Reference Desk Dilemmas

This guest-authored column, from the perspective of a student who is new to the profession, focuses on stress factors related to reference librarianship and includes suggestions for managing the demands of new technologies, the growing expectations of users, and myriad responsibilities.-Editor T he concept of change has become a thoroughly familiar theme in librarianship. The knowledge that the purpose and position of a librarian is constantly evolving has become more of an accepted phenomenon than it was even ten years ago. This acceptance, however, could be considered an internal knowledge recognized only by those within the profession itself. The external population appears to have a more difficult time acknowledging the steady advancement of librarianship. To the general public, the most popular perception of a librarian might consist of a bespectacled elderly woman who is short-tempered and dresses in ill-fitting clothes. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the objectified female who, thanks to Carmen Electra, is labeled as the "naughty librarian" and can be identified by her plunging neckline and schoolgirl skirt.