Another gatekeeper by the wayside?

The Tuesday, July 10 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette featured an article by Boston Globe columnist Matthew Gilbert about the plummeting power of MTV. According to Gilbert, programs such as youtube, myspace and itunes have replaced the cultural cache MTV once yielded. "Pop and its spectacles are playing at a computer near you. . . MTV seems to have grown too passive, or too smug, to even reckon with those obvious obstacles." Gilbert explains that the "viral video" phenomenon once the exclusive terrain of MTV directors and video editors is now utilized by teenages with imacs.

MTV used to be the "gatekeeper" of what was cool. New music artists got their starts with world premier videos and interviews on Total Request Live (TRL). The concept of the reality show began with the first season of The Real World in New York. If you wanted to be culturally literate in the tenth grade, you needed to watch MTV.

But apparently, in 2007, the democracy engendered by P2P networks has allowed young people to declare for themselves who is "cool". Therefore, the mighty MTV has been displaced.

This seems similar to the conversation we've had all semester about the idea of the librarian as gatekeeper. In our class conversation today, Dr. Tomer asked us if we perceived librarians as conservative in professional practice. While several classmates mentioned examples of colleagues reluctant to embrace new technology or new pedagogy about information delivery, other classmates spoke of librarians eager to adopt new policies to better serve their patrons. While Mike suggested that generational differences might be to blame for the difference in approach, Eric felt that the deep seated fear of new methods was rooted in the fear that the role of the librarian may become obsolete in the technology driven culture.

Some people do seem to feel that librarians aren't necessary anymore. Recently, at a neighborhood picnic, I mentioned my new studies in the Fast Track program. One of my neighbors said (not unkindly, "Why do we even need librarians? Anything I need, I get it on the web." When I stated that librarians help patrons to sift through the mountains of information and manage what they find, he said, "I don't buy that."
(Since it was a friendly gathering of neighbors and since I'm very new to the profession, I didn't push the issue.)

But there are probably lots of folks out there like my neighbor, Justin. Librarians need to utilize all of the technology and media outlets available to send the message "We're here and you need us!" And as Ms. Mahoney told our cohort today, "we're available live in person, on the phone, through email, or through instant messaging!"

Gilbert, Matthew. (2007, July 10). "Once essential, a lame MTV no longer calls cultural tune." pp. C-6.