Page 56 - PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA

Kajian Dalam Bidang Ilmu Perpustakaan dan Informasi: Filosofi, Teori, dan Praktik

the economics of information over print economics, LIS research agenda
is hoped to be able to expose more about it in discursive analyses that
deconstruct the idea of equilibrium and social justice in library collections.

C. Librarianship critical practices for the community
Librarianship practices that adopt critical perspectives are actually
quite common. As stated by (Deodato, 2014), in post-modern or
contemporary communities, libraries’ role is not confined to only
knowledge organization, let alone following or even supporting dominant
discourses. Libraries as a breeding ground for knowledge and information,
according to Deodato, assume the responsibility to cease marginalization
of some groups of people. Librarians have ethical responsibility to combat
the possibility of service bias by designing information systems capable of
facilitating participation on the basis of expression broadness and variety.
They are not recommended to think like they are having “horse blinders”
on, i.e., focusing on services that homogenize users. The awareness that
users possess heterogeneous and varied characteristics serves as a new
orientation in library services which should be used as a reference for
librarians in the postmodern era.
Some ways to promote users’ active participation which are not
discriminative and posing risk of exacerbated digital divide are adopting
web 2.0 technology and principles of design and proposing a framework
based on participative culture concepts. By applying web 2.0 technology
and principles of design in their services, libraries will not only assist users
in gaining the skills necessary for navigating today’s complex information
environment, but also create a space for conversation, critical investigation,
and expression of alternative perspectives.
By building a participative culture and service in reference to critical
thoughts, librarians will be able to offer a librarianship paradigm that
comes with social responsibility for users and provides them with more
complete tools for participation in egalitarian construction of knowledge.
Promoting the community’s reading interest, improving the community’s
literacy, and enhancing library services quality, all must be performed
within corridors whose ends must be building a social foundation for a
community who is non-hegemonies, critical, creative, innovative, and
better able to welcome the future. Contrary to librarians in the past who
mostly developed asymmetrical services and tended to see users as the
ones in need of library services, librarians in present days are expected to
be more appreciative of users’ needs and participation.
Bales & Engle (2012) state that as professionals involved in public
service, librarians should take the position that is involved in transformative

36 Decontruction And Recontruction of The Roles of Librarians ...