"Time is out of joint“. The impact of digimodernism on the transformation of librarian’s role

Abstract

The movement from a modern to a postmodern/digimodern information society can be seen in many facets of the library. We, librarians, see, that the arena, where knowledge and ideas are documented, shared and preserved – our arena – is being transformed with unusual scale and impact. This transformation is characterised, in part, by the deconstruction of classifications and metanarratives, diminishing hierarchy and control, and non-linear communication development. The aim of this report is to analyse the transformation of the library and librarian’s role using postmodern/digimodern approach. The report reveals the impact of digimodernism on the library theory and practice through the analysis of binary oppositions: chaos vs. order, copy vs. original, skills vs. knowledge, taxonomy vs. folksonomy, information expertise vs. user participation, information providing vs. user engagement and training, system-oriented vs. user-oriented librarians. These characteristics challenge and redefine how library specialists manage collections and services today and in the future. The understanding of the digimodernism can help librarians to rethink their role and redesign some of our classical services, like reference and information services, reframe them to be more attractive for today users.