I just read this, Blatant Berry: The Vanishing Librarians. And I wish he'd said more, but his message could be distilled to this: people are stupid, and they don't want librarians to be smart.
If the library profession is being "deskilled," it's because our customers don't want us to be skilled. They want us to do what we are told. For the past twenty years, we've been told to give the people what they want, but we never considered that they don't want us. They just want all the free shit we give them.
Yes, everyone is fucking with us. But don't let them win. I'm not going to tell you how to do your job because if you come to this blog, you've found ways to avoid doing it. Or at least, to avoid the bullshit parts. So keep doing your job the best you know how.
And most importantly, when management opportunities become available, apply for them and try to get promoted into a position where you can fix these problems. Don't let all the assholes continue to take all the jobs that define the purpose of your library. Even if by taking the job, you are tempted to become an asshole yourself. Because I have faith in you (yes, you). And you are not an asshole. (Well, maybe you are, but not you. Yeah, the one I'm pointing to.)
