End-user training's impact on the librarian’s status is to be debated at an upcoming Medical Library Association Mid-Atlantic Chapter meeting. It will share the panel platform with other topics such as “who is the end user,” “the impact of end-user searching on other library services,” and “the costs associated with end-user searching.”1
When I first grappled with this topic, I had some difficulty imagining any negative effects of end-user training on the status of librarians. This activity seemed to provide further support for the status which others have viewed as associated with automation. As Schwartz states, “Automation has helped establish librarians as experts in the design of new hardware and software products and the development of new instructional programs.”2 However, stepping back and using the editorial “we,” I find that we are still trying to sell to each other the idea that teaching users to do their own online searching is a “Good Thing.” The following is an overview of some of the arguments on both sides as they relate to the status of librarians. I have liberally used examples from the setting in which I work and conversations with colleagues
