how to debug the human factor. It is the most complicated aspect of any technological system, yet it's the one that seems to get the least attention when we plan for the future. The cost of this omission is high, both financially and psychologically. 140 Thoughts in the library"