Teachers, guides and mentors to all
Have you ever wondered what librarians do beyond checking books in and out? Librarians and librarian technicians are responsible for handling the databases, course reserves, intralibrary loans, and of course, provide research help and orientation. The Argosy interviewed Anne LePage, a technical services and systems librarian at the R.P. Bell Library and part-time music librarian at the Alfred Whitehead music library, both located on the Mount Allison campus. She has worked as a librarian for 20 years. She started at 26 after acquiring her Masters in Library and Information. LePage notes “most librarians need a Masters to be a professional librarian, however there are people that go into technician diplomas.” LePage explains that without the help of library technicians, librarians would struggle to get their job done. LePage then added, “it’s the one job I have never gotten tired of and that’s why I’ve decided to make it my profession.”
LePage starts her day at 6 a.m., waking up and getting herself and her kids ready. LePage then picks up a necessary coffee before dropping her kids off at school and going to work. She arrives at the R.P. Bell Library at around 8:30 a.m. LePage explained, “the technical offices are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., so I try to keep these business hours.” Afterwards, LePage takes some time to check in with her staff. “Usually, thankfully, no meetings happen earlier than 9 a.m.” LePage added. However most of her time is spent trying to figure out how to improve resources in the music library and handling the acquisition budget for the R.P Bell Library. LePage stated, “I handle the budget, make sure we’re on track with our purchasing. I work with a couple of my staff to make sure our purchases and outreach subscriptions are in line.”
LePage defines the main duty of a librarian to be that of a “teacher and guide”. She listed some of the many other roles that keep the libraries running: “We have people we call access services which is our circulation unit, they do all of the front line work. They are the ones the students see the most; they are the ones that help students find material on catalogues or on the shelves.” LePage states the core mission is “to provide as much access to true information to everyone”, something that has become increasingly important with the spread of misinformation and rise of artificial intelligence (AI) online.
After finishing her day at the R. P Bell Library, LePage heads down to the on-campus music library. She notes the Mt. A Music Department library is by far the largest of the maritimes. She describes the main difference between working at the Music Library and the main library is the amount of people. Whereas the main library sees after a few thousand people, the music library handles a few hundred. “Sometimes I joke that I go to the music library to hide.” She explains, “it’s more relaxed and more laid back. You can still hear the murmurrings of the people practicing and music happening around you and it’s relaxing.”
At the music library, LePage prepares to teach first-year music students how to adequately use the resources at their disposal. More recently, LePage has also begun to instruct students on how to more appropriately incorporate AI into their research. LePage commented, “there have been a lot of problems lately.” She proceeded to explain how students have used AI generated text verbatim and ran into issues of plagiarism and copyright. LePage commented that it is, “an extra element that we need to teach.” LePage advised students to ensure you are checking the citation or source where that information is coming from.
LePage said, “when students come to the library they only see a small fraction of library work.” LePage highlights how she loves the work that she does. She continued, “the reason most librarians choose this profession is because we grew to understand the many different intricacies and elements and make sure that people have the information they need to become informed and responsible citizens in this world.” She explains that when “you see a librarian, they’re doing a lot to make sure any person who goes to the library is going to have the information that they need to be informed and to learn.” She described the profession as, “teachers without having to stand in front of a class too much.” LePage declared, “we want to make sure everyone can learn. That anyone can learn.”
LePage encourages any curious mind to consider the career of a librarian. She highlights how you learn new things everyday, “providing research help also requires us to do a lot of research in the background as well.” LePage expresses the library’s role in educating people on conducting adequate research. LePage concluded with, “we want to be able to teach everyone that skill. Maybe that means that we are teaching ourselves out of a job. I think there’s too many people to teach so there will always be a need for librarians.”