  My friend Paul sent me urlLink this article a few weeks ago. My first reaction was to write my doctoral dissertation right here on my blog about the general public's total cluelessness about the role of the librarian in society.
But I will spare you all (somewhat). I am a librarian. Do you know how often I go to the bookshelves to pull a book down for a patron? Maybe 4 times a year. Most patrons don't want you to pull a book down for them. I've never asked why, but the impression I get is that it would almost be on the same level of helplessness as cutting their meat for them.
The only time I pull books down for patrons is when they are very old and don't have the strength or ability to reach high and hold the weight of a book above their shoulders. My favorite line is when the brilliant researcher, Professor Pobil, refers to a library as a "semi-structured environment". A little more emphasis on the "semi-" part of that statement PLEASE . He's obviously never been to his local public library during the 3:00 to 5:00 shift when it turns into the hangout for all of the neighborhood problems. People are always amazed when I tell them some the things I've seen in my 9-year library career: people carrying razor blades inside their mouths, drug transactions, pedophiles searching for prey, destruction of property beyond belief, and on and on.
One of my favorite stories is when I found a used maxi-pad sitting on a bookshelf. I guess walking 20 feet to the ladies room was too much of an inconvenience for somebody. I have dealt with the mentally ill (one had even 'escaped' and was still in her PJ's and hospital wristband), the fanatics (did you know that computerized library card catalogs are the government's way of controlling our knowledge??? ), and the violent felons. I have initiated more arrest and trespass warrants than I care to think about.
Don't get me wrong. I love what I do. I think the public library is the best place in the world. Where else can you get FREE knowledge (and nobody get me started on public schools, please)? I have met and had the privilege of helping some fantastic and fascinating people over the years. It just irks me when people think that as a librarian I sit behind a nice quiet little desk reading books all day.
If only those people knew how ignorant that sounds to those of us who know better. If Professor Pobil wants to create a robot to help out librarians, then make one that kicks Internet addicts off of the computer terminal after their hour is up. Or magically turns off cell phones when they come through the front doors of the library. Or knows how to herd rotten kids together and out the front door. We'd probably name a dictionary stand after him. 
