In what ways do you feel that your personal values and beliefs will enable you to effectively serve

the needs of information users when as an information professional you are faced with decreasing budgets and increased inflation, rapid expansion and obsolescence of knowledge, and the growth of new technologies? Address your abilities to be adaptable and to be open to new ideas. Library science is an ever changing field that requires both librarians and support staff to continually adapt. It is a field built on seven specific values (Rubin, 2010, p. 405), values that aid library professionals, as Rubin states, in communicat[ing] knowledge to people (p. 405). The significance of librarianship in the coming digital age is an important one. The Internet is changing everything (Rubin, 2010, p.1) and with that change, librarians must adapt or face irrelevance. As an information professional, I will be tasked with providing a new generation with instant information. I must be able guide my patrons through the vast labyrinths of information that threaten to overwhelm them and ultimately assist them in fulfilling their information need (Rubin, 2010, p. 274). As library budgets shrink, librarians will be required to wear even more hats. Rubin (2010) points out that public libraries will be forced to provide more services to meet the exceedingly broad [needs of their patrons] (p.173). Academic librarians will also begin to feel the effects of the budget crunch (Outsell, 2003a). With information and technological literacy becoming required skills for the workforce, academic librarianship

will begin to center around instructional design and providing information literacy education to the academic community. In order to teach emerging technologie, I will be need to proficient in, and adapt to, technologies ahead of the curve. Significant changes in pedagogy, including greater emphasis on active learning, cooperative or collaborative learning in groups, and networked resources (Rubin, 2010, p. 204) will require academic librarians to provide engaging educational sessions that include information literacy modules and virtual learning environments. Adaptation will be key in academic librarianship, especially when teaching to the increasingly diverse communitys librarians often preside over. It is my greatest hope that this incoming generation of librarians embraces new technologies with open arms and continues to change the face of information literacy education. Though I may be new to library science education, I have been working in libraries for some years. I have learned to adapt to changing budgetary restraints, the increasing use of technology and the changing landscape of information literacy. As embedded librarianship becomes the norm within academic institutions, I continue to wonder if libraries will hold the same value as they once did. With the prevalence of information available on the Internet, the role of the librarian will become less about understanding where to find information and more about how to sift through

the plethora of information available at their fingertips. One of my favorite quotes, and one I often use to console myself when I doubt this profession, comes from the author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman said, Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one. With every ounce of my professional being, I hope that I can not only provide my patrons with the right answer, but also be a light to [them] in dark places, when all other lights go out (Tolkien, 1954, p. 376) especially when seeking new knowledge and expanding their horizons.

Outsell. (2003a). The Changing Roles of Content Deployment Functions: Academic Information Professionals. Burlingame, CA: Outsell.

Rubin, R.E. (2010). Foundations of library and information science (3rd ed.). New York: Neal-Schuman.

Tolkien, J.R.R. (1954). The Fellowship of the Ring. Crows Nest: George Allen & Unwin